Live Gluten Freely Review/Giveaway! Win a box of Gluten Free Goodies from General Mills...

As a wheat allergy sufferer, I have to eat gluten free.  Well, I *could* technically eat food made with wheat, but I prefer to not have hives.  It makes life easier and I get stared at less often!  So, I'm  not your typical gluten free guru since I don't have celiac disease (that I know of).  At first, I really struggled with finding gluten free foods that I liked.  I was very thankful to General Mills who started labeling their cereals as gluten free, which made breakfast much easier.  And since it is my birthday month, I know that I will have a safe and delicious birthday cake next week that not only tastes good to me, but tastes good to my family too.

If you are going gluten free for whatever reason, you should check out the Live Gluten Freely website.  There, you will find gluten free recipes, tips, and advice to help you live a gluten free life that is filled with enjoyable meal options.  You can also print money saving coupons there and even print a pocket list of General Mills' gluten free products to make shopping quicker and easier.  I read somewhere that gluten free shoppers spend more than twice as long in the grocery store than non-gluten free shoppers... that is because we have to spend a lot of time reading labels looking for those weasel words like barley, rye, malt, MSG (which can sometimes be derived from wheat).  We LOVE companies that clearly label their food as gluten free.  Doing so makes me more likely to buy the product since I know it will be safe for me.  General Mills has, by far, been an industry leader in clearly labeling their gluten free food.

You can even order a gluten free product box for yourself or as a gift from the Live Gluten Freely site.  Parents who have a child on a gluten free diet who are away at college should consider sending one as a care package from home. I always loved getting a box of goodies from home.  Now is a good time to order since finals are coming up soon.

Review of gluten free product box contents...

The gluten free product box comes with everything you see here...

The gluten free Bisquick is very close in taste to their normal Bisquick and I have used the mix to make pancakes and biscuits... take a look at Friday night's dinner:

Yep, that's a big pot of chicken and dumplings.  The dumplings were so yummy both with the chicken and gravy and also on their own with some butter.

I didn't like the Honey Nut Chex, but I am also not a fan of honey.  My husband, on the other hand, devoured these and left me an empty box so that I could take off the BTFE.  He told me that the Honey Nut Chex tasted like Golden Grahams, only with way less sugar.  He rarely tells me to buy something specifically, and he did tell me to get him more of this product.

The box also comes with a GF Brownie Mix (yum!) and a yellow cake mix, along with some chocolate frosting.  Both mixes taste great and adding chocolate frosting to your brownie tops will only make them more delicious.  Also included are Betty Crocker fruit snacks, a Larabar (great for keeping in your purse), Potato Buds and a serving spoon. 

Buy it!  The gluten free food box costs $24.99, plus shipping and can be ordered from the Live Gluten Freely site.  The items in the box can also be purchased individually at a grocer near you.  Note: In general, I have not found these items in a specific, dedicated gluten free aisle. I find them mixed in with the regular foods, so if you are looking for the gluten free Bisquick, look for it to be stocked next to the regular Bisquick.

Win It!  General Mills via My Blog Spark is allowing me to give away one (1) Live Gluten Freely gluten free food box.  This giveaway is open to US residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter.  This contest will run through November 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM Eastern, with the winner being drawn on December 1, 2010 via Random.org.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond back with required shipping information.  If winner does not respond to email within that time frame, I will have to choose another winner.  Please follow these entry guidelines to be eligible to win.

Mandatory Entry:  Visit Live Gluten Freely's recipe page and then come back and tell me which gluten free recipe you think would taste great being served at your house.  Leave recipe name and also your email address in this mandatory entry, which you must do in order for the other entries below to count.

Extra Entries:   Want extra entries to increase your chances of winning?  Do any or all of these items for one extra entry each.

• Sign up for the Live Gluten Freely Newsletter to receive gluten free recipe ideas right in your inbox.

• Follow me on Twitter or let me know if you already follow.  Leave me your twitter handle and email address in the comment.

• Tweet this giveaway out and come back and leave me a link to your status showing the tweet.  You can do this once per day.  You can use:  Enter to win a Gluten Free Product Box courtesy of General Mills and #MyBlogSpark. Ends 11/30 http://tinyurl.com/277dvh8 #gf

• Become my Google Friend or let me know if you already are in a comment (right side bar)

• Subscribe via email to receive blog updates  (right side bar)

• Visit Confessions of an Overworked Mom and enter her Live Gluten Freely giveaway.  Come back and tell me what your comment number was to get an extra entry here.   Her giveaway runs through 11/15, so this extra entry is only while her contest is open.

• Leave me a comment letting me know what food item do you want to be made gluten free?  I'd love to have great tasting gluten free cinnamon rolls myself.  What do you want to see gluten free?  

• And one more easy entry:  Leave me a comment telling me if you save the Box Tops For Education (BTFE) for your child's school or for someone else.  It's easy to do and adds up for schools quickly since each is worth 10 cents to schools.

Disclosure:  General Mills, via MyBlogSpark provided me with a complimentary Live Gluten Freely gluten free product box for the purposes of review.  This blog post is not a paid post and the opinions stated herein are my own or are derived from comments made by my family. My thanks to the sponsor for the wonderful opportunity and for generously providing a box for a giveaway here at Making Ends Meet.