The mac n cheese had to be cooked twice as long as the package indicated and still wasn't very good. The tortilla chips tasted stale. The peanut bars were just okay.
And my dislike for the line doesn't stop there. I picked up a box of the Rice and Vegetables and made it last night for dinner. Ugh - it ended up in the trash. Horrible.
I was really excited when I heard the big grocery chain was introducing a store brand of gluten-free products... Only to be disappointed by bad quality, bad tasting food.
Has anyone enjoyed the products from Metro's line?
I have a box of the vanilla cake mix in my cupboard but not really looking forward to preparing it.
While I'm thankful that a large supermarket chain is at least "trying", I too have stopped buying this line. There are so many other, better choices out there now. I was never much of a "boxed food" fan before going GF.
ReplyDeleteI think that I have had some cake made from one of their mixes and it was alright - just like any other cake mix taste wise. Can't speak for anything else in their line though.
ReplyDeleteI do like their Penne pasta its my favorite GF pasta so far actually
ReplyDeleteI've tried a few of them and apparently liked them better than you did! (but maybe I have lower standards?) :)
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the Mac 'n' Cheese - but I did find it _very_ white and it did take longer to cook than I thought it should.
I have also tried the peanut chewy bars, twice. The first box I got I quite enjoyed (though they are really sweet), but the second box wasn't as good, just a little on the dry/stale side.
I have made the vanilla cake a few times and did like it quite a bit. It is a bit on the crumbly side, but a good frosting helps! ;)
I also like their pancake mix, a little plain, but it makes a great base for banana, blueberry or chocolate chips!
The best thing about the Metro Irresistibles line for me is the price point. The products aren't priced out of my reach. There are so many GF products that I don't bother with just because they are so expensive. So I appreciate these, as nicely priced, middle of the road products.
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ReplyDeleteI like the penne pasta, and the bread crumbs work fine for me. The spaghetti was a meal that went in the trash, and we had to go out for dinner. The cake mix is just ok, with some icing it can work. Donate it to the foodbank if you don't want to eat it. The mac and cheese had value just for convenience sake, but lacked flavour for us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for testing it all out for us.
yeah have you tried the croutons? they're inedible. I was pretty excited when I saw this too but everything I've tried has sucked
ReplyDeleteKai likes the mac and cheese because he can cook it. I find it ridiculously runny so found that if you put the lid on the pot for 5 minutes after it is done and take it off the heat the mac absorbs some of the liquid. He also adds parmesan cheese sometimes. He was adding cornstarch to thicken it up, but I made him stop.
ReplyDeleteThe boxed spaghetti is ok - but I find that he will eat the whole box in one sitting (he's 17 and skinny as a rake, so I don;t worry about it), but the last time he didn't like it. I find we have to check it about every 30 seconds and then plunge it in cold right away.
As of the rice and veg, I did buy it and it's sitting in my cupboard. I find that just cooking jasmine rice in chicken / beef broth and throwing in frozen veggies works well.
Hello, coming in to visit Thunder Bay from NYC. I'm celiac and plan to cook due to many food allergies. Sorry to hear the Metro GF isn't good. I was excited. can someone tell me the basic ingredients in the pastas? Is it rice? Rice/ soy? Potato/rice/soy? other? I am also allergic to soy and amaranth. (I know!) What other brands are available that you'd suggest? Thank you so very much!
ReplyDeleteThe mac and cheese tastes better without the powdered cheese. I combine it with a tomato based sauce and meatballs, and as long as it is stored in all this moisture, it keeps well as a leftover. I boil it for 14 minutes, not the 6-8 minutes suggested on the box, otherwise parts of the pasta don't get cooked. The secret to help it have a smooth texture is to drain and rinse thoroughly in cold water, then re-heat with sauce and meat or vegetables. I find that prepared this way, the taste and texture is even better than how I remember the gluten- containing pasta tastes like. I like The croutons but they scratch my throat. I'm going to use them as a soft stuffing base for turkey.
ReplyDeleteMy son absolutely loved Mac and Cheese before we switched to Gluten Free diet, and I find the Irrestible brand quite good for a kraft dinner replacement(my 2 year old wanted to eat the whole box..if I had let him)The noodles do take longer to cook, but so far it's worked out for me. (Plus, it's much cheaper than other brands such as "Annies")
ReplyDeletep.s.-I like the mixed nut bar they sell as well to keep in my purse for emergency purpose.
I love reading your blog!
I found the mac and cheese gross, but then again I never was much of a Kraft Dinner fan. I prefer my own homemade cheese sauce. The bread crumbs aren't bad. But once I finish that pack, I won't touch this brand again, because of the recent recall by the CFIA of the cereal. Once a brand has had anything recalled for gluten contamination, I won't touch it ever again!
ReplyDeleteThe all purpose flour is a good flour to use as a substitute in many recipes. I enjoy it for sandwhich bread and muffins.. but have even used it to make a roux. It is a little pricey, but handy to have on hand at times when mixing flours isn't convenient. Tho i'll admit i don't buy many of the other products.
ReplyDeleteI just tried the Irresistibles GF Macaroni for the first time and both my husband and I are nervous because there are tiny little hard grains in it. Almost feel like tiny lil pieces of rock. I have never felt this texture in any other GF pasta before. Is this normal in this brand? Has anyone else questioned it?
ReplyDeleteTry the Felliciti brand pasta. It's new, it's made with both corn and rice and it cooks much better. All the Irresistibles products I have tried (cookies) chips pasta did not taste good at all. The competition has much better quality.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked the irresistibles brand of mac and cheese, though like you said you have to cook it longer, but more importantly I like the flour, the one I bought at least had a recipe on the back for a gluten free pizza crust, that turns out absolutely delicious and I've made it multiple times already. just fantastic :) I haven't tried making anything other than the crust with it yet though so I can't speak for its usefulness outside that.
ReplyDeleteI've Been meaning to try to croutons too
I just found a small piece of green plastic embedded in one of the pasta pieces while it was cooking in boiling water. I noticed something green on the pasta and so I picked it out of the pasta which made a small little whole in the pasta piece. It was actually embedded into it. This is the Irresistibles Gluten Free Whole Grain Pasta. I won't be buying it again.
ReplyDeleteI've made that vanilla cake mix a few times. I always use nice fresh ingredients, egg, milk, butter, real vanilla. I'll just make 1/2 the box for a small square cake, topped with icing sugar. I've mixed in dried coconut and currents. The whole extended family always seems to enjoy this cake. I love it.
ReplyDeletethe pancake mix is very good...not much of a fan of any of their other products. it is also significantly cheaper than other brands..its the only i buy
ReplyDelete