When we switched my son over to the gluten and casein free diet, I anticipated a huge challenge. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat (and some other grains like rye, barley, and oats) and casein is a milk protein. Of course, my son's favorite foods largely consisted of wheat and milk ingredients - things like macaroni and cheese and pizza. I knew that he would be a very sad boy if he couldn't have pizza.

Every Friday they have pizza at school for hot lunch and I try to coordinate my son's gluten free lunches with what they are serving so that he doesn't see that the rest of the kids are eating something else and really want that item. If they are having chicken nuggets, he can eat his special chicken nuggets, etc. Unfortunately it took a lot of trial and error for me to find acceptable pizza ingredient substitutions and until I did I couldn't "match" my son's school lunches. I felt like a real heel when the teacher sent home a note to tell me that my son was very upset over his lunch selections and was asking for the pizza, which is forbidden on his diet. I set out to try to make acceptable pizza again which is when I found and started using this glutino pizza crust product.

About Glutino Pizza Crusts
Glutino Pizza Crust comes packaged four in a bag - each pizza round is about 7 inches, just perfect for a single serve pizza. I pay around $5 for a bag of these which works out to $1.25 per crust which I think is pretty reasonable as far as gluten free foods go. I find these in the "nature's market" section of my local Wegman's grocer and they are in the freezer next to other gluten free breads. You need to store these in the freezer in order to keep them fresh or if you defrost them then consume them within 7 days (sooner is better). I recommend just freezing them and using them individually.

I will include the ingredients because if you are looking for a "safe" pizza then this is important to you. Of course, ingredients change on products so please check for yourself as well on the product you are purchasing. These do contain eggs and they also have yeast in them, but they are most definitely GFCF (Gluten Free Casein Free). Each crust has "just" 240 calories a piece (plain). They are also trans-fatty acids free, cholesterol free, contain no refined sugar nor hydrogenated oils. All in all these crusts are pretty healthful on their own (not that you would want to eat them completely plain...).

Ingredients: Water, corn starch, tapioca starch, safflower oil, evaporated cane juice, dried egg whites, salt, guar gum, glucono-delta-lactone, yeast, pectin, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, modified vegetable cellulose, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, iron, calcium. May Contain: Traces of soy

My experience with the Glutino Pizza Crusts
I hadn't had very good luck finding a gluten free pizza crust before trying this, actually the experience had been quite dreadful. First I tried out a very expensive pre-made crust that cost close to $5 for a 10 inch round that tasted like styrofoam. After that disaster I tried out several of the pizza crust mixes including the highly recommended Chebe brand which adults might like but it was far too "herbal" for my 6 year old who could see the herbs and spices (as well as smell them!). The Glutino crusts looked really good in the bag, almost too good. I had some serious fears about how they would taste. Amazingly enough, these Glutino crusts taste pretty darn good. This is a thick crust that is a bit "bready" more like a deep dish or pan pizza style crust. The first time I made my son pizza on these he gobbled down the whole mini pizza and actually asked me for more. This was the first edible gluten free pizza that he has had since moving over to this diet - all the rest he turned his nose up to and wouldn't eat, and having tasted them I can't blame him.

You can cook these in the toaster, a toaster oven or in the stove. I wouldn't suggest or recommend microwave cooking with them but to reheat for 30 seconds or less these will do fine. To make my pizza I take one (or however many) out of the freezer and prepare them while my oven is preheating to 475 degrees. I load each pizza crust up with pizza sauce (I use jarred sauce from Wegmans) and sprinkle on some shredded Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella flavored Cheese (dairy-free cheese). I then pop them in the oven on my Pampered Chef pizza stone and bake them for 15-18 minutes.

My son loves these pizzas (he ate 2 of them for dinner last night!) and now I have a pizza option for him that I can prepare in the morning and then send in for him to eat at lunch time. I did this for him last Friday for the first time and this made Friday lunch time a success. I'll keep buying these Glutino Pizza crusts. I only wish they were sold in quantities of more than 4 to a bag and that they also came in a larger size so I could make up a whole full size pizza pie sometime.


www.glutino.com



Recommended: Yes