Udi's Gluten Free and Chocolate Mounds Recipe

If you are familiar with the gluten free lifestyle, then you are sure to recognize the name "Udi's." Udi's products are natural, without artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives, or other synthetic additives. They also have a wide assortment of gluten free goodies that are sure to fill your belly and soul.

Udi's graciously sent me a ton (seriously, see for yourself) of products to review. It was like Christmas morning when I saw the package on my doorstep. My son was even jumping around the house, because he saw some of his favorites in the box! Of course we had to sample a few things right out of the box! YUM!

I've long been a long-time fan of their products, but they sent me new items that I had never tried before. Goodness - I can't even pick a favorite! I still love the snickerdoodles, but their granola bars are simply amazing and my son finished off the cinnamon rolls. As a parent, my favorite part of it all was that they weren't laden with sugar. It can be difficult to find granola, muffins, cinnamon rolls, etc without all of the excess sugar. Udi's succeeded in making tasty goodies, without sending us in to a sugar coma. I had no qualms about letting my child enjoy the cinnamon rolls at breakfast. We have also found a new lunchtime option. The Ancient Grain Chips will be a staple in our house. These little things come in a few flavors (we got cheese), and are made with quinoa, flax, and other nutrient-dense ingredients.

I talked to one of the teachers I work with, whom is gluten free, about Udi's. She noted how much she loves their products and the fact she has a healthy option with Udi's, as she is dairy and gluten free! Then she steered me towards their Lemon Streussel Muffins, one of her top picks!

After receiving all of this gluten free goodness, I decided to tackle some family recipes using Udi's products. One of my favorite family recipes is called Chocolate Mounds. My grandmother made it for my dad and his family growing up, and I remember my dad making it for us when I was young. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... peanut butter + chocolate = a gift from God. My dad gave me the Chocolate Mounds recipe a while back. I looked over it recently and saw some quick changes I could make to the recipe to make it gluten free and a cleaner treat for the holidays. My changes included using Udi's Coconut Peanut Butter cookies - hello!

 I hope you enjoy this special treat! It is sure to be a holiday hit!

Chocolate Mounds

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 cup dates, chopped
• 1 tsp xylitol (only add if you prefer this to be sweeter)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup Udi's Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies, crumbled
• 2 tb orange juice (or more as needed)
• 1 6-oz package chocolate chips (60% cacao chocolate is the best option)
• 1 tb coconut oil

Directions

1. Combine peanut butter, dates, xylitol, walnuts, Udi's Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies, and orange juice. 
2. Shape into walnut-size pieces. Tip: Roll between hands to shape.
3. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.
4. In a double-boiler, melt 1 6-oz package of chocolate chips. Add coconut oil and melt.
5. Use a spoon and roll each cookie mixture in melted chocolate.
6. Place on wax paper to harden.
7. Enjoy!

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Udi's Product Review

As this is my first Thanksgiving sans gluten, I had been pretty nervous about how to approach the meal planning. Then, a couple weeks ago I got the best little package from Udi's. The company graciously sent a huge pack of full value coupons for me to review their products. Udi's opted to send the coupons in lieu of packing the foods (which need to be frozen) in dry ice, which is not so environmentally friendly. (Good call, Udi's!) I was then prepared to attack my holiday menu, and what is prepping without a little taste-testing?

There are several stores around my area that carry the brand, so the kiddo and I set out. All in all, we came back with pizza, cookies, bread, rolls, buns, and muffins. My freezer is packed - enough said. :)

We are a roll-loving kind of family, so when I saw that Udi's had some, I quickly snatched up the Whole Grain Seeded Dinner Rolls. These are loaded with chia, sunflower, and flax seeds. I added a shmear of butter, and the pure goodness just melted in my mouth. I knew these would be perfect for our holiday dinner!

My resident picky-eater is the Kid. He was quite skeptical when I made him a PBJ on Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread. We've tried a few gluten-free breads in the past that were very hard/brittle, and Udi's was soft, just like its gluten-full counterpart. I think I actually got an "oh my gosh!" after the his first bite. Out of the mouths of babes, right? That's when I decided the Whole Grain Bread needed to be used for our Thanksgiving dressing and stuffing. In our family, we are pretty serious about stuffing/dressing. (Dressing is cooked outside the turkey, stuffing is cooked inside the turkey.) We make both, because there's never enough! As long as I can remember, my mom always had a traditional recipe for her stuffing. Our family enjoyed this recipe year after year. I'm beyond happy that I can carry on this tradition, and I can actually eat the dressing! Thanks, Udi's!

Snickerdoodles are by far my favorite cookie. Admittedly, I was unsure about a frozen, gluten-free cookie; I've only had a gluten-free snickerdoodle from a local bakery. I was beyond pleased with Udi's cookie. Honestly, the package was opened with a few cookies missing before we even made it home. I cannot say whether I devoured cookies in the car, or not. I will say, I had to tell the kiddo to quit eating all my cookies. Yes, my cookies. :) Udi's Snickerdoodle Cookies are now a staple in the Piece, Love, and Peanut Butter household. Now, my plan is to use these cookies to make a crust for my cheesecake. Perfect!

We picked up a few other Udi's products, that clearly were not for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and would not even have made it that long in my house. :) The Three Cheese Pizza was crispy, with melty-cheesy-goodness! I love a crispy crust and the box had topping suggestions to help personalize your pizza. Am I the only one who is enamored by companies that put little messages and suggestions on their packaging? Anyhow, through this I realized I had chicken breast strips in my freezer. Those immediately went on my half of the pizza (the Kid usually eats his plain). It was great and perfect for a lazy night.

I'm not usually a HUGE granola fan - I'll add it to yogurt, etc. A package usually lasts me quite a while. At Whole Foods, I picked up a bag of the Gluten Free Vanilla Granola. Holy moly! To be honest, I have been munching by the handfuls on this stuff. It doesn't even quite make it to a bowl of almond milk or yogurt. I've added it to my oats a few times, to give my breakfast a little crunch and kick. It was a perfect bowl of hot vanilla-y crunchy oats. :)

Udi's has a ton of products that would be perfect for holiday festivities or lazy days (perhaps to recover from holiday cooking?). Between the French Baguettes,  Cinnamon Rolls, and Classic French Dinner Rolls, there's plenty of choices for you and your guests for a gluten-free holiday season.

I bet your hungry reading this, because I am from just writing it! :)