Miss Roben’s Mixes

You may remember I wrote about these allergen-free mixes a while back. Today, I wrote an extensive post about them on the trulyglutenfree site for grain-free people, but I am sure a lot of you will fancy trying some of these so have posted it here too for you.

This is a fab range of mixes from Allergy Grocer and now available in the UK thankfully via Allergy Essex.

For times when you fancy something nice but can’t be bothered to do much more than crack an egg (or open a packet of egg replacement for some of them), blend and bung in the oven, these are a god-send. Regrettably much of the range is based on rice flour (although if you are still on rice, this means you have a larger range to choose from!), but I have spent time going through each product’s ingredient list with the proverbial fine-toothed comb and have found a veritable feast of goodie options for you.

First, a couple of notes about the range as a whole. Some products contain corn starch and the xanthan gum is ultimately from corn so is best avoided, even though they say the protein is denatured, we know we react to things other than the proteins. The guar gum comes from guar beans, not corn. The range itself is made in a dedicated allergy plant free from wheat, dairy, peanuts, treenuts, egg, soy and more so is truly ‘clean’.

Here is the blurb about the Miss Roben’s range from the Allergy Essex site:

Allergy Grocer’s own brand of allergen free baking mixes, flours, and ingredients. The company began in 1992 and now produces over 65 products on a dedicated allergen-free production line.

All of Miss Roben’s products are free from Wheat, Gluten, Barley, Oats, Rye, Dairy, Casein, Lactose, Whey, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Soy Protein, Soy Oil, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Onion, and Latex.  Miss Roben’s utilizes prepackaged yeast, which is an optional ingredient used at your discretion. The soy lecithin, an ingredient in chocolate chips used in Miss Roben’s chocolate chip cookie mix, are packaged in a separate room.

Ingredients are carefully sourced to provide the same allergen-free status as our production plant and we treat all ingredients as if they are allergens—Miss Roben’s equipment and room are cleaned after every change in ingredients and produced at a separate time.

I have tried a few of the mixes and happily munched on carrot cake (see my breakfast idea using this on the Purehealth blog) and the chocolate cake. Not that I like cake, you understand! Seriously, really easy to make, a little high on the oil and sugar side but that can be adjusted to taste. Michelle at Allergy Essex advises she uses Pure spread instead of oil to cut calories down, and I make both as muffins rather than a large cake because I like to have bite-sized morsels ready for a treat. I also tend to use them for breakfast with soya yogurt, berries and seeds. Yum.

Ok, so here is the totally grain-free product list for you. Check each product yourself of course before you eat anything:

• Chewy Brownie Mix
• Chocolate Cake Mix (heavenly, I have to say – I didn’t add frosting and this was yummy)
• Chocolate Frosting Mix (easy to make yourself but convenient)
• Chocolate Buttercream Mix (ditto)
• Chocolate Fudge Frosting (again, DIY-simple)
• Carrot Cake (let the mix sit for a bit; I was too impatient and the carrot bits were still on the hard side!)
• They also have corn-free baking powder and corn-free powdered confectioner’s sugar (like icing sugar but with arrowroot to thicken – this is what you can make your frostings with).

If you are still on rice, the range is much more extensive. Here is the ‘Contains rice but otherwise OK‘ list for you and obviously you could have any in the grain-free list too:

Versatile Muffin Mix, Soft Pretzel Mix, Simply Soft Bread Mix, Corn Free Pizza Crust Mix, Donut Mix, Biscuit Mix (more like dumpling with sugar in…?), Tortilla Mix, Graham Cracker Mix, Animal Cookie Mix, Flaky Pie Crust Mix, French Bread Mix.

I quite fancy the look of the English Muffin (ie. crumpet) Mix and the Crunchy Versatile Cookie Mix too (both with rice) but these aren’t in the UK currently – I shall mention it to Allergy Essex and I’m sure if we fancy some, they will get some for us. The Chocolate Cookie Mix (inc rice) is a possible. I am just checking this one out as it may have maltodextrin from corn in some of the chocolate chips. Will let you know.

Anyway, lots for you to have a go with there. A lovely company to buy from too. Postage is a little high but I am assured dates on the current shipment are nice and long so order a few at a time once you have tried and liked them so save money. So, have a look at get mixing! Anything for an easier life…have fun.