I recently stumbled across a fantastic gluten-free section at a Super Stop & Shop located in Westchester County, New York. It is actually a good store all around but their Natural and Gluten-Free sections are among the most comprehensive I have come across in a long while. On a recent hunting and gathering mission to prepare for holiday guests I came across these croutons from Aleia’s and though, hmmm, wouldn’t a bit of crunch be great in otherwise flat salads? So, I carefully balanced the package of croutons on top of an already full gluten-free shopping cart filled with productsJ.
The croutons themselves were really very good. I opted (well, the store only had) the plain variety and they were super crunchy and had a really nice texture. They were also the perfect size. Over the course of a week, maybe more, I also found out just how versatile the croutons were. I not only had them frequently on my salads but also tossed them into piping hot gluten-free 10 bean soup and they really livened up the dish. Yes, I was also guilt of occasionally popping into the kitchen, opening the bag, and eating them straight – hey, everyone likes a little bit of crunch from time to time and I make no apologies.
Having been gluten free for quite a while now, I had not really given that much though to croutons – other than the phrase no croutons please when dining out. Had I not spied these on the shelf I probably would have just led a crouton-free existence. I mean I knew there were gluten-free croutons out there but it is not something that I keep front of mind. Having them readily available at the supermarket now makes for a regular spot on my shopping list – must…always…have…croutons on-hand. Funny how you do not realize how much you miss something until nostalgia hits you like a ton of bricks.
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