Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Enjoy Life Foods Brownie Mix Review

About a month ago I received some complimentary samples of Enjoy Life Food's new baking mixes (yes!) for review.

 
The first mix that I decided was the brownie mix. I find gluten-free off-the-shelf brownie mixes very difficult to make without the (usually required) eggs.

 
I was excited to find an allergen-free brownie mix that is designed to be made without eggs, butter, or dairy, but also a little leery. Would this really work? The red flag for me was the sugar content -- 14 grams per serving -- which is right on the cusp based on my experiments.

The good news? The mix is top-8 allergen-free and only water and oil need to be added. The super-simple add-ins and the super-simple procedure (hand mix in a single bowl) make it the perfect take-on-vacation-or-to-grandma's house mix.

The ingredients will thrill some -- but could also complicate matters for others. The ingredients list is not just rice/tapioca/potato starch, but includes teff, flaxseed, algal protein, and a probiotic. While all of these ingredients make for a brownie with better nutritional qualities, some with multiple food allergies may need to stay away (always check to make sure it's safe for you). Happily, this list of ingredients works quite nicely for my family!

Mixing is easy, too! While I was debating whether I should add some mini Enjoy Life chocolate chips to my brownies, I noticed that they were already included. Bonus!


The directions say to bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Just 26 minutes, and my brownies were done. (Had I left them for 35 minutes I would not have been happy.)


This brownie is more like cake than what most of us think of as a brownie. It has a unique taste, but quite good. Even my gluten-eating hubby was happy to finish them off.


One quirk of this mix is that it is intended to make 14 servings. I don't know about you, but I find it virtually impossible to cut brownies made in an 8-inch-square pan into 14 even squares. Sixteen is standard, 9 would be extra-large brownies. I suspect fourteen was used so that the claim of "5 grams of protein per serving" could apply. But it's odd. I cut mine into sixteen squares.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if it was this brand that I bought or another, but it was non gmo and gluten free, I followed the baking instructions and it baked. I took a bite and it was so flavorless. Are these brownies tasty at least and do they have flavor, a chocolate flavor?

Colette said...

They don't taste exactly like traditional brownies. Not a bad taste -- they taste healthy!