After so many years of eating gluten free, I find I’m always on the lookout for new brands and new products to try. It’s not unusual to find newbies in the prepackaged cookie arena or dry pasta but when it comes to fresh baked goods or fresh pasta the entrepreneurs seem to be fewer and farther between. That being said though, when it comes to this less traveled department I’ve always had some pretty good luck at Whole Foods. In fact, on my last adventure to Whole Foods, spread amongst my favorite fresh gluten free pasta brand RP’s Pasta were fresh gluten free ravioli by La Pasta, that’s right they were fresh gluten free raviolis. I probably couldn’t usher in a container of the gluten free raviolis fast enough but I couldn’t contain my excitement to try these out. Don’t get me wrong, gluten free ravioli exists in frozen form, but haven’t always been successful in my book except for those by Pastosa, but as far as fresh gluten free raviolis, these were a first sighting for me!
For about $8 a package you get 9 ounces of medium size cheese raviolis that only take a few short minutes to cook up. The container makes plenty for more than one person, I shared some with my little girl and still had some left over for lunch/dinner the next day. Price wise these are pretty comparable with the other gluten free ravioli offerings out there but for me nothing beats a fresh option; so as long as Whole Foods stocks La Pasta’s fresh gluten free ravioli I’ll be heading up there to pick some up when the craving hits.
What I love about fresh pasta is that you feel like you’re eating something so fresh that it could’ve been made that very day even if that wasn’t the case. The freshness really does affect the taste, that’s probably why Dan and my go to meal when we were dating was fresh pasta with vodka sauce from our local Italian market. While I’ve found a great option for fresh gluten free pasta in RP’s, I hadn’t ever seen fresh gluten free raviolis up until La Pasta’s. The pasta is so tender and delicate but don’t burst open when they boil up, and are stuffed full of a combination of four perfect cheeses. I just love splitting my raviolis into four bite sizes pieces, letting the melted butter mix with the cheese filling, a little bite of heaven!
I’m so grateful for companies like La Pasta who’ve given something back to us gluten free folks that’s so much more important than they probably know. They’ve given us not only fantastic additions to our gluten free diets but a feeling of normalcy and inclusion again. I rarely now make a meal for my family where I have to make something completely separate and different from what my little girl and husband are enjoying. Now I can sit side by side with them and enjoy raviolis just as they do! My only wish is that more restaurants could jump on board with offering gluten free menus that are more than just a plain piece of chicken or buttered box pasta. These companies make phenomenal products that would make many a restaurant diner happy to dine out while being gluten free.
Sincerely,
Lindsay (21 weeks)