Product Review: Foster Farms Gluten Free Corn Dogs

First, let me start out by saying I love corn dogs.  I'll say it again:  I LOVE CORN DOGS!  Being Paleo and gluten free, I haven't had one in years.  The last time I had a corn dog was about 7 years ago at the Orange County Fair in California and it make me sick for a week. So I have to admit I was pretty excited when I was sent a box (okay 8 boxes) of Foster Farm's new gluten free corn dogs to sample and review on my blog. 

Enough for an army

So, should you go out and buy these?  Here's the down and dirty.

Taste:
These little dudes taste AMAZING.  I mean, to me they taste no different than a regular corn dog.  I actually think they taste a little bit sweeter which I love.  The outside is crunchy with a soft sweet corn breading and a hot chicken dog inside.  I actually prefer 100% beef hotdogs, but the chicken dog wasn't too bad.  Considering it's Foster Farms, I imagine they won't be making beef anytime soon.  1 caveat here though: I haven't had a corn dog in many years so I am not exactly a corn dog expert.  But in my humble opinion, they are outstanding.  

Ease of Use:
I threw these bad boys in the oven frozen for 20 minutes and they came out perfect.  Super easy.  Super convenient. 

Nutrition:
Okay, here's the downside.  They are junk food.  I am a paleo advocate, so I cannot tell you to go run out and buy these as a healthy dinner.  They are processed.  The corn breading, although delicious, is crap.  The chicken dogs are surely not free range or organic and therefore should be eaten OCCASIONALLY.

They are certified to be gluten free.  This makes them leaps and bounds better than a regular corndog.  However, take a peek at the ingredient list:

Soy flour, soybean oil, refinery syrup, "natural flavor", vegetable oil, "mechanically separated chicken", corn syrup, potassium lactate & acetate, sodium phosphate, sodium dacetate, "flavorings", sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrate are some of the ingredients here.  I mean, let's call this what it is:  gluten free junk food.

Overall Opinion:
These are delicious.  No doubt.  I haven't had a corn dog in years so I thought I had died and went to heaven (and if I eat too many of these, I will die and go to heaven).  I think they are okay to eat very occasionally.  They are better than a regular corn dog but don't go eating too many of these because they are highly processed and full of awful and hidden ingredients.  Also, I did notice a slight headache after I ate one.  I am pretty sensitive to preservatives so this did not surprise me.  I am overall happy to see more products being offered gluten free, however, keep in mind gluten free doesn't automatically mean healthy.  

For more product info please check out the Foster Farms website: http://www.fosterfarms.com/products/glutenfree/