Gluten Free Chex Cereals

It's Tuesday, so, for me , that means I have a Twitter party tonight. I signed up for it a number of months ago, just to see what a Twitter party was all about, but I had not considered the consequences of participating in a Twitter party hosted by MultiGrain Cheerios every week that the season of The Biggest Loser Couples is on.

This box arrived this Saturday.

I keep "winning" boxes of MultiGrain Cheerios (I am up to my fifth box now). Don't get me wrong, I love free things, but I can't eat Cheerios - they have gluten in them... big time. So, a couple of weeks ago I asked during the twitter party when Cheerios would be making their own Gluten-Free cereal line. The response was simple - you need to go try all of the Gluten-Free Chex cereals out there for you.

That was true. It was something I was planning to do anyway, so I decided my next cereal purchase would be a Gluten-Free Chex Cereal.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Chex

There is something about cinnamon that simply screams breakfast to me, so, when I saw my options, I decided the first Chex cereal I wanted to try was the Cinnamon one!

Upon opening the box I was overwhelmed with the delicious aroma. The taste of the cereal was delicious and brought me back to my childhood memories of waking up early on Saturday mornings with my little brother to watch Muppet Babies and the rest of our Saturday morning line-up.

This was fun for its nostalgic sense, but I immediately recognized it for what it truly was: sugar! I grew up on Fruit Loops, Honey Smacks and Cocoa Krispies - this cereal was just as "fun" as those cereals. Needless to say, I loved it!

As a long term addition to my pantry, I think I would have to say that the Gluten-Free Chex will definitely find a home as a sometimes snack when I am looking for something sweet. I haven't explored any of the Chex mix recipes yet, but I did eat them plain, without any milk while watching a movie one night and that was enough for me.

Gluten-Free Corn Chex

After my sweet introduction to the Chex cereals, I decided that my next purchase should take a more mundane path. I purchased the Corn Chex.

It wasn't until I actually started eating this cereal that I made a discovery about my own life-long cereal preferences: I don't really like "corn" cereals all that much, but I do love crunch!

As I ate the Corn Chex I was reminded of my grandfather's daily breakfast: a bowl of Corn Flakes with a half grapefruit. He lived for 96 years on this and seemed to legitimately enjoy it, so I have tried Corn Flakes a number of times figuring it was one of life's big secrets to longevity.

The Corn Chex had the same basic corn flavor as the Corn Flakes, with a little more crunch and a but more airiness (I think from all of the holes). As a personal preference, this is not my favorite Gluten-Free Chex, but I think it would be awesome for anyone who likes corn-based cereals and could also probably be lots of fun with some berries!

Gluten-Free Honey Nut Chex

Not too long before finding out I had to cut gluten out of my diet I had my taste of Honey Nut Cheerios. Oh what fun they were! All the years wasted!! I was an avid plain Cheerios lover, but I had never explored the alternative brought to me by that silly little bee. When I saw that Chex had a Honey Nut variation, I knew I should not make the same mistake again - I would try them right away to know what my options were.

The honey is evident in every spoonful (as it should be) and, for me, makes this cereal a little bit better as a finger food than in a bowl with milk. I opted to write this post before trying any Chex mix recipes for any of the cereals I purchased, but I can definitely see the potential in this cereal.

I was surprised, at first, to find that this cereal has more sugar in it per serving than the Cinnamon Chex cereal, but I suppose that is due to the honey.

Gluten-Free Rice Chex

Once I had my epiphany about my lack of love for Corn flavored cereals, in general, I started to wonder, "What do I like, then?" And then it came to me, and it really was no surprise: RICE. Well, really, in terms of cereal it was rice and wheat, but one of those, medically, had to go. 

I was excited about getting the Gluten-Free Rice cereal, figuring it was exactly what I was waiting for! It kind of was. It is plain rice crunchiness. I do like it (I still miss my Special K) and will most likely have this cereal in my pantry quite often.

Since it does not have any overpowering flavors of its own, I do imagine that this will also be a fun addition to a Gluten-free Chex Mix.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chex

As I mentioned above, I was a big fan of Cocoa Krispies as a child, so chocolate flavored cereals are tasty treats that intrigue me. I was really looking forward to this part of my taste test. Each time I went back to my grocery store I searched up and down, but it could not be found!

I have not given up, but I did not want to hold up this post as I continue my quest! I SHALL FIND MY CHOCOLATE BREAKFAST TREAT!! ...and then I will return to share my findings with you, since that is the real reason I am so desperately looking for it!


MY CONCLUSIONS 

Overall Favorite for 

• Every-day Cereal: Gluten-Free Rice Chex
• Yummy Snack Fun: Gluten-Free Cinnamon Chex
• Chex Mix Ingredient: Gluten-Free Rice Chex (**this is based on an impression only, no tests were performed in this category yet)

Least Favorite: Gluten-Free Corn Chex

Have you tried the Gluten-free Chex Cereals yet? What are your impressions? Which is your fav? DID YOU FIND THE CHOCOLATE??

*If you are interested in The Biggest Loser/MultiGrain Cheerios Twitter Party head over to twitter when The Biggest Loser begins tonight and follow #MGCheerios. Here is a tweet from MGCheerios, inviting all in the twitter-verse:

Join us next week when @BiggestLoserNBC airs Tues at 8 PM ET on @NBC for more ways to help become the BL at Home #BL11 #MGCheerios

Quickie Gluten Free Breakfast Options

Everyone loves a good, well thought out, planned and prepared breakfast, however, being realistic, on some busy mornings that simply can not come to fruition. Since going gluten-free, I have been finding, bit by bit, those breakfast items I can have when on the run. Here are those I try to have in stock for exactly the occasions when necessity arises:

Udi's Frozen Bagels

Before finding out about my gluten intolerance, bagels were one of my absolute favorite treats. Nothing could be more delicious than a freshly baked, warm bagel with my topping of choice. I went six months without one, thinking I would have to suffer a bagel-free existence for the rest of my life when, on New Year's Day, my brother brought in a fresh bag of bagels for everyone to enjoy. I nearly cracked and dove into one of the gluten-y beasts, when I realized this would be the thing that would kill my gluten-free resolve if I did not find a replacement AND SOON. Enter: Udi's.

I found them in the frozen section of my Stop N Shop and decided to give them a shot. Very simple - put them in the toaster, let them heat on up or toast to your liking and add the topping of choice. I have had Earth's Balance buttery spread, honey, jelly, all different types of nut butters (when looking for a little more protein in my quickie breakfast), and one morning, when I had more time on my hands, I even made myself a nice egg sandwich.

Udi's has a lot of gluten-free products to choose from and they are even nice enough to give you a coupon! Check out the Udi's Gluten-free site to get your $1 off coupon right now.
  
Gluten Free Waffles & French Toast

Don't put that toaster away yet! (These are quickie-breakfast options, don't forget.) My first ever gluten-free quickie breakfast buy was Nature's Path frozen waffles. These are quick, yummy and with the right syrup just darn delectable! I prefer the Homestyle version myself, but there are options for you to choose from (Buckwheat Wildberry or "Mesa Sunrise").


On the Nature's Path website, you can check out all the other gluten-free products available, including a number of kid-friendly bars and snacks.

Another company to take note of is Van's Natural Foods. They also have their own gluten-free waffle options (I have not yet tried them), as well as gluten-free french toast. The Cinnamon French Toast sticks smelled absolutely wonderful as they warmed up in my toaster (I am a sucker for the cinnamon scent!). While the "toast" itself seemed thinner than your average slice of bread, it was large in flavor. I will be getting these again. To see what other products Van's has to offer, or where you can buy your own French Toast, check out the Van's Natural Foods website.

Cereal!!

Nothing says you're crushed for morning time like a good old bowl of cereal. I have come to like Barbara's Gluten free Honey Rice Puffins. I usually have them with either my hazelnut milk or almond milk, but, again, this is up to your own liking (and restrictions, if you have any). You can check out Barbara's bakery's website for more information on their product offerings, coupons, recipes and even a link to their appearance in a Bon Appétit article on healthy cereals.

Barbara's is not, by far, the only gluten-free cereal on the market. (Here is an article about various gluten-free cereals from About.com.) Also, while there are many labeled gluten-free cereals, don't forget the old standbys that just may be gluten-free by default. To illustrate this point, you made have noticed the recent ad campaign by Chex cereals stating, "Hey guys! Wait a second - many of our cereals are gluten-free, too!!" The point is read ingredient labels, and, to be extra vigilant, call the company of any non-labeled cereal that you would like to try out (always double-check for possible cross-contamination if you have a sensitivity or intolerance!).

Et Cetera...

As we get swept up in doing our capitalist duty of buying packaged products from the local supermarket, let's not forget all the other gluten-free wonders on the go in the produce aisle! Please don't forget your fruits, nuts and seeds that are always ready and waiting for you to just gobble them up no matter how crunched for time you happen to be.  Most require little to no preparation (a rinse, a peeling, maybe...) so they are the quickest, cleanest breakfasts that you can find and they are gluten free! So get out there and start finding out which fruits are your favs and make sure you always have them on hand.

What is YOUR favorite breakfast on-the-go?