Archive for product reviews
Custom Choice (Create your Mix) Gluten Free Cereal-Product Review
Posted by: | CommentsI love “make your own” type stuff. I was all about the “Choose your own Adventure” books as a kid-anybody else remember those?
Custom Choice Cereal is a company headquarted in North Carolina. Hajo, one of the owner/creators is from Germany, and was inspired to create Custom Choice from a similar business in Germany based on creating your own muesli. From the Custom Choice website:
“The result of this work is Custom Choice Cereal, a company that allows celiacs and other consumers enjoying a gluten-free or wheat-free lifestyle to customize their own cereal mixes from a variety of entirely gluten-free ingredients. The idea was implemented successfully in Germany in 2007 and is very simple: through an intuitive online platform, you can choose a base mix and add any combination of your favorite dried fruits, nuts, and seeds to your cereal. Because we believe that your cereal should be as individual as you are, you can even name your mix. Custom Choice Cereal then mixes your cereal and ships it conveniently to your doorstep.
Contamination with Gluten
To ensure that all cereal mixes are entirely gluten-free and safe to consume, we carefully selected only naturally gluten-free ingredients from a broad range of suppliers. In addition, all incoming ingredients are tested for gluten and stored in our dedicated gluten- and wheat-free facility. It is our goal to completely eliminate the risk of any contamination with even traces of wheat, rye, or barley – for your safety and your well-being.”
Sounds good to me! I tend to be a creature of habit with my morning meal-I love my gluten free oatmeal, which I have with some berries and eggs cooked with spinach. But, this sounded like a great concept. When Hajo contacted me offering a sample to try, I was happy to accept.
I created a simple mix on the site, using the Good Morning flakes, dried blueberries, and sliced almonds. The site itself
is very intuitive and easy to navigate. A feature that I was very happy with is the interactive “Nutritional Facts” label on the right side of the screen. As you add/subtract ingredients, the label changes to reflect the current nutritional
breakdown of the cereal. Good stuff there-anything that allows people to be more in control and aware of what they are putting into their bodies I am all in favor for.
Nutrition Facts label on the back of the bag
Custom Choice is also an advocate for awareness of celiac disease and the gluten free lifestyle. They have an active blog, on which they post current events in the gluten free world as well as informative articles and links. Oh-and the ongoing “Quest for the Hoff” is absolutely hysterical and made me almost fall of my chair and spit my coffee onto my keyboard. I love the humor. Points for that!
So let’s get down to the nitty gritty of the cereal.
As I mentioned, I made a simple mix to test it out. There are many options for add ins, as well as 3 choices of bases for your cereal. As always, I am looking for the most “nutritional bang for the caloric buck.” You can choose to add as much or as little of the “add-ons” as you like.
The Good Morning flakes that I chose as my base are very similar to Mesa Sunrise cereal, if you have tried that. They are corn flakes woth buckwheat, amaranth, flax and quinoa. The blueberries and almonds are self explanatory. The cereal tasted wonderful-the blueberries gave plenty of sweetness without a bunch of unnecessary sugar. The almonds give a nice crunch and a bit of healthy fat to slow digestion a bit. The blueberries also were really plump and moist for being dried-not the hard little berries I’ve had in the past.
The cereal comes in a resealable plastic sack, which is sturdy. It also stands up in the cabinet like a box would.
The nutritional facts for my “Gluten Free Fitness” mix were as follows:
per 30 gram serving (11 servings per bag)
Calories: 123
Protein: 3 grams
Carbohydrate: 23 grams 3 of which are fiber, 5 of which are sugar (from the berries)
Fat: 2.5 grams
I would definitely recommend adding some protein to make this a complete meal-you could mix it with greek yogurt (yum!) or have it along with some eggs/egg whites, or some cottage cheese, or whatever protein source you choose.
All in all, a great product along with a great company. Many thanks to Hajo and the gang for their work. To order your cereal, click here.
For more information on setting up a nutritious gluten free eating plan, click here. And if you missed the Gluten Free and Fit 101 “class”, check it out here. Stay tuned for more information on specialized GFF “classes.”
What’s your favorite cereal? Have you tried Custom Choice? More importantly, have you read the Choose Your Own Adventure books? (I keed, I keed. 
Gluten Free Snack Product Review-Zing Bars
Posted by: | CommentsShockingly, the time has come.
There is actually a nutrition bar that has a quality ingredient list, positive nutritional profile, and really good taste.
Did I mention how good they taste?
It’s AmaZing! (That’s actually part of the compant tagline, I can’t take credit for being that creative.)
Zing bars were created by a team of nutritionists who were unable to find a bar they liked enough to recommend to their patients. So, they created their own. I am so glad they did that!
From the Zing Bar website “We could create our own all-natural nutrition bar. Our take on the perfect snack. A bar with everything we wanted it to have, and nothing we didn’t. A healthy balance of carbs, protein and beneficial fats, but no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. No trans fats, synthetic vitamins, or allergy-aggravating gluten, wheat or
soy protein.”
The Zing Bars come in 5 flavors: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cranberry Orange, Almond Blueberry, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. All flavors are gluten free, and the peanut butter chocolate chip and cranberry orange flavors are also dairy free.
Protein sources in the bars are rice protein, whey (in the bars which contain dairy) and a bit from nut butters and nuts.
The fats come primarily from the aforementioned nuts and nut butters. Carbohydrate sources (dependent on flavor) are from fruits (blueberry, cranberry, apples,) brown rice crisps, gluten free oats, Fruitrim, and agave or brown rice syrup.
Fruitrim (R) is a liquid, carbohydrate-based ingredient formed from fruit juice and dextrin is helps the bars retain moisture and extends shelf life. The bars also contain inulin/chicory root for a bit of added fiber.
The nutritional profile is similar for all flavors, but does vary a bit, so here’s a basic idea:
1 bar:
210 calories
25 grams of carbohydrate which includes 4 grams of fiber
9 grams of fat
11 grams of protein
The taste.
I was admittedly floored when I tasted these. They are moist, have chunks of whatever is appropriate to the flavor (blueberries, almonds, chocolate, etc.) and are plenty sweet without being overly sweet. The Chocolate peanut butter flavor has a chocolate coating, which was a pleasant surprise. Given that, this is the one flavor that has melting potential, so keep that in mind if you leave one or two in your glove box for “emergencies.” (Yes, I do that. I get really irritated when I get hungry, and having something available is best for everyone in the state.) I didn’t get to try the Cranberry Orange-I handed it to Jeff, because he’s big fan of that flavor combo. He tried it, said “Wow. This is really good.” And ate the whole thing. His feedback was-”really moist, and lots of flavor, lots of cranberries.” This is from a gluten-eater. I am a chocolate hound, as you guys have heard me say before, and the Almond Blueberry I liked just as much as the chocolate flavors. They are that good.
This would make a good between meal snack, something convenient to keep in a purse or backpack in case hunger strikes. (I also give some other ideas in my “Top 10 portable gluten free snacks” post.) It would even make for a good pre or post workout snack, although the fat is a tad high for that purpose. These would be perfect to keep on hand for your kids-a much healthier choice than a couple of cookies. I will be taking them on our road trip to Tennessee, and out with us when we go hiking-the mix of protein, carbs and fat is perfect for giving some sustained release of nutrition.
These are a great option. Thank you to Stacey for sending me each flavor to sample.
The folks at ZingBars have given the Gluten Free Fitness community a discount code, which is for $10 off a box of 12 bars, and there is no limit to how many boxes you can purchase with the $10 off. However, it expires on 2/28/10.
The discount code is “gffitness” You can order online here.
Let me know your thoughts on the bars in the comments below. Have you tried them? Favorite flavor?
Also, if you’d like more free information on setting up a healthy gluten free nutrition plan click here.
Texas De Brazil-Gluten Free Restaurant Review at the Gluten Free Post
Posted by: | Comments
The parade of meat...
I have a guest post restaurant review up over at the Gluten Free Post. Thanks Jay! Click here to read the review of Texas De Brazil-gluten free style.
Gluten Free Snack Product Review-Boomi and Prana Bars
Posted by: | CommentsLiving gluten free can sometimes prove challenging to having “grab and go” type snacks. I did go over a few of my favorites in my “top 10 portable gluten free snack” article. However, I know sometimes the urge to snatch a prepackaged treat off the shelf can hit. For those occasions, the folks at Divine Foods present the Boomi and Prana bars.
Jessica at Divine Foods very kindly sent me 2 complimentary bars to review: the Prana Bar in coconut Acai flavor, and the Boomi Bar in Cashew Almond.
The bars claim to fame is that they are 100% natural, and both are gluten free.
They are slightly different in composition, texture and ingredient.
Boomi Bar: per the label: Gluten Free “Energy Bar”
Ingredients: Almonds, Cashews, Honey, Dates, crisped Rice, puffed amaranth, and salt.
Nutrition facts: 260 calories, 14 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbs (1 fiber) and 8 grams of protein.
The Boomi bar has a chunky nutty flavor which I like. Akin to the Kind bar in the sense of big chunks. It is VERY sweet. And I like sweet. This was almost too sweet for me, and that’s hard to do. I like the ingredients, and I really wanted to like these bars. I think the theory is great. But in practice, I see this more of a treat kind of bar. “Energy” bar-yes, in the sense that you’re getting calories, and being as there is no actual definition for “energy bar” I see no problem with that. It contains healthful ingredients, but don’t think this is like having an apple. This is very calorie dense for the size-eating one goes very quickly. I can see having this as a treat with a cup of coffee, or maybe for kids before/after sports to get some quick and easy calories in.
The Prana bar : per the label: Organic “Energy” bar
Ingredients: organic almond butter, organic agave nectar, organic date paste, organic dried coconut, organic almonds, organic raisins, organic puffed amaranth, organic acai dry powder, sea salt.
Nutrition facts: 220 calories, 13 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbs (3 fiber) and 4 grams of protein.
The Prana bar has a much more smooth and chewy texture, no big chunks. It did have some coconut texture. Again, very, very sweet. I was a little turned off right away by the fact that they were jumping on the ACAI SUPERFOOD ZOMG! bandwagon, especially seeing as it is the second to last ingredient. Call me skeptical. As far as the agave goes, again this seems to be a “hot” ingredient right now, and almost as controversial as it is popular. Check out this great article by Tamara Duker on the agave dust-up.
Overall, I think these have their place as a TREAT. I would not consider them a meal replacement by any stretch of the imagination. Think of them as a slightly healthier version of a candy bar.
For more free information on how something like this may fit into your overall nutrition plan, click here.
Have you tried these bars? What was your opinion?
Ah, protein powder. The words that polarize, the food product that can be a sweet treat, or a necessary evil. I have used many different brands and flavors of protein powder over the years, with varying results. Some have been great, others have had me struggling to reach the bottom of the canister. (Yet I refuse to throw it away. The stuff can be expensive!)
Personally, I am a celiac without dairy issues. So I have used whey and casein protein powders. Whey is generally considered the standard as far as peri-workout nutrition. It is quickly digested and has a high level of amino acids which assist in the recovery process. Casein is used as a slower digesting protein that can be used in conjunction with whey, or by itself, many times prior to bed (think cottage cheese.)
However, I know many of you cannot tolerate dairy, or choose to follow a vegan diet. And off I went in an attempt to find some protein powders that fit the bill.
There are 5 main types of non-dairy protein powder options that I am aware of. Egg/egg white, soy, hemp, rice, and gemma (pea.) In my previous post Gluten Free Dairy Free Protein Powders 101, I covered some of the characteristics of each of these.
When I last ordered from True Protein, I ordered tubs of rice protein and gemma to try. There are several companies that produce these protein powders. Jay Robb seems to be a popular maker of rice and egg protein, Sunwarrior makes a sprouted rice protein powder, Nutribiotics, Olympian Labs makes a pea protein, and Nutiva a hemp. This is just a sampling, I am sure there are more-if you are aware or have a favorite, shoot a comment below.
True Protein
True Protein is a company that allows you to create custom protein mixes, and they also sell pre-made protein mixes,and various vitamins and supplements. From their website “Our Goal… To create a following and customer base in the athletic, fitness, bodybuilding and health world not on fancy marketing schemes but purely on a reputation as the company to go to, to find the highest quality nutritional supplements known to the public.” I have ordered from True Protein for several years and have been very pleased with their products and services in the past. They do not have fancy labels or packaging, everything is very simply marked with black and white labels, and minimally packaged. In fact you can have your powders sent in a food grade bag if you already have a canister to put it in. (Although transferring the powder can be a bit of a nightmare-but that’s another story for another day.) When it came time to try these new proteins (new to me) I chose to purchase them from True Protein. They also do carry the egg white, soy, and hemp protein powder. The rice and gemma powders that I tried are non-GMO.
From the True Protein FAQ:
“I am allergic to Wheat Gluten. Which of your products contain Wheat or Wheat Gluten?
None of our protein, carbohydrate, or flavoring materials will contain any form of wheat or wheat gluten. The only product that contains wheat gluten will be our Glutamine Peptides, which is maintained in an isolated storage unit within our clean oom facility to remove any risk of cross-contamination. Wheat gluten products are manufactured within our facility.”
Just to be certain, I contacted Carl at True Protein. This was his response (within 24 hours of when the email was sent): “The only item we carry that will contain even trace elements of Gluten will be the Glutamine Peptides and any custom product selected using that ingredient. We follow strict GMPs that have been designed using ISO9001 guidelines, with 0% chance for cross contamination within our facility. Thanks again and please dont hesitate to contact us with any additional questions or requests.” (Erin’s note-GMP=good manufacturing practices)
OK, on to the taste review!
I bought the premium dutch chocolate fudge flavor in both the rice and gemma, as I have had this flavor in whey isolate and thus a baseline for comparison. I mixed just with cold water in a shaker bottle. Keeping in mind that everyone’s tastes a bit different-here are my thoughts:
Gemma
-Mixes easily
-Thicker in consistency-you may need to use a bit more water. I liked it, because making protein powder into a pudding” is a favorite way of mine to combat the sweet tooth. Especially at night time. Blending half a scoop of this with some cottage cheese, stevia and cacao powder gives me my “chocolate pudding” fix
-Slight nutty flavor, not unpleasant at all
Rice
-Slightly tougher to mix, takes some vigorous shaking
-A bit chalky in texture-feels like it coats your teeth a bit
-Thinner consistency, more like whey isolate
One comment about the appearance of both-the brown is kind of a light brownish, not terrible visually appealing. Don’t let that fool you though, the chocolate flavor is definitely there.
Overall, both of these are very pleasant and will be in my protein powder rotation.
If you would like to order from True Protein, feel free to get 5% off using coupon code ENE038. If you buy using this code, it also adds points to my account and eventually I can earn free protein. Of course you can also order without using that code.
For more specific information on setting up a healthy gluten free nutrition plan, sign up below for my free guideline.
Have you tried any of these proteins? What has been your experience, good or bad? Specific brands and/or flavors you like? Share ‘em!! Leave a comment below!
Gluten Free Sports Supplement Review-Vega Whole Food Energy Bar-Chocolate Flavor
Posted by: | CommentsI was lucky enough to find these bars in my local Whole Foods. I was very excited to give them a try, as they are vegan, and so not just gluten free, but dairy free as well. From the MyVega website “Vega bars contain no refined sugars or oils, artificial flavors, gluten or soy; and are GMO and pesticide-free.” Off to a good start there. My friend Kelly had good things to report on their Sport Performance Optimizer which you can check out by clicking here.
The ingredients in the chocolate flavor (the one I tried, of course-did you really think I would have bought the berry flavor?) are as follows:
Dates, hemp protein, organic sprouted whole flax seeds, almond butter, agave nectar, almonds, coconut, cocoa powder, sesame seeds, raisins, organic sprouted mung beans, organic wheat grass, natural chocolate flavor, lemon juice, organic dulse.
Excellent-all recognizable words.
Nutrition facts for the bar look good as well. 1 bar provides the following nutrition value:
-240 calories which include
-10 grams of fat (hemp protein has a naturally higher fat content, and fat also comes from the almond butter, flax and
sesame seeds, and the almonds.)
-30 grams of carbohydrate (which includes 6 grams of fiber)
-10 grams of protein
In addition, the Vega bars are made from raw foods. From the MyVega website:”Unlike traditional cooked and processed bars, Vega bars are 100% raw, alkaline and enzymatically alive, requiring less energy to digest and providing a greater net energy gain. An ideal snack for people on the go, Vega bars provide high quality convenient nutrition without compromises.”
I excitedly buy the bar, wait until I get in the car to tear into the wrapper to try it….
I personally am not a fan of the taste.
It has a chewy texture, not unpleasant. Similar to a Larabar without the chunkies. The flavor is a a bit bitter-chocolate, like cacao nibs if you have tried those. What I didn’t like was a faint “slimy” for lack of a better word aftertaste-effect. I’m guessing that could be from the dulse (a very nutrient-rich seaweed.)
Don’t let my opinion stop you from giving these a try though. They are a bit expensive in my point of view, it was 3.29 for 1 bar. If you are intolerant to dairy, this may be a convenient option to keep in a bag or purse. The nutrition profile and ingredients are pretty stellar for a commercially produced product. Try for yourself and see what you think.
I also have some rice protein powder and gemma (pea) protein powder on the way, so I’ll be experimenting with those in homemade protein bars in recipes soon. I’ll post up my experiments that aren’t “baking fails.” (Had 1 yesterday. It was ugly. REALLY dry protein brownie sawdust.)
For more detailed explanation on gluten free healthy “diet” guidelines, sign up below this post for my free outline. I did record the audio companion, but I will be re-recording that before I release it. I still have stuffy head and it’s definitely reflected in my voice.
Podcast will be beginning in January, so shoot me an email, a comment, a tweet, or hit up the contact page with any questions you’d like me to answer!
Gluten Free Sports Supplement Review-Vega Sport Performance Optimizer
Posted by: | CommentsMy friend Kelly (who’s Gluten Free Athlete Profile you can read here) emailed me the other day that a Spinning (TM) student of hers had given her a packet of Vega Sport Performance Optimizer. This product is gluten, dairy, and soy free-and so we were intrigued. The Vega company was founded by Brendan Brazier, who is a profession Ironman triathlete and also a vegan. The Vega product line included the aforementioned sports optimizer, as well as a protein/meal replacement type shake, a smoothie mix, an EFA oil blend, and 2 types of bars. I vaguely think that I have seen at least one of the bars in Whole Foods, and will be checking into that today. All of the Vega products are made of plant based whole foods, and Vega is free of most common allergens including artificial sweeteners, corn, dairy, gluten, soy, wheat and yeast. Hooray!!
Vega Sport
Kelly was kind enough to send me her review of the Lemon-Lime flavor of the Sport Performance Optimizer, which I will provide you with in a second. But first-a look at the nutrition.
Here are the nutrition facts from the label:
Per 1 serving (18g):
Calories 70, Fat 0.5g (1%), Saturated 0g + Trans 0g,Cholesterol 0mg, Carbohydrate 16g (5%), Fiber 1g (4%),Sugars 12g, Protein 0g, Vitamin A (8%), Vitamin C (4%), Calcium (2%), Iron (4%).
So taking a quick look I see some fast acting carbohydrates (the sugars) which could certainly help give you a boost for your training session.
Here are the ingredients:(they have them listed as “”medicinal” and “non-medicinal”
Medicinal: Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera) seed, 500 mg; Kombucha(fermented Camellia sinensis) leaf, 500mg; Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) leaf, 167 mg; Green Tea (Camellia sinensis)leaf, 100 mg; Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) root [3% rosavin],
100mg; Ginseng (Panax ginseng) root [4% ginsenosides],100 mg; Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) root,
150 mg; Turmeric (Curcuma longa) root [95% curcuminoids],53 mg; Ginger (Zingiber officinale) root [5% gingerlos), 10
mg; Sodium (Sodium citrate), 57.5 mg; Potassium (Potassium citrate), 50 mg.
Non-medicinal: Organic sprouted whole grain brown rice syrup, organic palm nectar,beta carotene, organic spinach leaf, natural lemon flavor,natural lime flavor, citric and malic acid.
So let’s do a little explanation as some of those may be unfamiliar.
Although Coconut Oil is listed as the first ingredient, it can’t be too much as the fat content is only .5 grams. Kombucha is a component of fermented green tea that may potentially boost immune function. Yerba Mate is a tea, as is the green tea. This will give a little caffeine, although not much as Yerba is caffeine free. Rhodiola is an “adaptogen” which may help with recovery. I like the sodium and potassium, this will help with electolyte balance.
You’re getting your sugars from the brown rice syrup and palm nectar.
So ingredients look pretty good, nutrition is fine if you are looking for a quick energy (sugar) boost pre-workout. The digestion rates of the two carbohydrates are reported to be both fast and long acting.
Here’s Kelly’s review:
“I tried the Vega Sport Natural Plant-based Performance Optimizer this morning. I am pleased to report that I did not suffer any adverse (GI) effects which would have made themselves known in the first 20-30 minutes after taking it. Here was my experience. This product mixes well with water leaving only a few clumps at the bottom of the glass which will stir out easily. It emits a pleasant lemon smell, but its appearance is a bit off-putting. It’s an odd murky-brownish color, but it does have red beets as an ingredient among other things. There are not chemical additives that will require online research to find out what the heck it is before you drink it. Appearance aside, the taste was not nearly as strong as the lemon scent and I found it to be a very pleasant, smooth, lemon iced tea sort of flavor. It is certainly one of the best-tasting supplements I’ve used that have been plant based. I wasn’t sure about how much energy it might deliver compared to something like WTF Pump’d (an ALRI product) or another nitric oxide releaser, but it it packs a solid wallop in the energy department. I used it as a pre-workout supplement and proceeded with my workout as normal. I would certainly use this product again, and do intend to make a little visit to Nature’s Bin tonight to see if they happen to still have any in stock. I now know why this stuff sells out in the blink of an eye!”
So there you go folks. And Kelly is a trustworthy reviewer 
The Vega product line certainly seems very promising for those with multiple food allergies, or those who choose plant based nutrition. I will certainly be checking them out more closely.
Have any of you used Vega? What did you think? Post up in the comments! Also, if you would like to be a guest reviewer please contact me and let me know, or if you are interested in being profiled as a Gluten Free Athlete.
As always-for help in negotiating the minefield of nutrition information, please sign up for my free nutrition guide below.
I’m off to Whole Foods to look for Vega!
Product Review-Kay’s Better Balance Gluten Free Cinnamon Toast Pretzel Sticks
Posted by: | CommentsI was placing an order online for some assorted and sundry stuff-vitamins, tea, fish oil, etc and happened to see an offer for a single pack of these pretzel sticks. It seemed like a good opportunity to give them a low-commitment try-so I did.
I chose the Cinnamon Toast flavor because I’m a sweets girl. Given an option between a salty or sweet snack-I’m going for sweet every time. They do also come in an original pretzel variety for you salty people. (Salty tastes, not salty attitude. But for those with salty attitude as well.
First off, these do contain soy protein. So if you are intolerant to soy, unfortunately these are no go for you. Sometimes soy gets my tummy too, but these seemed fine.
The single serving pack contained a healthy amount of pretzels, and had a good nutrition profile.
1 bag is 1.5 servings, so be aware of that when you calculate your numbers.
In 1 oz of pretzels was 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbohydrate of which 3 were fiber, and 10 grams of protein (from soy.)
Ingredients are all pronounceable and recognizable.
These were very crunchy, which is a good thing with pretzels. There was a touch of salt, which made the perfect salt/sweet combo. They had a good strong cinnamon flavor.
All in all, I would purchase these again. I’d like to try to original pretzels and see how they stack up to how I remember pretzels.
As far as fitting these into a healthy diet, I’d keep them as an occasional treat. They’d be great for serving at a party. Nutritionally, there’s not a ton of bang for the caloric buck as far as vitamins/minerals and micronutrients-and that’s why I’d keep them occasional. After all-processed food with a fairly low bang for buck value is still processed food-gluten free or not.
And actually, I read a great blog post yesterday on the True Nourishment blog that addressed some of the issues with processed gluten free foods. I found it interesting, and you can read the article “Gluten-Free: The New Junk” and decide what you think. I touched on my thoughts a bit in my post last week “Beyond the Gluten Free Label.”
As always-please leave your feedback and comments! Have you tried the Kay’s products and if so what did you think? What are your feelings on gluten free goodies?
If you would like more information on nutritional guidelines for your gluten free diet, (it’s free!) sign up below to have access to my free information. And I’d like to hear your thoughts on that as well! (I know, I know, my family always said I wanted it all…)
Product Review-Jessica’s Natural Foods Gluten Free Granola
Posted by: | CommentsJay at the Gluten Free Post was kind enough to refer Jessica to me. As a lover of food and health, they thought it would
be appropriate to give this a go. Jessica sent me samples of all 3 flavors to try. And they are GOOD! But allow me to step back a bit…
Jessica's Natural Foods Gluten Free Granola
Jessica’s Natural Foods offers 3 flavors of gluten free granola. They are made with certified gluten free oats and oat flour, and other naturally gluten free foods such as ground flax, coconut, honey, maple syrup, vanilla, and nuts, dried cherries, and chocolate chips. The products are baked in a designated gluten free area using dedicated gluten-free equipment. They are manufactured in a facility that processes eggs, soy, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts. The vanilla maple and almond cherry flavors contain tree nuts, and the chocolate chip flavor contains tree nuts and soy ingredients. There are no artificial flavors/colors/trans fats.
Looking at the ingredient list on all the flavors, there are all words you will understand and your great great grandma would have recognized as food. The nutrition facts are essentially similar and quite good for all 3 flavors:
for 1 serving, which is 30 grams or 1/4 cup:
130 calories
6-7 grams of fat
16 grams of carbohydrate 2 of which are fiber and 4-5 of which are sugar
3 grams of protein.
This could be a nice topping to some greek yogurt for breakfast, or even some egg whites (they can be sweet as
well as savory, you know.) They also can be eaten out of hand as a snack, or in rice/moo cow/goat/soy/almond whatever milk suits your fancy. I would definitely recommend NOT eating directly from the bag. This is fairly nutrient dense, and 1/4 cup is not a lot. This tastes so good, it would be very easy to eat 5-6 servings without thinking twice about it. And
then you’re looking at 600 calories you weren’t expecting. That’s a big whoops. So eat and enjoy, just be mindful of you
portion size.
Now-the good stuff. The taste. The flavor. The textures.
Chocolate Chip-this one is my favorite because anything with chocolate generally wins in my book. The chips are plentiful, but not to where they overpower the rest of the granola. There are great chunks of granola, well incorporated with all the ingredients.
Cherry Almond-I love cherries, and I admit that I went spelunking in the bag to retrieve some the the dried cherries. There are chunks of almond as well, and good spicing with cinnamon.
Vanilla Maple-Love the maple flavor. This was really well balanced, the maple flavor was forward but not overwhelming.
All 3 of these flavors were winners and I will buy them in the future. The granola does have some chunkiness to it, which
was a plus for me. I don’t like the granolas that are all broken up in dust. Nutritionally these are a sound addition to your diet repetiore, and provide some healthy fats and complex carbs with minimal sugars. I would add a protein source to create a complete snack or meal. And definitely, as I mentioned, measure out your portion. If you don’t think measuring is important, take a look at this video. (For more ideas on putting together a nutrition plan sign up below for my free guideline.)
Please visit Jessica’s Natural Foods website for more information and how to order. She is offering a special “gluten free granola sampler pack” for which you can try all 3 flavors. Give them a try!
Let me know your feedback in the comments! Get crunching!
Gluten Free Sports Supplements-Labrada Nutrition
Posted by: | CommentsI contacted Labrada Nutrition to about their gluten free products. Now I will say that this means, in this context, that the products are not certified gluten free, but that there are no gluten containing ingredients, and that best manufacturing principles have been followed. This does not mean that dedicated equipment has been used. So-as I always say, get the facts, then make an informed decision for yourself.
Labrada Nutrition
Having said that, the representative I corresponded with were wonderful. Dave Ramirez answered all of my many questions, and provided me with products to review.
There are a few Labrada products that DO contain gluten. The ones that contain gluten are:
-Lean Body Breakfast Shake
-All bars (see, another reason to make homemade bars)
-GlutaLean Plus-this was my decision to add this one. It contains glutamine peptides, which are derived from wheat. I have had adverse reactions in the past to these, so I added this product to the glutinous list. They also have a product which is GlutaLean (not Plus) which contains only L-glutamine, not glutamine peptides, and would be safe. I will bve doing an article on glutamine soon, as it can have some gut-health benefits but seems to be a bit controversial.
I received 3 products to review:
Carb Watchers Lean Body protein shake in Peanut Butter Chocolate
Elasti-Joint Joint Support Formula
Pro V-60 multipurpose protein blend in Chocolate Ice Cream
-Carb Watchers Lean Body-This comes in premeasured packets, so it’s convenient to take with you if you’re on the run, or even leave a few in your car or in your purse “in case of emergency.”
Nutrition wise, one packet contains 250 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbohydrate (4 of fiber), and 40 grams of
protein. For me, I only used half a packet at at time. The protein source is a blend of whey and soy proteins. The fat comes from sunflower, MCT, and flaxseed oil. The carbohydrates from Fibersol Fiber, oat flour and rice bran. Here’s a concern. There could have been cross-contamination there, in the ingredients before they even got to Labrada. I can tell you that I had no apparent adverse reaction-but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Sweetener is acesulfame potassium and sucralose, which I can handle OK in small doses. Really the only place I get sweeteners other than stevia is in my protein powders. Obvious allergens are soy and milk.
Taste-wise, it was very sweet. That’s OK for me, because generally I use protein powders to help satisfy my sweet tooth. For this flavor, the peanut butter was very subtle. The flavor was primarily chocolate. The texture was good, a little thicker than a straight up isolate due to the protein blend, carbs and fat added.
Overall, I have concerns about this truly being gluten free and would proceed with caution. I need to look into a device
to test for gluten-isn’t that out there somewhere? However, setting that aside, this is a good general purpose use product that tastes good.
-ElastiJoint Joint Support Formula-If you have read my About page, you know I’ve had multiple knee surgeries on both sides. (4 on the left and 2 on the right, to be exact.) I am always trying to find a good joint support formula. I had read great reviews about this product, and was very excited to try it. I gave it 3 weeks of use. I also want to preface this by saying I have used glucosamine and chondroitin products in the past without benefit. I may be a non-responder, but I wanted to give this a shot because it did also contain MSM, Vitamin C and gelatin. Worth a whirl. I am sorry to report that I did not notice a benefit. Again-this may be me, and others may find differently. The product contains 2000 mg of MSM, 5000 mg of gelatin, 1500 mg of glucosamine sulfate, and 1200 mg of chondroitin sulfate. The glucosamine is derived from shellfish. This is also processed on equipment that also processes wheat, peanut, tree nut, sesame, and shellfish. Again-good manufacturing processes with cleaning equipment-but caveat emptor. The taste was drinkable, it was fruit punch, and I would recommend not sipping it, just drink it.
-Pro V60 Protein Blend-Chocolate Ice Cream-This is good stuff. It does not have added carbohydrate ot fat sources like the Carb Watchers Lean Body shake, just the tagalongs that occur in the proteins. It uses a 5 protein blend-whey protein concentrate, egg protein, calcium caseinate, and 2 types of filtered whey protein isolate. Allergens are milk, egg and soy (lecithin.) Sweeteners are acesulfame potassium and sucralose again.
Nutrition wise, 1 scoop contains 160 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrate, and 30 grams of protein. Due to the protein blend, this would be a more slowly digesting protein source as opposed to like a whey isolate. I also find
protein blends tend to bake better, like to use in homemade protein bars. The taste of this protein is phenomenal-even my incredibly picky fiance likes it. It has a nice consistency, is again pretty sweet, and has a rich flavor. Last night I mixed it with enough water to make a brownie batter consistency and nuked it for 40 seconds. Voila-protein brownie. Great way to curb the sweet tooth and keep it healthy.
Overall, Labrada was very helpful and responded quickly to my questions, so thank you very much.
For more information on Labrada products, please visit them at their website www.labrada.com.
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Go forth and have a healthy day!
