In pursuit of finding gluten free options for supplements and vitamins, I came across Rockwell Nutrition.

Rockwell Nutrition is a company that is owned and run by nutritionists and dietitians.  This is something that is unique in the supplement industry.  The company offers consulting in combination with products, so their customers can choose the proper products that will help them the most.

When I contacted Annika,  the owner, she responded quickly to all my questions.  The company does not make and manufacturer their own supplements, they act as a reseller for brands and products that they have researched and believe are the best for their customers.

The website is easy to navigate, and there is a menu which separates products by type and also by health concern.  You can also simply type “gluten free” into the search bar and the appropriate products are shown.

Another feature that I liked about this company is that you can purchase multiple types of supplements and vitamins all at one site.  For example, I ordered protein powders, a multivitamin, and a probiotic supplement.

They carry the 6 supplements that I think everyone could benefit from-a multivitamin, fish oil, creatine monohydrate, probiotics, Vitamin D, and protein powder.  (I’ll expand on why I think these are important in an upcoming article.)

They also provide extensive dairy free options.

The products I’m reviewing are a combination of ones I purchased, and a few complimentary samples that Annika and Julie were kind enough to send.

Multivitamin:

Multi (Twice Daily) by Designs For Health

What can you really say about a multivitamin?  It’s a capsule, I take it.  I believe in a multivitamin just to cover any nutritional gaps we may have.  This is iron free as well.  I add calcium/magnesium and more Vitamin D, but this is a good starting point.

Probiotics:

HLC Maintenance caps by Pharmax

This was the product I chose.  I have no significant GI issues at this time, and this seemed the proper choice for me.  This particular product ” is the product of choice for the reasonably healthy individual who does not have a particularly stressful lifestyle.

• HLC organisms successfully used in clinical trial
• Most suitable product in HLC range for maintenance of already-balanced flora
• 1 billion viable Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum organisms and 250mg FOS per capsule
• Virtually 100% survival through stomach”

There are other products available which could be used if a “stronger” probiotic is needed.  I would recommend speaking with one of their staff to decipher which one would be most appropriate for you.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Protein Powders

Clinical Metacore Organic Multi Care Meal

-I tried the Cacao Bean and Berry Vanilla flavors.  This product is marked as a “meal replacement” but I would definitely not consider it a meal replacement.  It is a hemp protein and fiber blend.  It has a very high amount of fiber (13 grams!) per serving, which is phenomenal, but should be transitioned to gradually if your diet is a bit low in fiber.  It has 5 grams of protein, which in my eyes is not enough to qualify as a protein supplement or meal replacement.  This would be great mixed with some additional protein, or as an addition to a small whole foods meal.   Per the description:

• Contains 14 grams fiber, 5g hemp protein, 3 billion probiotics, 1.3g Omegas, and multivitamin.
• Guaranteed to be Free of:  Gluten, Corn, Dairy & Artificial Ingredients

My assessment: This had a mild chocolate flavor, the berry flavor was stronger but pleasant.  Texture was slightly gritty.  Required a good bit of shaking to mix (I used water.)  Moderate thickness.  Definite aftertaste-not sure which ingredient is responsible for that.  Overall, not unpleasant.  Good source of nutrition, you just may need a water chaser.

Paleocleanse

I am not an advocate of “cleanses.”  I feel that following a varied and healthful diet provides your body with nutrients you need, and our bodies and livers are amazing at cleansing ourselves.   Of course, I understand that some people may wish to cleanse, which is an individual decision.  As always, get educated and make an informed and independent decision.  Be that as it may, this product appears to be designed to be used in conjunction with a “cleanse,” so you may find it helpful it you choose to go that route.
It is listed as being a blend of rice and pea protein, but I could not find nutritional specs.

My assessment:

This was unflavored, I think, and tasteless.  It has an unappealing color and smell, so if you choose to use it I would definitely mix it with something.  This also had an aftertaste and was gritty in texture.

Rice Protein Concentrate by Biogenesis Nutraceuticals

-This is a non-GMO brown rice protein.  I tried the unflavored, which is nice if you want to make your own gluten free and dairy free protein bars.

• Each scoop contains:
  
• 110 calories with 1 gram of fat
  
• 15 grams of protein
  
• 11 grams of carbohydrate (2 of which are fiber)

This mixed easily.  It also had a smoother texture than the rice protein that I reviewed from True Protein.  It did have slight grittiness.

Gluten Free but Not Dairy Free:

Paleomeal Organic Whey Protein

-This product has a unique production process in the world of whey protein.  According to the product information, “The fresh milk is heated once. It is pasteurized at 63 degrees C for 30 minutes. It is a low temperature method and unique in that it is not used by commercial dairies as it is very expensive to produce a finished product using this method. There is no heating to the liquid whey or whey protein powder. The milk and liquid whey are not exposed to acid or alkali treatment. The filtration method is proprietary information.

Proserum is produced using proprietary filtration and drying which involves the minimum amount of processing. We do not use cross-flow filtration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, hydrolyzation or ion exchange because these methods denature the original, native proteins.”

I have not researched the manufacturing of whey to know if this makes a significant difference.

• Each scoop contains:
• 95 calories
• 1.5 grams of fat
• 17 grams of protein
• 3 grams of carbs

My assessment: I tried both the chocolate and the unsweetened vanilla flavor.  The chocolate is flavored with xylitol, a sugar alcohol, and stevia.

I really liked the chocolate flavor.  It had a rich chocolate, almost a chocolate malt flavor.  It mixed easily and had a thinner consistency, as expected for a whey protein.  The vanilla was very bland-again that could be a plus if used in a recipe.

Overall:

I very much liked the customer service and products provided by this company.  This is only a very small sample of the gluten and dairy free products they provide.  They also offer rewards points on your purchases.  I am happy to be an affiliate for them and support them.  If you choose to order and do so through one of the links on the banner, you will be helping  me continue to keep the blog going.

If you need some more information on setting up a healthy gluten free life, check out my free (gluten free!) nutrition guide.  Keep an eye out for the Gluten Free Healthy Tips project…it’s almost done!

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I 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.

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