Be Free For Me Blog

Question:
I like to eat cereal for breakfast but now that I am on a gluten-free diet I have to give up so many of my favorite ones. Can you offer some suggestions?

Answer:

Cereals made with wheat, barley, barley malt extract, barley malt flavoring, or rye are off limits since they all contain gluten. Also,  regular oats are not allowed since they are frequently cross-contaminated with gluten.  But thankfully for everyone on a gluten-free diet there is now a wide variety of  tasty cold and hot gluten-free cereals on the market. It used to be that you could only find these products in health food stores but now more gluten-free cereals are showing up on the shelves of grocery stores. They are also available online from gluten-free specialty stores like glutenfreemall.com, glutenfree.com, glutensolutions.com, as well as a wide variety on Amazon.com or direct from the manufacturer.

Gluten-Free Ingredients
Cereals that are gluten-free and also nutritious can be made from grains such as brown rice, white rice, corn, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, sorghum, teff and pure uncontaminated oats. Some may also contain nuts; seeds (e.g., flax, chia, sesame); dried fruits (e.g., raisins, cranberries, apples); or pulse flours (e.g., yellow pea flour).

Pure Uncontaminated Oats
These specialty oats have been grown on fields where wheat, rye or barley have not been grown for a number of years.  They also have  been harvested with dedicated equipment,  processed in dedicated facilities and have  been tested for gluten using very sensitive ELISA tests. The following companies produce these specialty gluten-free oats:
www.avenafoods.com
www.bobsredmill.com
www.creamhillestates.com
www.glutenfreeoats.com
www.giftsofnature.net
www.mtmonstermunchies.com

To find out even more information on gluten-free oats see my website:  http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/about_gf.php

Focus on Nutrition!
When choosing a gluten-free cereal read the ingredient list and nutrition facts table.  Look for cereals that are low in sugar, sodium, fat and calories; are high in fiber; contains whole grains and are enriched with iron and B vitamins.  Want to see how your favorite gluten-free cereal measures up? Check out my detailed charts comparing various gluten-free cereals on the market in the USA and Canada.

US Chart: http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/img/allergliv-summer2011usa.pdf

Canadian Chart: http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/img/allergliv-summer2011canada.pdf

Learn more about whole grains in my free handout called Whole Grains and the Gluten-Free Diet that offers nutrition information, cooking instructions, tips and recipes.

Gluten-Free Product Listing
I have over 3100 gluten-free products listed by company name, product name and package size in my book Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide. In addition to all the products, there is detailed information about the diet including foods allowed and to avoid, meal plans, recipes, cooking hints and substitutions, nutrition information and practical strategies for healthy gluten-free living, a directory of more than 270 companies, resources and much more! See the table of contents at http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/toc.php and you can order the book directly at http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/orderCurrency.php or on Amazon.com.

Shakes, Fruits, Yogurt… and More!
If you are looking for some new breakfast ideas that are both tasty and gluten-free, see these ideas. Some of the breakfast ideas are perfect for “eating on the run” for those that don’t have time for preparing breakfast.