Fruity Pebbles

I recently noticed that Post's Fruity Pebbles cereal was advertising that it's gluten free.  On a lark, I decided to read the rest of the ingredients.  I thought it would be dairy free, but, never in a million years did I expect that it would also be corn free, but, as I read on, I was happily surprised to find that the cereal seemed to be safe for me to eat.  I wanted to be 100% sure, though, so I sent an email to Post to ask for verification.  Yesterday, I received the following response from Post Consumer Affairs Online:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your allergen concern regarding Post cereals.

Fruity Pebbles does not contain any corn or dairy products.

We hope this information is beneficial to you. 

So, it's true!  Fruity Pebbles is gluten free, corn free, and dairy free!  Even better, it's way cheaper than a lot of other 'safe' cereals.  The only downside is that it's super sweet, so moderation is important.

Here is the ingredient list from the side of the box:

Rice, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut and palm kernel oils), salt, contains less than 0.5% of natural and artificial flavor, red 40, yellow 6, turmeric oleoresin (color), blue 1, yellow 5, blue 2, bha (to help protect flavor). 


Edited to add:


It appears that Post's Cocoa Pebbles is also gluten-free and dairy-free, but may contain corn in the caramel color. 

Ingredients:


Rice, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut and palm kernel oils), cocoa (processed with alkali), salt, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, bha (to help protect flavor).

Gluten Free Rice Chex

Attention:  Not Corn-Free

I was recently delighted to find that General Mills' Rice Chex is now gluten free.  The rest of the ingredients seemed safe for me as well, but I wanted to be 100% sure, so I sent an email to their customer service.  Here is their response:

Hello Valued Consumer:

Thank you for contacting General Mills with your inquiry.

The Rice Chex has corn in the mixed tocopherols (Vitamin E) that is used as a preservative.

We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.

As you might imagine, I was pretty disappointed, but I'm glad I found out before I started eating the cereal.  It is, indeed, gluten free, though, so if that's your only problem, Rice Chex may be for you.

Chocolate (or Vanilla) Pudding Recipe

Okay, I promise that I won't only talk about chocolate on this blog, but please indulge me for another moment.

Here's a simple recipe for gluten-free, dairy-free, and corn-free* pudding.

 Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

3 tbs potato starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups soy milk (I haven't tried rice, almond, or flax milk in this recipe yet)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla*

Mix the sugar, potato starch, cocoa, and salt together.  Blend in milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Cook 2 or 3 minutes more (you can tell when the consistency is pudding-like).  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla.

Vanilla Pudding

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbs potato starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups soy milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla*

Follow directions above, but leave the cocoa out.  (I guess that goes without saying, huh?)

*Attention:  Some vanilla may contain gluten or traces of corn, so you'll have to do some research on that.

Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal

Having recently been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, I've had a difficult time finding food that I can safely eat.  Sure, there are many gluten-free products on the market these days, but a huge percentage of them also contain corn in one form or another and, unfortunately, I'm "allergic" to that too.  So, imagine my delight when I discovered a "natural food" company named Erewhon (pronounced Air-wahn) that carries many gluten and corn-free cereals. 

Being a bit of a chocoholic, I was instantly drawn to one product in particular:  Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal. 

Wanting to know more, I went over to Amazon to read their customer reviews.  I found a mixed reaction and a three-and-a-half-star rating.  The reviews ranged from "Delicious!" to "Yuck!" -- with the latter claiming a weird aftertaste.  Desperate for a change of pace in my breakfast routine, I decided to take a chance and placed an order.

First of all, Amazon requires you to buy the cereal in bulk, so I was taking a bit of a risk when I ordered my six boxes, but I'm happy to report that I really liked it!  I did notice, however, that if you let it sit in milk (or any milk substitute) for too long, the rice becomes incredibly soggy and bland.  Being a bit of an oddball, I have actually taken to eating the cereal dry.  I find that the cocoa flavor really stands out that way.  Of course, I make sure that I have a glass of soy milk or water handy so I can wash it down.  I realize that not everyone would enjoy eating dry cereal, but I'd still recommend it as a "wet" cereal for anyone who is trying to avoid gluten, corn, and/or dairy.

If you're interested, here are the ingredients:

Organic brown rice, organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup, organic cocoa powder (processed with alkali), natural flavor, organic caramel color, sea salt, organic cocoa butter.

Introduction

I was diagnosed with corn sensitivity about 20 years ago.  Getting used to a corn-free diet was the most difficult thing I'd ever had to do until recently when I was diagnosed with sensitivities to gluten and dairy as well.  Now, it's nearly impossible for me to buy the kind of food products that most people take for granted.  If I find a gluten-free bread, it's almost always guaranteed to have corn in it.  If I find a corn-free cereal, it's probable that it's made of wheat.  It's a never ending cycle, really, but I'm trying to get a grip on it.  

In this blog, I hope to share product reviews, recipes, and general musings on all things gluten-free, dairy-free, and corn-free.  If I get something wrong, please let me know.