Pregnant And Craving Cereal- Help

[HappyMomof5]

Weird, I have a box of Corn Pops in my hands right now and it definately does not have wheat starch or anything in it, but I am concerned about the oat flour, if I can trust that it's not contaminated? And also, why don't people just eat Kellogg's Rice Krispies? Is there something I don't know about? I've just been diagnosed so help me out.

Bradlo,

If you've just been diagnosed, you may not be used to the devious ways of the food industry in trying to sneak wheat into every item they can.

It's not just wheat starch and wheat flour you must avoid, but also can be in TVP (veggie alternative to meat), sometimes is in modified food starch (sometimes made from corn, sometimes from wheat), can be in vitamin E (if made from wheat), and malt. Malt is made from barley, contains gluten, and is used as a flavoring in...your Rice Krispies. Bummer, I know. I think we should all call Kellogg's and complain.

Barbara's Brown Rice Crisps are a great replacement, though. I think they taste better than Rice Krispies, I just wish they weren't so expensive. You'll find that most mainstream food companies have wheat in their cereals, exept the Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, and ironically any "fruity" flavored high-sugar cheapy cereal.

So what you can eat are polar opposites: The great for you organic, purposely made gluten free cereals, and the cheapy high sugar ones that are gluten-free because they don't need the malt flavoring. But beware, these may be made on the same equipment as the wheat-containing cereals, and therefore get cross-contamination. I avoid them for that reason.

Did anyone tell you that maltodextrin in this country is usually made with corn, but sometimes can be made with wheat? It's my understanding that the July 08 food labeling law will make it necessary to label it as containing wheat if it's made in this country, but not abroad.

Also, I really recommend you do some reading up on Celiac disease, either from the local library or bookstore. It'll help answer some questions you may not even have thought of yet. (Although these boards are a great!) I would consider getting a gluten-free cookbook to help you feel like there is food you can still eat. I've bought 5 in the last 3 months!

You may want to look into joining a local support group. They do nice things like teach you how to order when you go out to eat (That's a biggie!), tell about good recipes, good doctors, good and bad gluten-free food, and all sorts of stuff. It'll amaze you how much stuff there is to know. I think you may adjust faster with a support group to help, but that's just me.

You may look into getting the "Gluten Free Grocery Shopping Guide" (little red book sold for about $25 through this website) that will help you get verified gluten-free food. There's lots more gluten-free food out there, but these are the ones someone else has already verified by contacting the company. Believe me, after getting an accidental glutened reaction you may want to play it safe for a while.

I have only been gluten-free for three months, so I'm still getting used to it, too.

Good luck to you,

Heather

PS- My Celiac friend told me the other day, "Cheer up, it's a very healthy diet, you just increased your life expectancy by 7 years."

[HiDee]

Kellogg's Rice Crispies has BARLEY MALT in it. So does their corn flakes. It's a bummer because that little ingredient makes it not gluten-free where it otherwise would be just fine. I found TRIX to be gluten-free as well as cocoa pebbles. My favorite though is Bakery on Main Cranberry Maple granola (gluten-free). It is fantastic. It's a little expensive and only found at your health food store I'm sure, but it's a little cheaper on Amazon. I also eat McCann's Irish oatmeal and do fine with those as do several of my gluten-free/celiac friends. But it's up to you whether you want to try that.

[blueeyedmanda]

Rice Chex are now gluten free!!!!

[HiDee]

Rice Chex are now gluten free!!!!

Are you serious!?! That is so exciting, I'm going to check that out next time I'm at the store, Rice Crunch 'ems are so expensive.

[kevsmom]

Yea - Cruelshoes clued us in on this website about Rice Chex!

Open Original Shared Link

His posting is a current thread...You may want to read it because the old boxes of Rice Chex are still around, and they are NOT gluten free.

Thanks Cruelshoes!

[cruelshoes]

Yea - Cruelshoes clued us in on this website about Rice Chex!

Open Original Shared Link

His posting is a current thread...You may want to read it because the old boxes of Rice Chex are still around, and they are NOT gluten free.

Thanks Cruelshoes!

No problem! Just sharing the gluten-free joy.

PS - I'm a girl Cruelshoes, not a boy one.