Please Recommend Kid-friendly Nutritious gluten-free Cereal

[JennyC]

I am looking for recommendations for gluten free cereals that are healthy and kid-friendly. My son is really picky, which seems to be a trend around here. When we first went gluten free I bought some Perky-O's and some Envirokids cereal but I don't remember which one. He refused to eat both of them. Ever since he's been eating Trix, Dora stars, and most often fruity pebbles. I am sick of feeding him garbage every morning!!!! Could you please tell me what your child likes or what you think a child might like? I am not in the position to buy food that will be wasted. Also has anyone tried any of the Glutino cereals?

Thank you!

[celiac-mommy]

Hi

We're not huge fans of the Perky-O's, they leave a wierd taste in you mouth. The Envirokids are good, but still have a lot of sugar The Gorilla Munch is like Kix). My daughter loves the 'rice krispy's' with berries by Erewhon. Also the Health Valley rice or corn chex with her choice of fruit cut up in it. She also likes the Bob's Red Mill mighty tasty gluten-free hot cereal and we add a 1/2 pkt of hot cocoa mix to the water with the cereal, it's always a big hit. I also batch cook waffles and pancakes to freeze and put into the toaster later for some variety. We've tried some of the gluten-free corn flakes out there, but unless it's already sweetened, she doesn't care for them. I just try to sweeten everything up by adding fruit instead of sugar. Hope this helps!

-Rachelle

[tarnalberry]

skip the boxed cereal! it's not that nutritious anyway! where's the protein? the fat? the veggies?

eggs w/ spinach and a banana, apples and peanut butter, homemade whole (gluten-free) grain muffins w/ nuts, a fruit smoothie w/ yogurt (or coconut milk and protein powder, for the CF amongst us ), yogurt w/ flax meal, etc.

lots of other good options. (hehe... I've become annoyed at the poor nutrition, but extreme reliance, on 'breakfast cereal'. there aren't many worse ways to start the day. well, maybe *no* breakfast...

[zarfkitty]

My little girl also really likes the Erewhon crispy brown rice with berries. While I agree with tarnalberry that cereal for breakfast isn't nutritious, it's a nice treat. A treat for my daughter because she gets something sweet (and "mainstream") for breakfast and a treat for me because I didn't have to cook it. Just like candy bars or ice cream, we consider breakfast cereal OK in moderation.

[debmom]

We like the Gluteno cereals, especially the Honey Nut. We also buy the Whole Foods frozen gluten free muffins (all varieties are delicious) and the Van's Gluten Free waffles-- with flax or with blueberries. Even my non-celiac children love them. It saves some time in the morning, and the muffins are better than any I've been able to make!

[cruelshoes]

Currently, my kids enjoy: Health Valley Corn and Rice Crunchems, Barbaras Brown Rice Crisps, and Envirokidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs. There are several General Mills cereals (little Einsteins and a Mickey Mouse one) that do not contain gluten ingredeints, but my kids were not wild about them. I liked them because I could get them in the regular grocery store and I had a coupon! They also like the Glutino cereals, but they are a bit too expensive for my liking. Mine won't touch the Dora cereal because Dora is for babies! They are 11 and 8.

My 11-year old's current favorite breakfast is yogurt with Nutty Rice in it. Yours might be a little young for that one, though.

[tarnalberry]

My little girl also really likes the Erewhon crispy brown rice with berries. While I agree with tarnalberry that cereal for breakfast isn't nutritious, it's a nice treat. A treat for my daughter because she gets something sweet (and "mainstream") for breakfast and a treat for me because I didn't have to cook it. Just like candy bars or ice cream, we consider breakfast cereal OK in moderation.

That one, and Mesa Sunrise, are the ones I like for a treat. I think it's something about the texture, in particular, but once in a while (when I was a kid, it was Saturday mornings ), you're right - it's nice to have that treat.

(As for not having to cook - I made 8 dozen muffins last night (oh goodness don't start that at 8 at night!) and frozen them so I'll have that breakfast option when I'm in a hurry (1 minute in the microwave) for the next two or three months.)

[Karen B.]

We like the Gluteno cereals, especially the Honey Nut. We also buy the Whole Foods frozen gluten free muffins (all varieties are delicious) and the Van's Gluten Free waffles-- with flax or with blueberries. Even my non-celiac children love them. It saves some time in the morning, and the muffins are better than any I've been able to make!

I made some really good tasting muffins using Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix and pureed strawberries (thawed from frozen) for the liquid in the recipe. My Mom loved them and they were bright pinky-red. Reminded me of when I was a kid and my older sis went through her "I only want red food" stage. I want to try making Peach Granola muffins and Cinnamon Coffeecake muffins, but I haven't had the time lately. (don't have a recipe but I figure I can wing it)

Another recipe for good muffins if your kid likes nuts is Namaste Spice Cake Mix, a 10 oz. package of shredded carrots, 4-5 cups of walnuts and 1 cup of ground flax seed. Sometimes, I'll add a small can of crushed pineapple or mandarin oranges too. Adding all the extra stuff lowers the sugar content (instead of 2 dozen, you get 3 dozen out of a package of mix) and the muffins are really good. This fills by Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl almost to the top and the dog still hasn't forgotten the time I found out the hard way not to start out too fast when I add the walnuts. (Walnuts from Heaven -- Thank you God!! :-) Paired with a glass of Silk, this muffin really satisfies a hunger but it doesn't weigh you down.

Both of these muffin mixes are cheaper than Whole Foods muffins. You get at least a dozen from Pamela's and I get 3 dozen from Namaste instead of 4. Muffins freeze well.

If you want the kid to eat more dairy, make a spread of 2 packs of cream cheese, one can of drained pineapple (or peaches or cranberries or whatever hits your fruit fantasy) and 1/2 cup sugar (or less, taste and you'll know how much to add) in your mixer. Mix 'til smooth and spread on top of a muffin or waffle.

Also, have you tried a toaster waffle with peanut butter and honey? toaster waffle with yogurt and fruit?

I will say that I think Mesa Sunrise is a great cereal under the category of something I'd buy if I wasn't Celiac. I throw a handfull of trail mix in it and it's really yummy.

[zarfkitty]

I think Mesa Sunrise is super yummy. My little girl thinks it's "Okaaaaaaaay, but will you please buy some more Erewhon?"

[JennyC]

Thanks for the suggestions. I admit I did get into a bad habit of letting him decide what to have for breakfast after diagnosis. I also thought he was reacting to eggs and I didn't know what to feed him. I do also give him gluten-free frozen waffles (he doesn't like the ones I make), peanut butter toast, pancakes (he will tolerate them sometimes), or eggs with toast. I think that I'll try the muffin idea. I have a box of Glutino muffin mix that I have never tried. I need to use up my boxed mixes since I never use them. I usually prefer to just convert regular recipes to gluten free.

Thanks for all your help.

[Karen B.]

Does he like dipping his food? Some kids seem to really enjoy dipping. Apples & PB, oranges and vanilla yogurt, toast cut into strips w/apple sauce... basically food they can play with and not get into trouble. :-)

If you try muffins, there's one variation I've heard of but never tried -- using a multi-color kid's cereal (like fruity peebles) in the muffins. Don't know how it'd turn out but it sounded like it'd be colorful.

[2Boys4Me]

We usually have some Nature's Path Honey'd Corn Flakes and Kinnikrisp "rice krispies" on hand. Ty really likes the rice krispies, but I think they have a weird aftertaste. The last few months he's been starting the day with Lorka's flax bread. (No idea how nutritious they are though.)

I think there's only get one mainstream gluten-free cereal in my neck of the woods, and that's President's Choice brand corn pop type cereal. I don't know what it's called. When my husband goes to the states for work he'll buy some fruity pebbles for a weekend "sugar cereal".

[Moondanse]

We like the Gluteno cereals, especially the Honey Nut. We also buy the Whole Foods frozen gluten free muffins (all varieties are delicious) and the Van's Gluten Free waffles-- with flax or with blueberries. Even my non-celiac children love them. It saves some time in the morning, and the muffins are better than any I've been able to make!

Whole Foods bakery does Gluten-free muffins also?? I haven't seen them. I'm assuming they are in the freezer section. Where?

I bought a loaf of their sandwich bread and like it and it's affordable. I'd definitely get their muffins. What kinds do they carry?

[Karen B.]

Whole Foods bakery does Gluten-free muffins also?? I haven't seen them. I'm assuming they are in the freezer section. Where?

I bought a loaf of their sandwich bread and like it and it's affordable. I'd definitely get their muffins. What kinds do they carry?

If they have Whole Foods Bakery gluten-free muffins, it should be in the same section with the bread. That's where they are in the various WF in our area.

Health Warning: The sat. fats on many of the WF Bakery items are very high. A cherry streusal muffin is 6 grams of saturated fat, blueberry is only 1 gram, an almond scone is 12 grams. I can make healthier and fresher with mixes. I've always had good cholesterol but before, I wasn't absorbing everything, now I do. I figure Celiac is enough, I don't need to complicate things with cardio issues from unhealthy fats. YMMV

Open Original Shared Link