Good Tasting And Healthy Snack Bars

[Roo]

I am looking for some good tasting and healthy snack/meal bars for my son. He has been attending a lot of parties recently where we realize it might be hard for him to get "safe" food for him to eat and fill up on. I've seen the advice to eat something before he goes which is a great idea but sometimes he doesn't go staight from leaving me or our house. A yummy bar might be a good idea that he can stick in his pocket and eat without calling too much attention to himself which he is not ready to do. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Roo

[celiac3270]

I like Genisoy bars the most, but there are some Envirokids bars that many others recommend. With Genisoy, though, be careful, because there are only two gluten-free flavors: a chunky southern style PB one and then another PB one w/ honey --names similar to that. I like the first one the most. If you e-mail Atkins, they'll send you a gluten-free list, which has many of their bars, but I don't like them as much, in addition to the fact that they used to call one meal bar gluten-free (which had barley malt in it). I don't trust them with anything anymore.

[KaitiUSA]

Envirokidz has Chocolate, Berry, and Peanut Butter bars which are good. We keep our cupboards filled with all 3 flavors

[angel-jd1]

I like these:

*Genisoy Southern style chunky peanut butter fudge

*Think thin caramel swirl (they have several flavors that are gluten-free and say so on the label)

*Envirokids (all flavors are good)

Some other ideas:

*Ziploc bag full of nuts cashews, pistachios, sunflower seeds etc.

*Mrs. May's Naturals Nutty Snacks ( Open Original Shared Link )

*Snickers bar (not as healthy, but filling)

*take your own chips and salsa to the party (not terribly "uncool")

-Jessica

[celiac3270]

Yes--straying from bars--the great thing about FritoLays is that he can bring in one of those snack-sized bags and no one will think twice about it or make a comment like "your food looks weird"--since everybody eats those chips, anyway. Ruffles, Lays Classic, Lays Stax, and....one other kind that I can't remember now are made on dedicated lines. If you're worried about contamination, anyway, you can call other chip companies, many of which will be gluten-free: I think Utz are? And the first bar Jessica mentioned was the one I was referring to . Just can't remember those names .

[tarnalberry]

Trail mix! :-)

[mcle8232]

Okay.... Frito Lays. This is one I've heard is okay many times/places. I get sick when I eat them - anyone else (who is VERY sensitive to gluten)? Or do I have an issue w/ corn too? I know there is no allergy to corn, b/c I was tested.

Or... am I just not healed yet? If the last one is the answer, then I fear my intestines must be damaged for life b/c I've been gluten-free almost 20 months now.

The other food is McD's fries, Mom's feed these to their celiac children all the time! I have asked employees of McD's - on occassion - if the grease is shared w/ that of the nuggets, and have beed told 'no' - but they still caused the most awful stomach pain (& the big D ).

[KaitiUSA]

Some people seem to say they have reactions to Frito Lay products. I personally have never had a reaction and I am sensitive but some people who are also sensitive have reacted. I know that there are 4 products they have that are made on a dedicated gluten free line.

Could there be something else in it that you are sensitive too?

The fries at McD here are always done in a separate fryer so they don't share grease or anything with other things containing gluten.

[Ruth]

Chocolate Balance Bars are my 6 yo son's favorite food.

We only eat the "regular" balance bars, not "cruncy" or "gold"

My daughter prefers the EnviroKids bars.

Also, we keep in the freezer (at home and school) a supply of gluten-free (Danielles gluten-free Pantry) brownies in ziplock bags. They taste good straight from the freezer. And can be eaten whenever there is an impromptu snack or party...

[celiac3270]

According to a FritoLays dietician, four of their products are made on dedicated lines: Lays Potato Chips (Classic), Ruffles, Lays Stax, and I believe, Fritos. Other than those, you're taking a risk, though I can say that I ate FritoLays products constantly for months and had a biopsy a few months ago to make sure that my villi weren't still damaged; they were fine, so I know that the FritoLays weren't affecting me. I also have never reacted to FritoLays products.

McDonalds fries are the most reliably gluten-free that you can find at a fastfood restaurant. They are made in dedicated fryers or fryers that are shared only with other gluten-free products. I have also never had issues with their fries. At Burger King and Wendy's, though, people have mentioned finding, for example, an onion ring (not gluten-free) at the bottom of their fries...not good...that's why I'll only eat fries at McDonalds--or in my own home.

Atkins makes some gluten-free bars, but I don't recommend them. I think they taste more...artificial than the Genisoy bars (remember, only a few are gluten-free), which, after trying about six different gluten-free bars, I like the most. I also had an incident with them, making me never trust anything they make and I wouldn't eat anything made by them at this point. They had their "Cookies and Cream Atkins Advantage Bar" on their gluten-free list. I was shocked that a cookies and cream bar would be gluten-free, so I read the label EXTRA carefully....and BARLEY MALT was on the label. I didn't eat it, called to ask and complain about it...they violated my trust and if they are that naive or careless about gluten, I'm petrified to think what might be hidden in their other products.

For the less healthy treat, of course, there are many candy options...off the top of my head I can think of: Tootsie Pops, Snickers, Milky Way Midnight (not regular), Charm Blow Pops, Tootise Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, Starburst, M&Ms (not CRISPY kind...aka, not the ones in the blue package), Butterfinger, 3 Musketeers.....this doesn't answer your post about "healthy snack bars", but everyone needs a treat now and then

-celiac3270

[jmengert]

I love this thread, as I'm finding out all kinds of great things to take on the go, a problem that I've had a lot lately because my friends and family like to eat out, and I need something to take with me.

Question: I've never tried the Genisoy bars, and I love peanut butter, so that one sounds great. I'm extremely sensitive to gluten, so are these bars put on dedicated lines?

[KaitiUSA]

I e-mailed GeniSoy to ask that question but I have not heard back from them yet. I also called them and they asked for my email to send a complete list of their gluten free products and its been close to a week and they still haven't sent me that either.

[celiac3270]

From when I last checked, they only have two gluten-free bars: the two I mentioned. I've heard of some other form of a Genisoy bar that's gluten-free...like "Genisoy Extreme" or something...don't remember the name--but I've never seen the variation.

I'm unsure about dedicated lines. I love PB also, so I love the bar.

[cdford]

I have seen where some others have reacted to Frito Lay stuff. We do not generally unless I am already in questionable mode, then I react to anything with much grease in it.

Another thing you might want to try sending with your son is a large bag of popcorn. We prefer ours with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and a little salt on it. One of my kids prefers butter with theirs also but the other one (the teenager who is watching her weight, of course) likes hers without the butter. This is also a snack that can readily be shared without any questions.

[minibabe]

Envirokids all the way.....I go to school and I commute about 4 hours a day and I love taking these bars with me. they are quick and easy snack. The only thing is that the package does look different (but that does not bother me), but they taste really great. I love the berry one, and my boyfriend (who does not have celiac disease, but loves eating all of my foods)loves the chocolate ones.

[gf4life]

Two bars that have not been mentioned yet are:

Glutino Breakfast Bars, try the apple and blueberry (they are sort of like fig newtons), but skip the chocolate (they taste awful).

Gluten Solutions rice protein bars. We like the Chocolate Mint, Double Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. Some of the bars are sold under the Aunt Candice label, but they are by the same company.

I get both of these at Open Original Shared Link

They are the only place I have found the protein bars and they have the best price of the breakfast bars that I have found at the top 6 online gluten-free shopping places.

I also like the Envirokids bars and we eat all those kinds of Frito-Lays chips with no problems at all. We also like the Glutino pretzels. We get the family sized bag from Gluten Solutions as well. They look just like mini pretzel twists, and have a really good taste. They are made from mainly soy flour. My kids really love them. I stay away from the soy foods though because of my soy allergy. Dried fruit is also a big hit with some of my kids, and also on a less healthy side, fruit roll-ups and fruit-by-the-foot. In fact all of the General Mills fruit snack products are gluten-free. You can check their ingredients labels here. If you call their customer service number they will tell you that the questionable ingredients like natural flavoring and modified corn starch are actually gluten-free.

Open Original Shared Link

God bless,

Mariann

[KaitiUSA]

gf4life-I agree the chocolate ones taste pretty nasty the other breakfast bars by glutino I like alot.

I finally got a response back from Genisoy. They can't guarantee that their products are on a dedicated gluten-free line but here is the list they sent me today:

Products Formulated to be Gluten Free

GeniSoy Bars- Chunky Peanut Butter, Creamy Peanut Yogurt

Extreme Bars- Peanut Butter Fix

Roasted Soy Nuts- Salted & Unsalted

Gourmet Nuts- Praline Soy Nuts, Chocolate Soy Nuts

Soy Crisps- BBQ, Creamy Ranch, Cheddar Cheese, Deep Sea Salted, Tangy Salt

[celiac3270]

Thanks for the list! I haven't eaten them in months and I'd love to

[pixiegirl]

I love EnviroKids bars (and I'm no kid!) they taste great and are fairly low in calories for a snack (and compared to other gluten-free foods like cookie). I keep a few in my purse all the time.

I react to Fritos, every single time and yet they are supposedly made on a dedicated line. I don't get it, I eat many other corn products without any problem at all, so I can't figure this one out but I do react every time. However I rarely eat greasy food so maybe its the grease involved in them. Another greasy food I rarely eat but don't have any problem with is McD fries. They have always worked for me.

Susan

[KaitiUSA]

pixiegirl-could there be something else in those products that give you a problem? Since 4 of the brands of their chips are made on a dedicated line it seems like there may be something else. Do you have any other things you can't have or you react to? Also do you eat the ones made on the dedicated lines or the other ones? The non dedicated lines are washed in between so those gluten free products could contain traces that are causing your reaction. I for one have never had a reaction to them it seems to be a reliable brand for this house we eat them all the time and I've had no reaction and no damage.