Quaker Oats

[MacieMay]

Are Quaker oats safe? My daugter is 19mos and is gluten-intolerant. I wondering if she would do OK with these? She loves Oatmeal and we have the quick oats in the cabinet. I'm looking to try new things.

Thanks

[jststric]

I won't say they are safe because I read too many in here say oats of any nature are a no-no. But for me, personally, I can do oatmeal as long as I stick with name brand Quaker Oats. I figure it's what they do. Off-brand stuff always seemed to bother me and I always assumed it was a cross-contamination issue. But it's one thing to experiment and take the risk with my 51 year old body. I would have trouble taking the risk with my baby's. I would hate to make her sick. It just happens to work for me.

[ravenwoodglass]

I would wait on trying any oats for now. Wait until she is fully healed and then go with certified gluten free oats. Not all of us tolerate oats so when you do add them back in watch for a reaction. Oats are often cross contaminated in the field and in the plant. I would not advise giving her Quaker brand. In the meantime if she likes a hot cereal Cream of Buckwheat is good and is a good source of protein.

[tarnalberry]

No. Quaker won't even say that their oats are gluten free. Quaker, Country Pride, and McCann's have all tested at levels HIGHER than 200ppm (that is, definitely not safe for celiacs)

It is possible to find "gluten-free oats". This means that the oats are grown in fields that are not crop rotated with wheat (a first source of contamination) and are not processed/packaged in facilities that also handle wheat (a second source of contamination).

That said, 10% of celiacs have an immune response to oats as well, so there's no guarateed way to know if she's ok with oats without trying them (a certified gluten free variety).

[lynnelise]

I would only trust certified gluten free oats if those. I would explore other hot cereal options. They make quinoa flakes that cook up quite similar to oatmeal.

[lovegrov]

I'd stay away from Quaker, and as ravenwood said, try to avoid oats at all for a while. I'm not extremely sensitive yet I suspect oats have caused me trouble in the past.

richard

[SuperMolly]

They make quinoa flakes that cook up quite similar to oatmeal.

What are quinoa flakes? We are now a gluten free house and my husband misses oatmeal tremendously. (I react very strongly to even the gluten free oats.) Maybe I'll try to find quinoa flakes for him...and me!

Are they any good?

[T.H.]

The ones we use are made by a company called Ancient Harvest. In a little beige box, about 1/2 the size of the normal cereal boxes, maybe a little smaller. You can usually find them in a cereal section at the health food stores, or in the 'natural' or 'organic' section among cereals, if your normal store has these.

You can also buy them online from the company, or even from amazon

( http://www.(Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned)/Ancient-Harvest-Quinoa-Organic-12-Ounce/dp/B001JJXDSC )

Sadly, though, they aren't much like oats. The size is more like quick oats, and while I've used them successfully in place of quick oats for recipes like cookiers, they have a softer, less chewy consistency. As a plain cereal, the texture reminds me more of malt-o-meal, really. But if you add less water, you might be able to play around a little and microwave a texture that you like better.

But they turned out quite nicely when we made a blueberry crisp and used them for the topping!

[SuperMolly]

The ones we use are made by a company called Ancient Harvest. In a little beige box, about 1/2 the size of the normal cereal boxes, maybe a little smaller. You can usually find them in a cereal section at the health food stores, or in the 'natural' or 'organic' section among cereals, if your normal store has these.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

[buffettbride]

Glutenfreeda makes gluten-free instant oatmeal. My Celiac daughter can't tolerate even non-contaminated oats (she'll eat a gluten-free oatmeal cookie about once a year), but my non-Celiac son likes to eat it and it's a low contamination risk in our gluten-free house.

There are different flavors and stuff. It's quite good.

[buffettbride]

Also, you might switch things up with Bob's Redmill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal. I add some brown sugar and the kids love it. It's not oatmeal, but it is still very good.

[i-geek]

Bob's Red Mill also sells gluten-free oats.

[MelindaLee]

I would only trust certified gluten free oats if those. I would explore other hot cereal options. They make quinoa flakes that cook up quite similar to oatmeal.

I just tried Bob's Mighty Tastey Hot Cereal. LOVE IT. It is more like cream of wheat or grits than oatmeal, but it's good. I know I saw Rice Cereal (hot/cooked) I would think that would be better for a child with food issues, unless one of the issues is rice

[Christi1996]

You can also make instant oat packets using certified gluten-free oats. All you have to do is put part of the oats in a food processor so it is more powdery and then figure out what flavors you want. Google homemade instant oats and you should get some recipes.

My kids loved them until they decided that they didn't but at 11 and 7 they are much pickier than your little one. The flavor needed work because it wasn't just right.

[gflooser]

you could also try cream of rice. it's so yummie, my picky eaters love it! and you can get it at any mainstream grocery store!

[CeliacMom2008]

I was hesitant to try oats, but we saw a huge improvement in our son with oats in his diet. He needed more fiber! We buy Gifts of Nature and Glutenfreeda instant packets with flax (son loves that he can make these by himself and they come in flavors). He actually asks for oatmeal when his stomach is bothering him. I also just started grinding the oats to make my own oat flour for oatmeal bread which is really terrific. We make it plain and with cinnamon and raisins. YUM!