Organic Gluten-free Food Bar

[FaithInScienceToo]

Just sharing - these are great!

Great as a snack, and great as a treat for kids/teens, and REALLY great in an emergency kit, or to take on the road, on a hike, or on a bike ;-)

I buy them, by the box, at Trader Joe's, but they have this on their site:

To place an order or for further information about the nearest point of purchase where you can find our products, please contact us.

ORGANIC FOOD BAR INC.

215 East Orangethorpe Ave. #284

Fullerton, CA 92832

Toll Free: 1-800-246-4685

Fax: 1-888-808-8276

Email: info@organicfoodbar.com

I pay about $2 per bar, which is well worth it to me.

Some of them provide 14 g of protein!

Some even have...dare I say it...CHOCOLATE CHIPS...in them ;-)

Here'e the URL and some add'l info I am copying/pasting for you:

Open Original Shared Link

A perfect nutritional balance!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cold processed

High energy

100% organic

100% Vegetarian

Gluten free

GMO Free

Up to 100% Raw

No preservatives, additives, salt, coatings,

refined sugar, soy, peanuts or diary.

The Organic Food Bars follow the high Austrian Organic Certifi- cation Standards. They are the only USDA Certified Organic, non-dairy Certified Kosher, and Certified Vegan bars in the world.

This is the only line of organic food bars rich in phyto-nutrient dense sprouts and superfoods in a base of easy digestible, alkaline-forming vegetable protein for muscle and organ building, essential fats to promote a healthy cardiovascular and hormonal system, and complex carbohydrates for long lasting energy - without the 'crash'of most bars high in refined sugars.

We literally travel the world to source the finest foods to create our products. All of our ingredients are certified organic, kosher and purchased as fresh as possible since we receive fresh ingredients every month. Unlike most companies we make our own Organic Food Bars "with lots of love" in house. Fresh product made on a weekly basis gives our customers fresh highest quality finished product possible.

Our ingredients are mixed, blended, packaged and stored at room temperature to preserve the natural qualities and enzyme activity of the ingredients.

Unlike most other bars, our Organic Food Bars are sweetened only with whole-food sweeteners, including organic dates, organic raisins, organic honey, and low Glyecemic Index organic agave nectar to keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Whether you are an athlete or just a busy person on the go, Organic Food Bars will help you to reach your health and fitness goals much quicker.

[skbird]

I have been eating these for the last couple of years and love them! My favorite is the one with the chocolate chips, which they nicely explain are GOOD FOR YOU!

One word of caution - they all say gluten free but some have greens in them, including barley and wheat, so avoid those. Also, the chocolate chip one says free of soy, but then lists soy lecithin in the chocolate chip part of the ingredients. So that may be of concern to some of you.

Anyway, LOVE THESE! I buy them at Whole Foods because they have more selection there than TJ's but TJ's is where I found them first.

Stephanie

[FaithInScienceToo]

Hi, Stephanie -

I am not sure about there being gluten in the bars with 'greens' listed...

I tried to check this out....this is what they wrote about what they use:

"Wheat Grass & Barley Grass Juice Powder – These tender grasses are grown under chemical free conditions high in the mountains where the top soil in some areas is up to 96 feet thick. Most of the wheat grass and barley grass is grown in areas where the top soil is only ¼ " thick and the rest of it is found in health food stores growing in little plastic or Styrofoam containers. Our grasses are carefully harvested, washed, juiced immediately and turned into powder at room temperature to ensure the living nutrients stay intact. Other leading brands are using wheat grass and barley grass powders instead of juice powders. Unlike most mammals our stomach is not four chambered and our intestinal tract is only about half the length. Most of the nutrients are lost since the grasses do not stay in our body long enough to break down & assimilate. "

I will look for more info about this stuff on-line, but it's hard to believe that they would market ALL of their bars as being gluten-free if they aren't...

Still, it's best to be 100% certain!

I'll post whatever else I can find out -

Gina

[FaithInScienceToo]

Seems like we're A-OK with ALL of their products...

I found this info by Googling, for Barley grass, gluten:

at: Open Original Shared Link

I found:

"Most wheat allergies are due to the gluten found in the wheatberry, but wheatgrass is cut before the plant forms a grain (berry) and therefore has no gluten."

and, about 'barley grass,' I found, at:

Open Original Shared Link

this:

"The tender young grass is harvested when it is 8 inches high before the grass goes to joint, and the top 6 inches are used. Thus all the benefits remain in the grass instead of being used to generate the grains."

[skbird]

This is of course up for debate but I would not risk my health on eating wheat or barley grass supplements. I think you'll find a lot of strong opinion on this both ways. Think of alfalfa sprouts - there's always some trace seed in that stuff. You can't sprout something and grow it without a chance of something of the seed being left behind. To the extent we are careful about cross contamination, I would not risk using any supplement of wheat or barley grass, it's just not worth it.

For backup on the other opinion, I was in Trader Joe's Saturday and got their gluten-free product pamphlet - it says all of their supplements except the Super Greens, Wheat Grass and a third one (don't have it in front of me) are gluten free. Better to be safe than sorry.

If you search this forum you'll find many thoughts on this.

Stephanie

[skbird]

From the online version of Trader Joe's Gluten Free Product List:

All dietary supplements are gluten free except for: Very Green Powder, Very Green Capsules and Wheat Grass.

Open Original Shared Link

Stephanie

[FaithInScienceToo]

I will continue to research this, Stephanie...I live in the Bay area...I see you are in Cal, too...perhaps the researchers at the Stanford Celiac clinic can help clear this up? I am not sure if 'the seed' has gluten, though...that is not the same as 'the berry'...or the actual grain.

Anyway, I'll try to e-mail someone over there...I imagine they know for certain...at least I hope they do....

Thanks for tagging on, again!

Gina

[skbird]

I will look for more info about this stuff on-line, but it's hard to believe that they would market ALL of their bars as being gluten-free if they aren't...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, and one more thing, they also market all their products as being soy-free but then as I listed before, the chocolate chip version has soy lecithin in it...

Stephanie

[skbird]

Gina - yep, more NorCal than you, though... 90 miles north of Sacramento.

The seed IS the grain. So any amount of seed left around could contaminate.

I would be interested to see what the Stanford Celiac clinic says... this is a big debate.

Stephanie

[FaithInScienceToo]

For backup on the other opinion, I was in Trader Joe's Saturday and got their gluten-free product pamphlet - it says all of their supplements except the Super Greens, Wheat Grass and a third one (don't have it in front of me) are gluten free. Better to be safe than sorry.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I meant to add....

The Trader Joe's people may not know 'what's what' about this stuff, too...perhaps they are also 'being better safe than sorry?' ...

ANWAY...

It would be wonderful news, though, if we can buy all of the bars without worry, and to even find out if we can take supplements with these healthy ingredients in them, so I will definitely find out what's what about this...is it just another Net myth, or do we really need to have fear about Wheat and Barley 'grass'...

Gina

[FaithInScienceToo]

Thanks for the add'l info! If ANY grain could possibly get into the 'grass' they use, then it would be best to not risk it!

I'll post here when I find out what the Stanford people say...but it seems now that they will say what you have! :-(

Gina

[skbird]

Wow, we are ALL over this topic... wonder if anyone else will read?

I hope it's a myth but people have posted here who have gotten sick from wheat grass supplements so I'm guessing it's not a myth... but there are several other flavors of bars they have that it's not much of a big deal.

I just avoid green supplements as a blanket rule now.

Gee, hope someone else has something to add here!

STephanie

[FaithInScienceToo]

I haven't contacted Stanford yet...not sure if I will now....Except, I would like to ask for their entire list of what is safe and what is not...so, I may try to make a trip there, or maybe even a doc appt... (I have PPO ins)

about this stuff, though...

I went to the Celiac Sprue Association web site - they had this to say:

"WHEAT grass: Leaves of WHEAT. There is no research available on the gluten content."

and, They list it as "NOT OK"

That's enough for me :-)

Glad I haven't seen the bars with the greens in them...I would have bought boxes worth, as I buy these 24 at a time :-)

Hopefully the ones I have been buying are not contaminated in any way...

If there is a chance they can be, and I can no longer eat these, I will be like this about it:

Gina

[skbird]

I think the others are fine. I have had the omega and the chocolate chip ones many times (two cases and several singles) and been totally fine. I think they are great! I am thinking about making my own, sort of, because they don't sell them locally, I have to drive 180 miles round trip to get them....

Great for hypoglycemics, too!

Stephanie

[cornbread]

I have been addicted to the Active Greens Chocolate version (not the regular choc chip, but the greens w/chocolate). I was a little concerned about the wheat grass thing but they do say gluten-free. However... I *think* they are giving me a reaction. They were ok at first but after having them every day for about a week I started to get suspicious. I was feeling a bit brain fogged. I cut them out for a week, then had one this morning and have felt a little brain foggy/grumpy/dizzy. I can't be sure it's them, but I'm highly suspicious. I will still keep them on standby in my emergency cupboard (in case of hurricane or something!) but I think I will rule them out of my daily diet.

Sucks cos they are GOOD!...

[FaithInScienceToo]

Just curious -

Have you been FULLY tested for all food sensitivies?

I ask because I went through the YORK blood tests (for ALL 114 foods/combos), and it came back clear, other than for gluten and casein...which is what Enterolab already told me...I was glad, of course, to learn that I didn't need 'an even more major overhaul' of my diet...

I have not yet given up dairy...It is not causing a 'disease,' as far as I know, and I am not sure if the casein-sensitive thing will change over time, as my gut continues to heal...hoping it will...I plan to get re-tested pretty soon.

Anyway, I guess? you know that if you are 'sensitive' to anything...like wheat, in general...that is in the bars, other than gluten (IF there is any at all), you can get confused about what's truly causing your reactions...

Did that make sense?

In other words, if the wheat grass IS truly guten-free, I would know that I can safely eat it, as I am not sensitive or allergic to wheat, in general...It's just the gluten part of wheat that I cannot have...although I have not tried anything with "wheat grass" in it since going gluten-free...since I did not read until yesterday that it is 'supposed' to be gluten-free...

AND, IF the bars with the bio-greens in them ARE truly gluten-free and you are having reactions, there is something in them OTHER than gluten that you are sensitive to -

QUESTIONS:

Anyone else, with celiac disease, on here consuming the bars with the 'active bio-greens' in them, and doing fine with them?

ALSO...

Anyone else, like 'cornbread' been consuming them and is also now deciding to stop, due to this post and your continued symptoms when eating the bars with bio-greens?

Gina

PS - I am now VERY tempted to write to the company and ask if they test for gluten...there are ways to test...I sure hope they do...OK...now I MUST find out about it!

[cornbread]

Very good point Gina, and in fact I did the York allergy test last week and am just waiting for the results to come back. I'm pretty sure I'm casein intolerant which I wasn't before (or at least something in dairy gives me a gluten-esque reaction), and I get bloated from corn so that's a bit worrying now too... Figured I should try and track down what the problems are. So yes, it could be something else in the bars. An actual wheat allergy is something I hadn't considered, could be that though. Goodness me!, whatever next?!

I also found I can't have any multi-vitamins/B supplements with more than 10mg of pantothenic acid (B5) in. Gives me awful heartburn/reflux. Very odd. I've tried multiple brands, all gluten free, but if there's more than 10mg of B5 I can't tolerate them!

[cornbread]

I just wanted to reopen this post and say that since having problems with the chocolate active greens version of this bar, I've found out I'm soy intolerant - and the choc active greens has soy... I've bought a regular 'active greens' version and will check it out sometime next week.

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Wheat Grass & Barley Grass

wheatgrass is cut before the plant forms a grain (berry) and therefore has no gluten."

That's exactly what I thought, when I read it the first time. It's grass and not the grain, so it can't have gluten.

Do you know, how long it takes, when they ship it to you? Or do they have Trader Joe's in Canada? Cause I doubt, I will get those, before I leave for Canada Friday.

Hugs, Stef

[cornbread]

Hi Stef,

I'm fortunate that I live near a Whole Foods, so I get mine there. They haven't got the blueberry or cranberry flavours in yet though so I was considering ordering those online. They have Whole Foods in Canada... Where are you going? They have stores in Ontario and BC.