Granola: Bakery on Main Cranberry Orange Cashew Granola

At last we're back in the gluten free swing of things. Happy Summer to everyone and here's to a
great bunch of products we've recently tried out.

Recently Rob was shopping at Wegman's and found Bakery on Main's Cranberry Orange Cashew Granola. It's trans fat free, dairy free, gluten and wheat free, cholesterol free, low in saturated fat and sodium and is casein free.

WOW! This is an incredible blend of fruit and nuts. One whiff of the bag and you'd think there was a whole orange in there! The mix is delectably sweet and crisp and completely different than any granola I've tasted before. I love too that there are cashew halves thrown in. You never see cashews in cereal. It's also not so dense that you can't enjoy it.

This stuff is incredible- and you'd never in a million years guess it was gluten free and good for you at the same time. But hey if for some crazy reason you don't like this granola, you can always fill a bowl and use it as pot-pourri!

Gluten free has really come around and is better than I could have ever imagined! Way to go Bakery on Main!

Ingredients:
Corn flour, water, evaporated cane juice, rice flour, rice bran, raisin juice concentrate, honey, salt, cranberry (sugar), Non-GMO canola oil, sunflower seeds, cashews, sesame seed, flax seed, natural flavors, cinnamon, sea salt, cloves.

Contains:
Tree nuts, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds Manufactured on equipment that also processes milk proteins, eggs and peanuts.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 2 oz. (57g)
Servings per container: 6
Calories: 240
Calories from fat: 100
Total fat: 11 g
Sat fat: 1 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 40 mg
Total carbs: 35 g.
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 12 g
Protein: 4 g

Find it at Amazon.com:
Bakery On Main, Gluten Free Granola, Cranberry Orange Cashew, 5.30-Ounces (Pack of 6)

Cereal: Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice

You asked for it and here is the first in a series of reviews of gluten free breakfast cereals.

I started off with Erewhon organic 100% whole grain gluten free Crispy Brown Rice cereal. It is low fat and contains less than 1g of sugar per serving. When shopping for this, I must admit I was drawn to the low-impact packaging made from 100% recycled paperboard. Go figure!

Granted I may have too much time on my hands, but I tend to read the quirky histories on milk cartons, cake packs, and this Erewhon gluten free cereal was no exception. Apparently Erewhon derives from a "19th century novel by Samuel Butler wherein Erewhon was a utopia where each individual was responsible for his own health". Who knew? The good news is that Erewhon gluten free Crispy Brown Rice cereal only contains organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup and sea salt.

Taste
Though undoubtedly a more impressive list of ingredients I could not ask for, taste was a bit of another matter.

True, Erewhon gluten free Crispy Brown Rice cereal is a close contender to say traditional Rice Krispies- it has all the right shapes, crunch and similar mouth appeal- unfortunately, I'm just a bit bored by the malty snap, crackle and pops. Like its glutinous counterpart, Erewhon's Crispy Brown Rice cereal absorbs the milk a bit too quickly, leaving me scrambling to finish the bowl before it gets soggy. But hey, that's just a personal preference. Lots of people actually like a hefty portion of milk in their cereal!

So in sum, Erewhon's organic, gluten free Crispy Brown Rice Cereal is celiac-safe and tastes very similar to Rice Krispies-type cereals. If you've never had Rice Krispies, hey you might be blown away by the crackly sounds emerging from your bowl, otherwise brace yourself for the comfortable blandness of a rice cereal.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup (30g)
Servings per container: About 9

Calories: 110
Calories from fat: 5
Total fat: 0.5g
Sat fat: 0g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 160 mg
Total carb: 25 g
Dietary fiber: 0g
Sugars: less than 1g
Protein: 2g

P.S.
As a postscript to this review, I will rather reluctantly mention that I "created" the Crispy Rice Snacks from the recipe on the cereal package, and uh they didn't turn out so well.
I will concede that I used too much vanilla extract and not my preferred brand of honey- so the Crispy Rice snacks had a bit of an odd flavor with the peanut butter, and didn't hold their shape.

The resulting consequence of this culinary mis-fire, is to merely point out that I do think Erewhon's Crispy Brown Rice cereal, made according to instructions, will make absolutely Superb rice-krispy marshmallow treats, which are Rob's absolute fave! I'll let you know how they turn out.