It may be tough to peel your child away from their favorite gluten-free candy, but by offering some creative and healthy Halloween treats, you can help your child maintain a balanced and nutritious diet. Here are some ideas:

Set a good example

It’s hard to tell your child to take it easy on the candy when you’re handing out the sweet stuff. Opt for mini bags of gluten-free snacks like Froose Gummies, which offer a good source of fiber, or Kay’s Naturals, which are packed with protein. Bags of microwave popcorn are another healthy and gluten-free option (just don’t buy the ones loaded with butter!)

You can also go the non-food route and hand out things like glow sticks or festive erasers, as one parent noted.

Play with your food

You eat with your eyes first, so make it a festive scene. Try making a Taco Dip Dragon or Haunted Forest Platter  to entice your child with some real food. Remember to make the necessary swaps to ensure it’s gluten-free. (Peel a zucchini into strips to replace the spaghetti!).

Pump up dessert

Give brownies a healthy boost by making them with pumpkin puree. Best of all, you can still use a gluten-free box mix! Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Brownies. If you’re not a fan of pumpkin, try mixing in applesauce or black beans instead.

Repurpose your sweets

Candy doesn’t have to be enjoyed straight out of the wrapper. Crumble a peanut butter cup over low fat yogurt, or melt a chocolate bar and drizzle it over some sliced apples. The kids will still be eating sweets, but they’ll be part of a “better for you” treat. Plus, it’s a chance for your gluten-free child to help in the kitchen.

For a list of Gluten-Free Candy, visit CeliacCentral.org.

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When a shipment of samples from Kay’s Naturals arrived at the office, it was just in time for our weekly staff meeting. Naturally, the gathering ended with a ceremonial opening of the box, followed by around-the-table tasting of the gluten-free goodies packed inside.

As any smart shopper should, we read the labels before tearing open each bag. We were surprised to discover a hefty dose of protein in each item. The Lemon Herb Protein Chips, for instance? No lie: There are 9g of muscle-building power in each serving.

So, the snacks had nutritional value, but would they taste good? Responses varied across the group, but there were a few standouts that won everyone’s favor:

Cinnamon Flavored Almond Filled Cookie Bites: The newest addition to Kay’s gluten-free line, these Cookie Bites have just the right amount of sweetness, and the almond flavor gave them a kick of freshness that’s typically lost in packaged goods. Within about 2 minutes of opening the bag, we had sampled our way to the bottom. We ate them straight out of the bag, but I could imagine these being quite delightful with milk for an afternoon treat. Cookie Bites for breakfast? I’ll leave that up to your discretion.

Cinnamon Toast Pretzel Sticks: These scored a close second in the “full-to-empty” time trial. (Mind you, there were six of us at this meeting, and the bags were small.) Maybe it was the cinnamon flavor, maybe it was because they reminded us of mini pretzel rods from our pre-gluten-free days, but we liked these. A lot. Sure, we were dusting cinnamon off our fingers and laps for 5 minutes after our tasting spree, but they were worth it.

Sweet BBQ Mix: If you miss the snack mixes typically noshed on game day, this bag has the whole shebang. The pretzels (two kinds!), the crunchy squares, the crispy long things – we never may have a name for them, but they’re all there. The BBQ flavoring is bound to leave some traces on your fingers (which seemed to be consistent with Kay’s Naturals products), but it’s a great smoky, sweet taste that anything labeled “BBQ” should have. If you have to lick it off your fingers, we won’t judge.

Bonus tip: You can order your own sample pack for a tasting at home. Sample packs can be order on Kay’s Naturals website. The actual contents may vary, but the company guarantees certain goodies like their French Vanilla Protein Cereal and Crispy Parmesan Protein Chips will be part of the mix.

One note of caution: If you are highly sensitive to gluten, make sure to read the back of the bag. We noticed that the Pretzel Sticks, while gluten-free, are made on the same production line as products containing wheat and other allergens. The Cinnamon Almond Cookie Bites, on the other hand, are produced on the same line as products containing soybeans, tree nuts, milk and dairy (but not wheat).

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Mambo Sprouts Part 4: Breakfast with Barbara’s Bakery

Brown Rice Crisps, Multigrain Puffins, and Honey Rice Puffins

For this review mambo sprouts sent me three boxes of Barbara’s Bakery Cereals. I received a box each of Organic Brown Rice Crisps, Multigrain Puffins, and Honey Rice Puffins. Three great cereals, filled with organic whole grains and natural flavors, and void of all the things that should be missing like gluten, preservatives, and artificial flavors.

All three of these cereals contain whole grain brown rice. As you may know, rice is a very common substitute for ingredients that contain gluten. When white rice is used, the resulting product loses many of the healthy aspects the wheat version would have naturally contained. The alternative, brown rice, contains a healthy dose of protein, fiber, and vitamins. Not only is it healthier but the texture and taste tends to be closer to that of the gluten filled versions. That is why I am very happy when a gluten-free product is made from whole grain brown rice instead.

Brown Rice Crisps
Barbara’s Organic Brown Rice Crisp is a healthier alternative to white rice counter parts. It is very lightly sweetened with organic fruit juice. If you prefer a sweater cereal then tiny bit of your favorite sweetener could be added. Or top this cereal with some fresh fruit to make an even healthier start to your morning. If you enjoy making or eating marshmallow rice crisp squares, Barbara’s Organic Brown Rice Crisp is the perfect ingredient to make those tasty sweet squares not only good, but somewhat good for you too.

Multigrain Puffins
Of the two flavors of Barbara’s Puffin brand cereal I received the Multigrain Puffins were my favorite. A bowl filled with Multigrain Puffins will contain semi-sweet yellow, brown and white squares. The colors are not the result of artificial colors or flavors. Instead they come from the ingredients, all natural whole oats, brown rice, and corn. They stand up to sitting in a bowl of milk perfectly.

Honey Rice Puffins
Barbara’s Honey Rice Puffins are whole grain brown rice squares lightly coated in a thin honey glaze. Though it is the sweetest of the three, they are still not overly sugary. This makes it a great children’s cereal.

In addition to the Multigrain and Honey Rice varieties of Puffin, Barbara’s also comes in Original, Peanut Butter, and Cinnamon flavors. All varieties of puffin include great information on how you can help Barbara’s Bakery help improve life for Puffins. Barbara’s is a sponsor of the Audubon’s Project Puffin, which is working to restore puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine. To learn more about Project Puffin visit www.projectpuffin.org.

To learn more about these great cereals and all the gluten-free products offered by Barbara’s Bakery visit www.barbarasbakery.com.

Before I had a chance to finish the 4 Part Mambo Sprout Review series, Mambo sprouts was kind enough to send another box filled with gluten-free products to review. Stay tuned for reviews that include Pamela’s Products, Ian Gluten-Free Animal Cookies, and much, much more.

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Gorilla Munch

EnviroKidz is the Nature’s Path product line aimed at children and the people who feed them. This product line consists of organic, gluten free cold cereals and cereal bars that taste pretty close to their gluten counter parts. I cannot say they are that much more healthy than many cereals normally offered to children. However, when you consider how difficult switching to a gluten free diet can be, especially for a child who’s peers can eat commercial junk food cereals, this product becomes a bit more special.

LeapinLemurs

Each EnviroKidz flavor is named after an endangered or threatened species. We sampled two of the five available flavors of cereals. Gorilla Munch is a simple cornmeal and sugar cereal similar to Kix but sweeter. Leapin’ Lemurs is a peanut butter and chocolate flavored cereal which could be compared to Reese’s Puffs.

In addition to having delicious, crunchy, organic and gluten free cereal inside, each box has an image of the cute, endangered or threatened animal it is named after on the front, detailed information about the preservation of that animal on the back, and a portion of sales is donated toward saving that animal and its environment. To learn more about EnviroKidz as well as the other organic products visit www.naturespath.com.

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