Babies, Parenting, Child Health, Infant Nutrition

Baby Nutrition – The 7 Best Gluten-Free Products

08.28.2008 | 4:08:42 pm | Posted by mummums

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

Whether you or child have celiac disease or have opted to go gluten free for the myriad of health benefits, you may discover that not all gluten free products are created equal. Thanks to the increased awareness of celiac disease and gluten intolerance, there are more gluten free foods available than ever before. Mum Mum’s (gluten free) dietitian has field tested just about every gluten free food on the market and provides a best of the best list for gluten free foods:

Pasta
Hands down the best gluten-free pasta available is Tinkyada, which comes in a variety of types and shapes. Made from brown rice, this pasta tastes delicious and is also free from other common allergens including soy, dairy, nuts, eggs, and casein. It does take longer to cook than wheat pasta (about 12-14 minutes) but be sure not to overcook as these taste best al dente. The curly noodles make a great finger food for gluten free toddlers. Tinkyada is a specialized facility; they only use rice flours so you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination.

Cereal
Trader Joe’s brand Gluten Free Granola is delicious and comes in 3 different varieties. Loaded with nuts, dried fruit, corn, and millet flakes, this granola provides nutrients without a lot of sugar. It also makes a great on-the-go snack for little ones, but be cautious if your child has nut allergies.

baby development, gluten free foods Sweet Treats
Everybody needs a little treat once in a while, and Enjoy Life makes delicious gluten free cookies- the lemon and chocolate chip are yummy. Word to the wise, these cookies have a great deal of sugar- about 14g for a serving of 3 small cookies so enjoy in moderation. Enjoy life promises an allergen free experience as all of their products are free from the 8 major allergens.

Flours
While there are many great gluten free flours on the market, we tried to streamline down into a few “go to” varieties. Bob’s Red Mill makes several pre-packaged baking mixes; the chocolate cake mix being the best. But for an all-purpose gluten free baking flour, Pamela’s faired the best in our test kitchen. Pamela’s gluten free all purpose baking flour can be substituted in equal parts of flour in your favorite recipes. The package says baking and pancake mix, but the pancakes were not tasty without some major tweaking to the recipe.

Baby Food
Partiality aside, Baby Mum-Mum’s makes the best, and one of the only, gluten free rice husk teething biscuits. Babies love these teething treats that are virtually mess-free. The gluten free toddler rice biscuits are also USDA certified organic. When it comes to jarred baby food, there currently is not an entire line of baby food that is gluten free.

Frozen Meals
Let’s face it- sometimes we need a little break from cooking, especially when moms need a little “me” time. Amy’s brand makes some wonderful gluten-free frozen meals, the gluten-free mac and cheese and the enchiladas are favorites. Amy’s also makes one of the few gluten free frozen pizzas that tastes great, but you should plan on adding your own toppings as it only comes with cheese.

Snacks
A European company that has been emerging onto US store shelves is Glutino. Glutino makes gluten-free crackers and pretzels that taste just like the real thing. Ener G foods comes a close second with their sesame pretzels and cinnamon crackers. You can also try Hot-Kid Rice Crisps, SuperSlim Brown Rice Crisps, and SuperSlim Rice Crisps.

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The Baby Mum-Mum blog discusses everything to do with babies and parenting with a focus on child health and child development. Baby Mum-Mum is a healthy, easy to digest baby rice snack that is enjoyed by babies and mothers around the world for its portability, gluten free ingredients and great taste. Baby Mum-Mum is a division of Want-Want Holdings, a manufacturer of healthy snack foods, beverages and related products since 1962.

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