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Crunchy Flax Cereal Bars

I found this recipe on Recipezaar and with a few gluten-free tweaks, made a yummy new breakfast bar!

1 1/4 cups honey (I used 1 cup Agave Nectar but might reduce next time to 3/4 cup)

1 cup Peanut Butter (I used Natural Jif and added 1/4 cup whole flax seeds to it… this is really good as a crunchy peanut butter! Try it with Sunbutter too)

4 cups Grape Nuts (I used Perky’s Crunchy Flax cereal by Enjoy Life Foods)

1 cup Quick Oatmeal (I used GF oats.*If you are newly diagnosed with celiac disease, please click here to read more on oats from one of my previous posts)

1 cup Dried Cranberries (I omitted these because I love them by themselves, just not in my cereal or granola bars)

• Line a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper

• In a large saucepan, combine honey (or agave nectar) and peanut butter over medium heat.

• Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

• Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, mixing well and spread into prepared pan.

• Use a piece of parchment paper to press into pan and flatten out (Be careful, the mixture is VERY hot!).

• Put in refrigerator for about 30 minutes until cool and cut into bars.

• I wrapped each of mine in wax paper which makes them a great grab-and-go breakfast!
  

Enjoy Life Foods Cereal Product Review

Two of my all time favorite cereals since being on the gluten-free diet have been Perky’s Crunchy Flax and Perky’s Crunchy Rice, which are now part of the Enjoy Life family of foods that are not only gluten-free, but are also free of the 8 most common food allergens! I recently received a complimentary box of each cereal from Enjoy Life Foods to review for you on my blog.

Prior to my celiac diagnosis, one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast was a bowl of Grape Nuts and that was one of the foods I missed most after my diagnosis. The Crunchy Flax and Crunchy Rice cereals by Enjoy Life Foods remind me (if only the nature of them) of Grape Nuts. They do not taste like Grape Nuts but they do have that nutty flavor and crispy crunch. With a bowl of Grape Nuts (depending on your taste preferences), I can see how some people might need to add sugar in order to make the cereal palatable but I always liked mine plain or if I was in the mood for a sweeter cereal, I would add sliced banana. With the Crunchy Flax and Crunchy Rice cereals, there is a slight sweetness to them, but it comes from raisin juice concentrate and honey which I think is a better alternative to granulated sugar anyway.

Check out the nutritional information on the Crunchy Flax cereal:

A 3/4 cup serving of Crunchy Flax cereal provides a whopping 15% of your recommended daily intake of iron, which is a very good thing for a lot of celiacs who battle anemia due to malabsorption issues. I seriously cannot recall ever seeing another boxed cereal with this much iron. If you battle high iron levels though, like with Hemochromatosis*, this may not a good choice, but the Crunchy Rice cereal is lower in iron than the Crunchy Flax. (*There is a brief mention of Hemochromatosis in relation to celiac disease in the current issue (February/March 2010) of Living Without Magazine in an article titled, “Iron Works.” Sam has a schoolmate whose mom has it, so we have talked about her experience living with the disease. It is exhausting what she has to go through to stay healthy: blood letting every few weeks to reduce the iron in her blood. She has not been diagnosed with celiac but she is on the gluten-free diet). There are also six grams of fiber per serving which really helps you get closer to the 20 – 35 grams of daily recommended fiber!

Nutritional information for the Crunchy Rice cereal:

They both only have 5 ingredients and 5 grams of sugar per serving. No artificial colorings, artificial flavorings or preservatives! I personally love both of these cereals and I have even made a new yummy cereal bar with the Crunchy Flax, which I will post on a separate page.

Perky’s “Nutty” Cereals have a New Name

Perky’s Nutty Cereals are now Enjoy Life “Crunchies”!

Sam and I love this cereal.  I eat the Crunchy Flax cereal for breakfast all the time.

October 20, 2009

SCHILLER PARK, IL, October 20, 2009 – After 25 years of satisfying people’s yearning for an early morning crunchy cereal that is both gluten and nut free, Perky’s Nutty Flax and Perky’s Nutty Rice (nutty in the name, not in the  ingredients), are transitioning under the Enjoy Life  brand, a leader in allergy friendly  and gluten-free foods, and will now be branded Enjoy Life  Crunchy  Flax and Enjoy Life  Crunchy Rice.

Crunchy Flax and Crunchy Rice have the same great taste and texture, only a new name that better reflects the attributes of the cereals that folks have come to enjoy throughout the years. The redesigned packaging also breaths new life into the line, and is a great indicator that the product is now part of the trend-setting  line of Enjoy Life  Foods.

Crunchy Flax is 100% natural, sweetened with fruit juice and honey, has 50g of whole grain, 425 mg of Omega-3′s and 6g of fiber per serving. It’s not only a delicious, but nutritious start to your day!

Crunchy Rice is 100% natural, sweetened with fruit juice and honey and is low fat and low sodium. Enjoy with milk or yogurt (including your favorite non-dairy alternatives), or throw in your trail mix for an extra crunch.

Enjoy Life Crunchy Flax and Crunchy Rice are made in a dedicated nut-free and certified gluten-free facility ensuring the quality, integrity and purity of the  products. All Enjoy Life products are certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO*) and are allergy-friendly. All Enjoy Life products are free of the eight most common allergens (NO: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish).

About Enjoy Life Foods:

Enjoy Life Natural Brands, LLC (d/b/a Enjoy Life  Foods, LLC (ELF)) was founded in 2001 with the mission of making great-tasting allergy-friendly foods that most  everyone can eat freely. The company launched the Enjoy Life brand in 2002 with a broad product line that is free of the eight most common allergens and gluten-free. Today, ELF offers 26 products available in natural food and select grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada. Visit www.enjoylifefoods.com for store locations and more.

*The GFCO is an independent service that supervises gluten-free food production according to a consistent, defined, science-based standard that is confirmed by field inspections, in order to achieve heightened consumer confidence and safety. Learn more at, www.gfco.org