NOTICE: This blog is no longer being updated, so medical information may no longer be accurate.

Freedom Foods Tropic O’s Cereal (a.k.a. Gluten, Allergen and Synthetic Dye Free “Fruit Loops”) with a Giveaway!

Gluten Free Fruit Loops

Gluten and allergen free moms, REJOICE!  The day has finally arrived that our kiddos can make the dreaded Fruit Loop necklace along side their classmates and no longer feel left out! 😀

It was precisely the above situation that led me to Freedom Foods in the land down under a couple weeks ago.  When Luke and I went in to meet his preschool teacher prior to the start of school, we went over all the usual suspects: daily snack time, gluten-free art supplies, gluten-free oats for the tactile stimulation table, his gluten-free treat box, etc.

All was going wonderfully well until Ms. S dropped the bomb.

The class would be making Fruit Loop necklaces the following Monday (as in 7 days later).

What’s up with Fruit Loop necklaces anyway?  Oh sure, I remember making them too when I was a kid and it was certainly fun, at least for us kids.  But what are teachers thinking when they decide it would be a good idea to jack their students up on artificial dyes and sugar?  Seems awfully sadistic to me! 😉

Anyhoo…I came home from the meeting with Luke’s teacher and started thinking of a good alternative since Fruit Loops are loaded with glutonium and other gnarly ingredients.  I thought we could go to the craft store and pick out some colored beads.  Or, we could make colored gluten-free dry pasta.  I even went so far as to make some blue GF macaroni but the vision of my precocious 4 year old breaking a tooth when he bit down on an inedible substitute compelled me to query the almighty Google on “gluten-free fruit loop necklaces” to see what other moms in my situation have done.  I didn’t find an answer, but I did see that I was not the only mom asking this all important question!

I redefined my search to “gluten-free fruit loops” and that’s when it happened <insert voices of heavenly choir basking in gluten-free glory here>, Freedom Foods’ Tropic O’s cereal popped up on the website of Absolutely Gluten Free as the top listing in my Google search.  I was so beside myself with excitement that I didn’t even notice it was an Australian website.  I emailed the kind folks at Absolutely Gluten Free to see if they would ship overseas but in order to get it here on time, I would need a second mortgage to pay for the shipping (my husband is very supportive when it comes to my “bright ideas” but this one may be grounds for divorce, LOL!).

To make a long story short(er), I ultimately discovered a company in California, Wholesome International, that recently began importing some of the Freedom Foods gluten-free cereals.  So recent in fact, they were still working on the list of places where consumers can buy the products, including Amazon (you should definitely submit your email address to Amazon so you can be notified the next time Tropic O’s are in stock….I do believe my Facebook fans and Twitter followers wiped out the entire supply within a few hours of debuting last week, LOL!).  A few phone calls later, and I found Sarah, a representative of Howell Mountain Distributors, who patiently listened as I explained my desperate situation and she agreed to sell me a case of the newly arrived Freedom Foods Tropic O’s with expedited shipping.

When the cereal finally arrived 2 days later, I was like a kid at Christmas (and I rarely buy gluten-free processed foods anymore).  This however, was an occasion to celebrate.  While I have been working very hard to change my family’s diet over to real, whole foods; nurturing my children’s emotional well-being is just as important to me as keeping them healthy.  And like it or not, it is very important for children to feel “normal” around their peers, they’re pack animals at this age.  I know all too well (and so do my parents) the potential consequences that can happen when an adolescent has an unmet need to feel like they belong.

Gluten, Allergen and Dye Free "Fruit Loops" Cereal

Besides, compared to Kellogg’s Fruit Loops, the Freedom Foods Tropic O’s seem almost healthy by comparison (they do still contain sugar afterall).  I’ll get to the good stuff in a minute, but if you would, please indulge me for a second (or two).

Giuten-Free Fruit Loops

As you can see above, the ingredients in Freedom Foods Tropic O’s are: Flour Mix (Rice Flour, Wholegrain Sorghum Flour & Non-GMO Maize [corn] Flour), Cane Sugar, Psyllium, Natural Colours (Turmeric, Fermented Rice Powder, Gardenia Flower Extract, Sweet Potato Extract), Palm Oil (as emulsifier), Natural Minerals (Tricalcium Phosphate, Iron), Salt, Natural Fruit Flavors, Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folic acid).

Now lets compare those ingredients to Kellogg’s Fruit Loops: Sugar, whole grain corn flour, wheat flour, whole grain oat flour, oat fiber, soluble corn fiber, contains 2% or less of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed), salt, red 40, natural flavor, blue 2, turmeric color, yellow 6, annatto color, blue 1, BHT for freshness.

First thing to take note of is the sugar.  Tropic O’s lists cane sugar as the second ingredient whereas Fruit Loops lists sugar in the number one spot.  Translation: there is more sugar in Fruit Loops, in fact, there are 4 additional grams of sugar for each one cup serving compared to Tropic O’s.  So what does that mean exactly?  I did an eye opening experiment a year and a half ago on Kellogg’s Yogos (click here) and I encourage you to check it out.

Now let’s take a closer look at artificial food dyes, shall we?

The following information is from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in the article, Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks.

Red 40, the most-widely used dye, may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice.  The dye causes hypersensitivity (allergy-like) reactions in a small number of consumers and might trigger hyperactivity in children.  Considering the safety questions and its non-essentiality, Red 40 should be excluded from foods unless and until new tests clearly demonstrate its safety.

Blue 2 cannot be considered safe given the statistically significant incidence of tumors, particularly brain gliomas, in male rats.  It should not be used in foods.

Yellow 6 caused adrenal tumors in animals, though that is disputed by industry and the FDA.  It may be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals and occasionally causes severe hypersensitivity reactions.  Yellow 6 adds an unnecessary risk to the food supply.

Blue 1 was not found to be toxic in key rat and mouse studies, but an unpublished study suggested the possibility that Blue 1 caused kidney tumors in mice, and a preliminary in vitro study raised questions about possible effects on nerve cells.  Blue 1 may not cause cancer, but confirmatory studies should be conducted.  The dye can cause hypersensitivity reactions.

Almost all the toxicological studies on dyes were commissioned, conducted, and analyzed by the chemical industry and academic consultants.  Ideally, dyes (and other regulated chemicals) would be tested by independent researchers.  Furthermore, virtually all the studies tested individual dyes, whereas many foods and diets contain mixtures of dyes (and other ingredients) that might lead to additive or synergistic effects.

For more information, see Diet and Nutrition: The Artificial Food Dye Blues (Environ Health Perspect. 2010 October; 118(10): A428, PMCID: PMC2957945).

Robyn O’Brien also wrote a very insightful article on her website, Allergy Kids: Serving Up Food Dyes, UK Style and I encourage you to read it.

Next up, Trans Fats!

I borrowed the following Nutrition Facts Label for Fruit Loops from Marion Nestle:

Kellogg's Fruit Loops Nutrition Facts LabelNow, I’m only sharing this information because as Oprah often quoted Maya Angelou as saying, “When you know better, you do better.”  And that has absolutely been the case for me.  Before celiac disease and food allergies forced me into studying the ingredient labels of every product I buy, I only looked at the calories and fat grams of products.  I didn’t know how to translate all the other information listed on the labels.  And just to let you know how naive I used to be, I honestly thought that processed foods couldn’t possibly contain ingredients that were truly unsafe.  I mean, the FDA would never approve the use of ingredients that could be potentially harmful, especially in products marketed to kids, right? 😕

If you look at the nutrition facts of Kellogg’s Fruit Loops next to Trans Fats, you see “0 grams.”

That’s good, right?

The following is from the Harvard School of Public Health website:

Now that the once-ubiquitous but invisible trans fats are listed in bold print on food labels, it’s easier to spot them in packaged foods.  Keep in mind, though, that according to the FDA, a product claiming to have zero trans fat can actually contain up to a half gram. (Canada set a different standard of zero as under 0.2 grams).  So you may still want to scan the ingredient list for “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” and “vegetable shortening,” and look for an alternative product without those words, especially if it’s something you eat regularly.

So, even though Kellogg’s states that there are zero trans fats in Fruit Loops, that isn’t exactly true.  Kinda like how the label “gluten-free” does not mean the same thing as “free of gluten!”  (click here to learn more).

I don’t mean to pick on Fruit Loops, because this is just one of thousands of products that contain similar ingredients (just check out my friend Melissa’s post on the newly labeled gluten-free Fruity Pebbles).  Artificial food dyes are in everything, heck, they’re even in Vlasic Pickles and foods you would never think contained artificial colorings because they’re not neon colored, like Kraft’s regular white marshmallows which contain blue dye (think little blue haired old ladies. apparently bluing agents correct any yellowing that occurs in the color white) and General Millsbrown Cinnamon Chex cereal which contains yellow 6 lake and blue 2 lake (aren’t yellow and blue supposed to make green?).

Maybe a little artificial coloring is truly harmless, but if you’re eating it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month and 12 months a year…well you get my point!  I won’t enter into the debate on artificial food colorings and hyperactivity in kids, because there are other issues I think about.  One has to wonder if all the synthetic colorings, preservatives, genetically modified ingredients, pesticides, etc., that are so prevalent in the American food supply, have played a part in the ever increasing prevalence of celiac disease, food allergies, autism, ADHD, autoimmune disease (and the list goes on and on).

Did you know that 70% of the US corn crop is genetically modified?  As is 93% of the US soy crop (see Robyn O’Brien’s article, Didn’t Realize Our Food Contains GMO’s? You’re Not Alone and if you want to learn more, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Robyn’s book, The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother’s Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America’s Food Supply– and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself.  EVERYONE should read this book, it is nothing short of astounding).

While GMOs are a highly controversial subject matter, the fact remains, there is NOT enough research to support the safety of genetically engineered foods.  Not only is there the possibility of transferring allergenic proteins from one food to another, but scientists are creating brand new proteins that have NEVER before been in the human diet.  How do you think our immune systems are going to respond to that, especially in those who have increased intestinal permeability (a.k.a. leaky gut)?

Even if my children could have gluten, knowing what I know now, I would still buy the Freedom Foods Tropic O’s over Kellogg’s Fruit Loops.  The only way U.S. manufacturers are going to change is if informed consumers demand it and put their money where their mouth is (the gluten-free market is the perfect example of this).  And as Robyn O’Brien pointed out in her above mentioned article Serving Up Food Dyes, UK Style, major companies like Coca Cola and Kraft are already doing this in other countries where the public is much more aware.  I just started finding out the truth about “what’s really in our food,” maybe 2 years ago when my family’s health began spiraling out of control.  And the more I think about it, the angrier I get, so lets move on to a happier subject, the taste of Freedom Foods Tropic O’s cereal!

I couldn’t taste the cereal personally because I’m allergic to corn but my husband said they taste just like what he remembers Fruit Loops tasting like.  My kids absolutely loved them (so much so, I had to hide 4 of the boxes because I still view this as a treat, not an everyday breakfast staple).

In addition to the Tropic O’s being gluten-free and synthetic dye-free, they are also: dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free and sesame-free.

According to the Freedom Foods website (under Managing Allergens):

Our ‘Free From’ Home
In 2009, Freedom Foods established a dedicated ‘free from’ factory in Stanbridge in the New South Wales Riverina (near Leeton.). Our factory is one of the few factories around the world that is free from wheat, barley, triticale, sesame seeds and nuts.

Not only do we produce our Freedom Foods Cereals and Biscuits at Stanbridge, but we also actually mill many of the raw ingredients that we use at the factory.

Product Testing
We test every batch of products produced at Stanbridge to ensure that gluten, peanut, almonds and hazelnuts are not detected.

We use ELISA tests for gluten

Gluten:
Our Stanbridge site is completely free from wheat, rye, barley & triticale and we ensure that the oats that we bring on site are not contaminated with wheat.

Testing of gluten:
Every batch of our product is tested to ensure that no gluten is detected.

click here to continue reading.

And yes, the Topic O’s make a great “Fruit Loop” necklace, but the “O” shape is smaller than that of Fruit Loops (I would say they are more the size of Cheerios), so you may need to do a little sorting to find cereal pieces with a large enough hole to thread on a piece of yarn.  A small price to pay, in my opinion…and it’s a good exercise in focus for the pint size crowd, LOL! 😉

Gluten-Free Fruit Loop NecklaceTip: to make a safe “needle” for kids to assemble their necklaces, wrap a twisty tie around the end of a piece of yarn.

Know what else these will be great for?  Decorating Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Gingerbread Houses (which reminds me, I better get to planning my 2012 unmasterpiece, LOL!).

Would you like to try Freedom Food’s Tropic O’s for yourself?  Well, here’s your chance!

**This Giveaway is Now Closed**

The folks at Wholesome International have kindly offered to give three of my readers a FREE mixed case of cereal from Freedom Foods!

Each winner will receive (1) package of the following cereals (for a total of 5 boxes of cereal):

Tropic O’s

Corn Flakes

Rice Flakes

Rice Puffs

Ultra Rice Maple Crunch

To enter for a chance to win this giveaway, simply leave a comment!

*This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Bonus Entry Opportunities (these are strictly optional, but should you decide to do any of them, be sure to leave a separate comment for each task you complete because this is how I keep track of entries, no sense in doing the work if you won’t get credit!)

  • Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include a link to this page and include @adventuresgfmom in your tweet so I know you did this).
  • Share the link to this giveaway in a blog post.

I will announce the 3 winners on Monday, September 12th, 2011.  Good Luck! 😀

Comments

  1. I'm wishing we had these TODAY when they did the Froot Loop necklace! I'm also glad that his wheat allergy was not so bad that he couldn't string the loops on, but it broke my heart that he couldn't eat them!!!

  2. I am following Wholesome Int on Twitter

  3. Bernadette O'Ne says

    It is so great to find a site where I can get food that my almost 3 year old grandson can eat. His allergies are to so many foods and we haven't discovered all of them yet. He will love this cereal.

  4. I am following Freedom Foods on Twitter

  5. I shared it on Allergic to Air's Facebook page.

    http://www.facebook.com/allergictoair

  6. I follow Freedom Foods on Twitter.

    http://twitter.com/#!/allergic_2_air

  7. I would LOVE the opportunity to try this cereal for my GFCF kiddo. We are finding more and more that as we move away from the over processed, dye riddled foods that he is doing better and better!

  8. I follow Wholesome International on Twitter.

    http://twitter.com/#!/allergic_2_air

  9. Michelle Key says

    I am posting a link to this on facebook!! This cereal looks great.

  10. Thanks for bringing these to my attention. Can not wait to give these to my kids!! They will be sooo excited.

  11. I would LOVE to win some of these to try!

  12. I "liked" freedom foods on facebook. How exciting for our kids to have a chance at some "traditional" foods.

  13. Michelle Key says

    I also liked Freedom Foods on facebook and am looking forward to trying more of their products.

  14. I like FF on FB

  15. Heidi-girl,

    We are SO on the same wavelength today! Oh, my gosh, this is eery. I've read Robyn's book as well. She includes some scary and eye-opening information about our food system. This is great information you've compiled here. We can always count on you to bring all the threads together in one thoughtful post. And thank you for linking to my cereal post. I appreciate it. It's frustrating how dishonest the food industry is when marketing this stuff to kids.

    As for the Tropic O's — gardenia flower extract sounds a lot better than some convoluted chemical name, doesn't it? =)

    Great post (as always)!

    Melissa

  16. Mmmmmm, I have:

    ‘Like’ Freedom Foods on Facebook

    ‘Follow’ Freedom Foods on Twitter

    ‘Follow’ Wholesome International on Twitter

    and want to Share the link to this giveaway on your Facebook Page But I don't know how to "tag" you.

    I am doing this right now…I hope I do it right…Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include a link to this page and include @adventuresgfmom in your tweet so I know you did this).

  17. Michelle Key says

    I am following you on twitter and will retweet this. 🙂

  18. Followed on twitter

  19. Also liked on Facebook, followed on Facebook and re-tweeted!

  20. We would LOVE these as we cannot order them in Canada 🙁

  21. Great to find more and more people sharing this journey of gluten free with me. I have three children that have celiac and am always trying to be creative so they are not left out in the growing up experiences. Another item to make life a little easier!

  22. Michelle Key says

    I am also following Wholesome foods on twitter

  23. Michelle Key says

    I am now a follower of Freedom Foods on twitter as well. Thanks again! I really hope I win.

  24. I am struggling with feeding my 6 yo who I recently found out is sensitive to gluten and dairy. Your blog is full of so much information and I truly appreciate all of your hard work and willingness to share your lesson's learned. I would also like to add a link to Robyn O'Brien's TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA .

  25. Chris Chase says

    Wow, we'd love this! Our 2 preschool boys are GF.

  26. Chris Chase says

    I "like" freedom foods on facebook as well.

  27. Chris Chase says

    Posted a link on Facebook to the giveaway.

  28. You're amazing, Heidi–awesome post for its eye opening effects. And great giveaway, too. Don't enter me in the giveaway, but just wanted to add my kudos. 🙂

    xoxo,

    Shirley

  29. Sounds like great products. Would love to try them.

  30. "liked" Freedom Foods on Facebook

  31. GF for four years! Love to hear about new products to make my overly complicated life less complicated…

  32. Oh my goodness! Gf fruit loops! That taste good? Gluten free gods be praised!

  33. I just got way too excited! I am GF and the kiddo is nut free so we make a bad combo for shopping. By the looks of the ingredients it looks like we might be able to enjoy the same treat! YAY! Thanks for doing this post!!

  34. I am a Freedom Foods Fan on FB!

  35. I feel like it's Christmas finding some kid food. My son just started preschool so I am constantly looking for things like this. THANK YOU!

  36. I would love to win these!!!

  37. Liked Freedom Foods on FB 🙂

  38. Shared the link on my FB page. 🙂

  39. Hooray for Freedom Foods!

  40. I liked Freedom Foods on Facebook.

  41. I shared the link on my Facebook page.

  42. I followed Freedom Foods on Twitter.

  43. I followed Wholesome International on Twitter.

  44. And I tweeted about the giveaway!

  45. I can't wait to get this cereal for my kiddos. I can't believe I missed it on Amazon.

  46. I liked Freedom Foods on Facebook

  47. So, you LITERALLY go to the ends of the Earth to find what you want to find. Remind me to give my quest to you if I am ever in need of something difficult to find. Well, I would love to try these puppies out. Leaving' my comment.

    xoxo,

    Tia

  48. I posted on Facebook!

  49. I liked Freedom Foods!

  50. i have contemplated expedited shipping for GF ice cream cones for a school event so I totally get where you're coming from. Nice work hunting down a solution! And we'd love to try this cereal.

  51. I tweeted!

  52. I follow Freedom Foods!

  53. I *LOVE* learning about new, awesome, GF foods — and cereals are one of the things I miss. If I win, I might share with my kids, even. (or maybe not!!)

  54. Raising a daughter who is GF/Casien Free/Dye free I would LOVE to be able to have her try the O's Cereal.. She's always asking for those "froot loops" yuk…

    I hope I win.. I hope I win.. I hope I win… 😉

    Thanks for the opportunity! 🙂

    Lisa

  55. I follow Wholesome Int'l. And I think I am done. Thanks, Heidi!

  56. Liked Freedom Foods on FB

  57. Wow these look yummy!

  58. Suzy Heller says

    Wow…I wished I had these when my son was in Kindergarten (he's in 3rd grade), but I'm sure he'll love to try them now. Following Freedom Foods on FB 🙂

  59. Sabrina Matis says

    These look like a healthier alternative to Fruit Loops. I will definitely become a Freedom Foods on Facebook.

  60. Dana Hamilton says

    That is so cool–to eat fruit loops again!

  61. Let the craftiness begin.

  62. This is exciting news! Thanks for sharing this with us and for your diligence in finding it. 🙂

  63. I liked Freedom Foods!

  64. I shared link on my Facebook page!

  65. I followed Freedom Foods on Twitter!

  66. I followed Wholesome Int on Twitter!

  67. I tweeted the giveaway!

  68. Love to try some of the cereal to review on my blog site: http://www.luvglutenfree.com
    Keep up the great work!

  69. Yahoo! I gave up on fun cereals for my boy. He has so many allergies. This cereal doesn't list soy either, so I am totally jazzed! That has been the hardest to avoid. My poor boy has been wanting the froot loops like the other kids in class. Thank you for sharing!!!!!

    😀

  70. The cereals look wonderful! Thanks for hosting this great giveaway.

  71. I follow Freedom Foods on Twitter.

  72. I follow Wholesome International on Twitter

  73. Stacey Clark says

    I can't wait to try the cereals! Hopefully they will become more accessible to us in the US. Thanks for the great education!

  74. Heidi – you are an amazing mom! You go through a lot of effort in ensure your children's emotional health. I admire you.

  75. What an awesome giveaway and bringing my attention to this product!!!!

  76. My brand new kindergartener would be ecstatic over these! Her usual cereal choices include crispy rice and granola. LOL ::off to stalk amazon…I mean, sign up for notifications:: THANKS!

  77. I would love to have these cereals when my grandchildren visit!

  78. I can hear my kid cheering! Thanks Heidi

  79. Samantha Spiker says

    I tweeted about this giveaway!

  80. I am sure my 3 celiac kids would rejoice if I put a "fun" kiddie cereal in front of them…Thanks for the opportunity!

  81. I liked Freedom Foods on FB. Thank you for the giveaway.

  82. My boys would love these….

  83. Your research is our reward, Heidi. Great job. These do look a lot better than the traditional Fruit Loops, even if they're still a sugary cereal. Great to have something that can allow your kids to still feel included. 🙂

  84. WOW! So surprised they are dye free as well!

  85. As always such great information here. I love your passion around getting real foods into our lives. It's a shame that the FDA's true purpose is to make money for those groups with the most lobbyists. They should be looking out for the consumers like most people think they are. Thank you for finding so much great information and sharing it.

  86. I would LOVE to try these-they look delish! Thank you for all the valuable info that you give to me-I love reading your blog!

  87. I liked Freedom foods on FB.

  88. This is a great giveaway Heidi!

  89. I went to Amazon to check it out and they were sold out of the Tropic O's-but I ordered some of the Ultra Rice maple crunch-would love to try the other flavors! YUM!

  90. Woo! 5 boxes of cereal? Sign me up, please!

  91. I would love to try these! I'm sure my son would happily share them with me as well.

  92. I liked Freedom Foods.

  93. I follow Freedom Foods on Twitter @MommaStaciA

  94. I follow Wholesome Int on Twitter @MommaStaciA Thanks!

  95. Mary Hancock says

    So glad to see a new GF food! I'm sure my granddaughter would love to try it!!

  96. This is great…would love to win!!!!

  97. I just found your blog today. My one year old needs those fruit loops! Poor baby!

  98. I can't wait for my daughter to try them! 🙂

  99. Wow! Really want to try them!

  100. I love that I found your website. Your articles are wonderful and reassuring I'm doing what's right! I was diagnosed with celiac after being unable to get out of bed for a year. I would never go back to eating the way I ate before. As my kids get older I'm looking for more products to replace the ones they see their friends consuming. It would light up their faces to see a fun and colorful cereal on "cereal Saturday" (the only day they are allowed to eat cereal for breakfast).

  101. I'm so excited to get the Tropical O's for my teenage son with Celiac's. We are constantly on the lookout for foods that 'normal' kids eat. As a teen driver with a social life, not being able to eat anything at the teen hot spots is a big dark cloud over my son. Thanks, Freedom Foods for these great options.

  102. Wow, what a cool brand Heidi! I'd never heard of them before, but will keep an eye out now. I would love to try that Ultra Rice Maple Crunch – yum!

  103. Tracy Pfeiffer says

    Sounds great! I called Sarah and she asked that we all go into Whole Foods to help them get it into their stores. I guess they have made a presentation but they don't think there is demand. Hello! I'll march in there tonight. Thanks Heidi!!!

    • Tracy,

      I'm REALLY impressed that you called Sarah, you go girl! Another thing we can all do is click on the 'Like' button next to their listing on Amazon.

      I just love my gluten-free and food allergy moms, we are an amazing force to be reckoned with! 😀

      Hugs,
      Heidi

    • Sarah Millard says

      Hello Tracy,

      This is Sarah from Howell Mountain Distributors. I meant to ask which Whole foods you were planning on visiting. If you could please e-mail us the locations and we will make sure to visit those stores first. Any questions or requests for the product can be e-mailed directly to me if you would like. smedina@howellmd.com

  104. What a great giveaway!

  105. I like Freedom Foods on FB.

  106. I'm following Freedom Foods on Twitter.

  107. I'm following Wholesome International on Twitter.

  108. Once again Heidi you have done an incredible job researching and explaining a gluten free product so much more than I could even imagine. There is lots of food for thought-pun intended in your write up. I'm looking forward to having a fun new treat to offer to my monkeys. You are the best! Thanks:)

  109. Would love to try these!

  110. mentioned several of your articles in my latest blog post!!! Including this giveaway

  111. reposted the giveaway on my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/glutenfreeadvocate

  112. liked their facebook page!

  113. I tweeted too! @gfadvocate

  114. would love to try these 🙂

  115. I need these!! My daughter has not had fruit loops in 6 years and would freak!!

  116. I would love to try these with my family! Super excited to find a new cereal and company that supports a healthy or healthiereating. Thanks for your wonderful website!

  117. christyjean says

    I am SO, SO excited!! I was just talking with my 2-yr-old's teacher TODAY about an upcoming Fruit Loop project! My little girl is gluten-free… I'm so glad that GF "Fruit Loops" exist!!

  118. Rebecca Avery says

    I am so excited for these! We have been food color free for 3 years and they long for colored treats.

  119. I love this post! Informative, interesting and beautiful photos too. Having had Celiac since I was 3 I have never (to memory) had fruit loops in my life, but this post made me want to try this gluten-free version. I like that they are sorghum and corn based, and naturally colored. The sugar is not horrible either, although I try to limit Baby Yum's sugary cereal… I'd like to try a box of these sometime! Thanks for sharing. I see a non-fruit-loops necklace in my future (someday!)

    Hugs, Sea

  120. I liked Freedom Foods

  121. I followed Wholesome International

  122. I tweeted about your post!

  123. Love your blog and love trying the new stuff you bring to our attention. I will be looking for this cereal for my boys!

  124. ‘Like’ Freedom Foods on Facebook

    Share the link to this giveaway on your Facebook Page (be sure to tag @Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom in your status update so I know you did this).

    ‘Follow’ Freedom Foods on Twitter

    ‘Follow’ Wholesome International on Twitter

    Tweet about this giveaway (be sure to include a link to this page and include @adventuresgfmom in your tweet so I know you did this).

    Share the link to this giveaway in a blog post.

  125. Oops That last post was an accident. I have completed all the tasks!! 🙂

    Just Liked Freedom Foods

  126. Shared the link on Facebook!

    My son would love these! He gets tired of the only GFCF Cereal that he eats.

  127. Following Freedom Foods on Twitter! 🙂

  128. Griselda Garcia says

    Following Wholesome International on Twitter.

    @imuhsuperstar

  129. Griselda Garcia says

    Posted link on Twitter!

    Crossing my fingers!! I hope we're one of the lucky ones!

    Thanks for finding these for us!! I hope they will be available for us to buy soon!

  130. Wow these look great! I would love to try them. Just recently my mom bought my brother fruit loops as a treat (he can have gluten) and it brought me back to my childhood and fun things like fruit loop necklaces! So awesome that you found some that are dye free. Thanks for the tip 🙂

  131. Liked freedom foods on facebook!

  132. What a great find! Fruit loops, what a great treat. Hope to find them soon.

    Thanks

  133. Thank you for finding a fun, gluten free, artificial dye free cereal! I can't wait for my boys to try it!

  134. MOM WOULD LOVE SOME TOO!!!!! :p

  135. Whole Foods makes a corn based cereal called "Rainbow Rings" that looks like fruit loops. Did you try those? seems like it would be easier than ordering from freedom foods…

  136. I remember only looking at fat and calorie grams too. When my dd was diagnosed with type one diabetes I started looking at the carb and sugar grams – rarely the ingredients. I'm the only one gluten free in my family but I would buy these for my family over FL. I remember when Kellogg's came out with less sugar cereals including FL. I was giddy about that. Totally ridiculous when I think of all the other junk in them besides gobs of sugar that I didn't even bat an eyelash over.

  137. Can't wait to share this information with other gluten-free, dairy-free friends~

  138. I am SO excited about this new cereal!! I can't wait to try it! =D

  139. These sound sooo good! Hope they come to my area.

  140. Looks like a great product

  141. These sound awesome. Most gf cereal tastes bland by itself. I think I could eat this out of the box like I used to!

  142. I whole-heartedly agree with your rant against all the stuff that's in our food, that isn't even really food! My kids would love to try something more kid-like than the Rice Chex I keep on hand. 🙂

  143. Heidi I dont know how I can tell you enough that you help me some much with trying to keep my son with Eosinophilic Esophagitis healthy and happy while keeping me so educated. (we are no wheat/gluten, dairy free, soy free, nut free, apple free, egg free soon to be alot of no things as well) Thank you for all your hard work and I will be sharing this on my FB page. I've been on a food documentary kick right now via Netflix. When will America wake up and demand better non GMO, non HFCS foods, etc.?? I literally have been trying to tell anyone and everyone that will listen. Thank you!!

  144. I liked freedom foods on facebook

    I posted a link to the contest on my page but I do not know how to tag you

    following Freedom Foods and Wholesome International on Twitter

    tweeted about the contest

  145. Heather Brandt says

    What a fun food to be able to share with my son!

  146. Heather Brandt says

    I like Freedom Foods on fb 🙂

  147. OMG I have never heard of these!! I am the only gf eater in my house, which makes it almost worse because I almost never buy "extras" like cereal for myself, I spend our grocery budget on my kiddos 😉 Thanks for the awesome website and the giveaway!!!

  148. would love to win this for my hubby and little boy!

  149. Oh my, oh my! We are eating sooo many unhealthy food it mind boggling! Even worst – our future children may suffer from our diet.

  150. New Reader! I followed you on twitter!

  151. I posted on my facebook page!

  152. I liked Adventures of a gluten free mom on FB!

  153. I liked Freedom foods on FB!

  154. I followed wholesome international on twitter!

  155. i tweeted a link about the giveaway

  156. this would be my regular comment for the regular entry. even if i don't win I will be purchasing for sure. i am trying to steer us to allergen free eating as much as possible and this would be a major boost for my case with a celiac husband who thinks gluten free fruity pebbles are an okay breakfast for him and out daughter.

    (not!) Thank you and i will be back often!

  157. Would love to try these for my kids! They are gluten and dairy free, and we have recently started avoiding dyes.

  158. I follow Freedom Foods on facebook.

  159. My son is 18 months old and a Celiac. I am ever grateful for your information and help since I am so new to this and my 3 older children are on a normal diet!

  160. Tammy Hempstead says

    so happy that I can enjoy my childhood memories of fun at breakfast as a celiac / soy adult …..with the help of Freedom Food and Adventures of a Gluten free Mom…..thanks

  161. What a great giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win & try these products.

  162. I'm a Freedom Foods friend on facebook.

  163. I liked! Now I wonder if my son will like …

  164. Would love to win….liked them on FB also!!!

  165. I would love to win this giveaway! My daughter easily converted to GF, but it's my husband I'm still working on!

  166. Sharon Robertson says

    Thanks for your post. Is it any wonder why the cancer rate is so high these days? We want real food not food chucked full of chemicals.

Trackbacks

  1. […] Freedom Foods Tropic O’s Cereal (a.k.a. Gluten, Allergen and Synthetic Dye Free “Fruit Loops”… […]