Back to business… I came across this video from THV in Arkansas. As you know, it’s our mission at Custom Choice Cereal to share information and educate about celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and I thought this video fit our mission. WIth a little caveat: while the commentator says that “gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and some oats” the truth is that most oats are cross-contaminated during harvesting and processing.

After a brief introduction that more and more people realize that they have gluten intolerance or celiac disease, a celiac who works at Whole Foods talks about how going helped her gradually transition to “less bloating and less tiredness and less achy joints and less headaches”. Does that sound familiar?? They also point out that “eliminating gluten is the only cure” – though I would have preferred the word “treatment”… It is indeed true that those of us on a gluten-free diet are much more aware of the food we put into our bodies – and the long-term consequences this has for our health and well-being!

Anne Luther, branch manager of the GIG of Central Arkansas, gives a vivid account on how far we’ve come since 2003 when she walked out of the grocery in tears and stresses the importance of avoiding cross-contamination. She also stresses that “Going partially gluten-free isn’t going to help you! You have to get it totally out.”

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1

“Okay, first I was impressed that there was a site specifically for Gluten Free cereal. Then I was impressed because you could mix your own AND name them! THEN I was impressed by the ease of ordering, and the personal customer service as evidenced by the nice email I got after placing my order.

Well, now I’m a devoted and extremely satisfied customer and here’s why: I received my cereal today (two days after ordering – FAST!), and was so excited that I decided to make myself a bowl of one of my custom mixes as soon as I got home tonight. When I opened the box there were my two special mixes, cool labels included, neatly packed (and without a lot of unnecessary extras, I might add). Then I noticed in the box was a pamphlet about the business, and a business card – yours – with a PERSONAL NOTE!

Who does this anymore in this day of automation and “press one for English”?! I was beyond thrilled with that little piece of kindness.

Thanks SO SO SO much!”

We have to thank YOU! You might not believe it, but when we received your email, we did a little happy dance, too

After sending us a very encouraging email (“I REALLY liked it!”), Lisa writes that she “designed my own cereal on his site and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I was supposed to share this cereal with my family, but I forgot”. Now that’s a great sign that we are doing something right here and the best encouragement we can get! But she doesn’t stop there and continues by saying that “the ingredients were high quality and were really not comparable to buying a box of cereal at the supermarket. It is like an entirely different animal”.

We also love how she points out that “kids will love designing their own cereal – so if you are trying to get Jimmy off of Cocoa Puffs – this is a great option”. Wow. Seriously, Snack Girl has been reviewing snacks for years and knows what she’s saying, so her “stamp of approval” is a great honor for Custom Choice Cereal!

Check out the Snack Girl website, it has great pictures of many snacks as well as an easy navigation menu with the categories Healthy Snack Recipes, Healthy Packaged Snacks and the Worst Snacks she has tried.  You are certain to learn a thing or two!

As you know, we try to be as objective as possible. However, sometimes – especially when sports are involved – we are easily biased. This being said, we think that this week’s best gluten-free cereal names are:

5. Sylvia’s GF Southern (mix ID 0cd976). Southern lifestyle starts at breakfast. You got it!
4. ChocoNanaBerry Surprise (mix ID 72d2fe). So deliciously tasty it surprises with every bite.
3. healthy choice (mix ID d84964). That’s the idea!
2. March Madness (mix ID 88da4f ). Couldn’t have said it any better
1. And this week’s winner is THE KATE (mix ID 9004f7). Just have to love the article & simplicity!

If you feel that the name for your cereal should have been included among this week’s best names – please leave us a comment. Otherwise: enjoy a healthy and fun-filled basketball weekend!

What I find most encouraging is the support she gets from the team. Interim head coach Anthony Levrets said that “On the road, we’ve figured out the restaurants that cater to gluten-free … that she’s comfortable with. And all of the hotels we stay in, we make sure they’re able to prepare gluten-free meals to go along with our pregame meals.” That’s pretty awesome! But Diana has also developed a few tricks that I think are worth sharing:

• set up specific living arrangements in order to prevent cross-contamination and living by herself
• preparing all of her meals and learning to cook
• having two bowls of cereal, two yogurts, eggs and a homemade sandwich for breakfast

I have a great suggestion how Diana can add unrivaled variety to her daily gluten-free cereal bowl But besides this, I was wondering if you know someone in college who has celiac disease or lives gluten-free? How do they manage? And do you have any advice to share from their experience?

We’re still celebrating UNC winning the ACC season title in a great 81-67 victory over archrival Duke this weekend. And yet the next reason for celebration has already arrived: TODAY IS NATIONAL CEREAL DAY!

Celebrate with us at Custom Choice Cereal gluten-free style by creating your perfect breakfast mix: We give you 10% off all orders placed today with code “NatCereal”!

What ingredients do you love to have in your cereal? Let us know, and in case we don’t have them yet we’ll find them for you!

But now to our good tradition of recognizing your creativity in naming your gluten-free cereals this week. It’s been a close race!

5. Hawaiian Dream (mix ID 9d88f4 ). Someone is in Spring mood already.
4. Ellen’s Belly Better Mix (mix ID 51e0f5). Better belly AND great taste
3. Good Morning Happy Stomach Granola (mix ID e7c950). Recognize the pattern…?
2. Breakfast of Champions (mix ID 5dcf80). You ARE the champions!
1. I know it’s very biased but in the spirit of tomorrow I had to choose Carolina Crunch (mix ID 049cf9) as this week’s winner!

Have a great weekend and please consider connecting with Custom Choice Cereal on facebook! You’ll spend some time there this weekend anyway so why not swing by?

Author Keith Upchurch actually has celiac disease, which I thought was a very interesting coincidence. He had not previously heard of us and really liked our concept. This being said, the reason why he wrote his article was because of our recent partnership with gourmet retailer Dean & DeLuca in New York City.

But I don’t want to repeat everything from the article about Custom Choice Cereal. Instead, I encourage you to check it out! I’m just thrilled to have a newspaper write about my little gluten-free company and help at least one more person on a gluten-free diet enjoy a variety of tasty breakfast again!

We have to admit that this list is subjectively chosen but think that this week’s best gluten-free cereal names are:

5. Healthy heart (mix ID ba0375). Delicious and good for you. Does it get any better??
4. North American Fruit Mix (mix ID 061964). Gotta love it!
3. Morning Magick (mix ID cafe05). Mix ID almost spells the complementary drink. Awesome!
2. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? (mix ID a505e8). We hope you are!
1. And this week’s winning name is Man That’s Good Flakes (mix ID 4151e4)

Have a wonderful weekend and please consider to also connect with Custom Choice Cereal on facebook! We know you’ll spend some time there this weekend, so swing on by

Besides this, there has been some other pretty good stuff happening at Custom Choice Cereal this week. Obviously I am still stoked about our partnership with gourmet retailer Dean & DeLuca, bringing gluten-free cereal to their stores in New York City. But what always excites me most is the awesome feedback we get about our cereal, so I had to share another one with you.

Rita designed her own cereal and reviewed it on her blog One 2 Try and starts out by saying that “I wanted to create even more cereal, it was so much fun”. When her concoction arrived conveniently at her doorstep she thought that it “looked delectable. There are big cherries and lots of coconut flakes. It smells wonderful. I could not wait to taste my creation. The corn flakes are delicately crunchy while the cherries and blueberries add a nice chewiness to the cereal. The coconut adds even more crunch. The berries add the sweetness. This is really good. I am enjoying munching right from the bag. I had some with milk too and it was my perfect cereal taste sensation.”

You know what I thought when I read this review? Even if I tried I couldn’t come up with better feedback. So what are you waiting for? Design your perfect gluten-free breakfast and experience what Rita describes as “The fun comes in the creating exactly what you want in your cereal. It is your Custom Choice Cereal. Munch Munch Munch… it is so good!”