Many brands exist on the market who take extra strides to create and certify “O” shaped cereals for those of us who need it. Read through the whole post to see just how some of these companies are going above and beyond. Who knows, they may become your new favorite cereal!

Nature’s Path Whole O’s

Nature’s Path Whole O’s became one of my favorite gluten free alternatives to Cheerios over a decade ago.  It contains no oats, no GMO’s, and is certified through GFCO. This cereal boasts only 5 ingredients. The main ingredients include organic brown rice flour and organic corn flour. See their FAQ section to learn about how they handle allergens. While not frequently available in bigger grocery stores, I find these at local health food stores, as well as on Amazon.

Cascadian Farms Fruitful O’s

Cascadian Farms sells 4 gluten free cereals, with the Fruitful O’s being the only “O Shaped” they make that they label gluten free. (They do have oat based O Cereals). It does not bear a gluten free certification logo. Ingredients are corn meal, cane sugar, purple corn flour, tapioca syrup, sunflower oil, sea salt, calcium carbonate, annatto, natural flavor, and Vitamin E. Find it in stores and on Amazon.

Love Grown Power O’s

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Love Grown Power O’s may contain the most unique blend of ingredients of all the gluten-free “O” shaped cereals. Their create their cereals from “navy, lentil and garbanzo beans.” Their original flavor contains no added sugar 4 g of fiber per serving. In addition to their original flavor, they also produce chocolate and cinnamon flavors.

The Love Grown FAQ section states the following:

Yes, all of our products are made with gluten-free ingredients including our oat-based products, which are made with Certified Gluten Free Oats. The manufacturers that produce Love Grown products are Certified Gluten Free with the Gluten Intolerance Group. Under this certification each ingredient, processing step, and facility are carefully reviewed to ensure no risk of gluten contamination. The manufacturers are not dedicated gluten free, nor are they required to be under the certification, but they have implemented all programs, controls, and training to ensure that all Love Grown products are gluten free. In addition to all of these steps, our finished products are not shipped until they have been tested and shown to be gluten free.

These cereals bear the GFCO gluten-free certification, which requires audits on a yearly basis, sometimes even more frequently depending on the product. If you’re a Prime fan, you can also order them on Amazon. 

Lovebird Cereal

Lovebird Cereal is made from cassava. They contain no grains, no oats, and no artificial sweeteners. Flavors include cacao, strawberry, honey, cinnamon and unsweetened. Their cereal is “certified gluten free and made in a certified gluten free facility.” Order directly from them on their website, or on Amazon. This is one alternative cereal I’ve tried and REALLY like!

Seven Sundays

Seven Sundays “Sunflower” cereals are made from Cassava. This cereal is sweetened with maple syrup or coconut sugar, depending on the flavor. Their about page states they are “100% Real Food- Gluten Free, Non-GMO, Contain No Refined Sugars, Dyes, Artificial Flavors or “Natural” Flavors. In addition they claim they are Glyphosate Free and Allergen Friendly.” You can find their cereals at Target and Whole Foods, among other stores. Use their store locator to find them near you. **Note – they have other Oat Protein cereal in O shapes, but their products are not certified gluten free.

Magic Spoon Cereal

Magic Spoon grain free cereal meets GFCO gluten free certification standards. This high protein cereal contains just 4 net carbs, no cane sugar, corn syrup or sugar alcohols. Magic Spoon is sweetened with allulose and monk fruit.

Their FAQ states the following: “Our cereal and Treats are Certified Gluten-Free, but are made in a shared facility that also processes products that contain gluten. We test product in and product out, and can guarantee that we comply with the Gluten-Free Certification Organization’s requirement to contain no more than 10 parts per million gluten.”

Order their products from their website or their variety pack on Amazon. (affiliate link) 

Three Wishes

Three Wishes grain free cereal is made from chickpeas and contains no grains. It is sweetened with Monk Fruit. The production facility also contains no peanuts. (Their products contain no tree nuts or soy, but they are present in the facility.)  GFCO certifies this product, which requires less than 10 ppm of gluten in a product.

Their website states the following: “All products are gluten free certified and tested under GFCO standards. There is no gluten present in our facility during production.”

Order from their website, or find it at Whole Foods. Also available on Amazon.

In Conclusion

So there you have it. Many gluten-free “O” shaped cereal options, most who have been independently audited to be certified gluten-free. So when the many voices out there want you to pick a side in the gluten free Cheerios argument, politely choose “other.” Let’s celebrate the diversity of flavors and uniqueness of ingredients. Aren’t we blessed that we have so many options?

Which of these cereals are you most interested in trying? Do you frequently buy one of these for your household? Share your thoughts on these brands below! 

**I was not paid by any of these companies to mention these products. This post is meant to be informative only. In addition, these images were not taken by myself, but found through other websites. However, this page does include Amazon affiliate links. Amazon will credit a small portion of the sale to me, but it does not change the price you pay. **

Originally Published January 2018

The post Gluten Free Alternatives to Cheerios appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

For the sake of this post about gluten free oats, I’m breaking down oats into four categories. These include standard oats, mechanically sorted oats, purity protocol gluten free oats, and certified gluten free oats.

Standard Oats

BUT I THOUGHT OATS WERE GLUTEN FREE? 

How would you define standard oats? (Sometimes people also call standard oats “commodity oats.”) These oats undergo no special treatment. Farmers grow them in fields that may be in proximity to wheat, rye and barley. They likely use the same trucks and processing equipment for multiple grains. Because of this, I would never deem these to be “gluten free oats.”

Research supports my opinion. In her Special Report On The Use of Oats in Gluten Free Foods, Gluten Free Watchdog highlighted the ppm results of various standard oats. She reported that one batch of standard Quaker oats tested as high as 1,861 PPM. That’s 93 TIMES HIGHER than the gluten free definition of 20 ppm. Researchers published in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology similar results. Of 133 oat samples, only 9 samples were found to contain under 20 ppm. The other 124 samples had gluten ranges of 21 – 3,800 ppm.

Mechanically Processed Oats

Can you identify this grain? I used this (and other free) pictures from Pexels for this post. Pexels marked this as “Wheat Grains Closeup Photography.” How does this tie in with “Mechanically Sorted Oats?” Machines use optic abilities to sort oats from wheat, barley and rye. Some batches test under 20 ppm. Some do not. As Gluten Free Watchdog mentioned in her report on gluten contamination levels of oat products, 5 products using mechanically sorted oats tested at above 20 ppm. These definitely don’t qualify as gluten free oats.

Cheerios continues to be the biggest user of mechanically sorted oats. Did you know Cheerios does not test individual batches of cereal? Gluten Free Watchdog explains their process in her post “Gluten Free Cheerios Take Two.”

How General Mills Tests for Gluten in Cheerios

“General Mills pulls 12 to 18 boxes during a 24 hour production cycle, grinds the contents of each box, takes a sample from the contents of each box, mixes all the samples together and regrinds, tests 12 sub-samples, and averages the results to provide a lot mean.” (via Gluten Free Watchdog)

Therefore, they blend multiple lots together, and then take a sample. So in a sense, they are taking an average of multiple lots. In the same Gluten Free Watchdog post, Tricia stated one of the lots tested above 90 parts per million. But since the other lot tested so low, the mean test result was therefore under 20 ppm. And put on shelves.

Not a fan of Cheerios? Check out my list of similarly shaped, gluten free cereals.

Purity Protocol Gluten Free Oats

Unfamiliar with the term “purity protocol?” Gluten free oats grown under these  standards abide by a general set of guidelines. Only recently did oat growers develop a Definition of the Purity Protocol for Producing Gluten-Free Oats. These farmers grow their oats in dedicated fields and use strict standards for processing. Celiac Disease advocates (such as myself) suggest using only purity protocol oats.

This method of farming is still gaining traction. More and more gluten free food producers understand the importance of starting with a pure oat product. Manufacturers using purity protocol oats include Enjoy Life Foods, The GFB, and many more. I suggest bookmarking Gluten Free Watchdog’s Listing of oats produced under a gluten free purity protocol as a handy reference. If you know a brand using purity protocol oats, please use that link to get them on it!

Certified Gluten Free Oats

“Therefore, certified gluten free oats are purity protocol oats, right?”

Not so fast, Jack. Some certifying organizations allow manufacturers to use mechanically sorted oats in their gluten free items. Certified gluten free oats MUST still test below 20 ppm, and meet other stipulations of the certifying organization’s guidelines. For example, some companies use a blend of purity protocol oats and mechanically sorted oats. The Gluten Free Certification Organization will still certify these products, requiring their oats and their finished products to test under 10 ppm.

An additional interesting fact. Technically, the FDA claims using the words “gluten free, certified, or purity protocol” before the word “oats” in the ingredient list is against the rules. The FDA encourages brands to use those words elsewhere on the package, but not in the ingredient panel. Therefore, just because you DON’T see “certified” or “purity protocol” before the word “oats” doesn’t mean they’re not. (Some brands still put it in the ingredient list. The FDA says they aren’t as strict on this rule.)

Gluten Free Oats – Where To Go From Here

We go back to asking every brand their oat sourcing. (Or use Tricia’s aforementioned list.) Just make sure you know what you’re eating. Maybe you’re fine with mechanically sorted, certified gluten free oats. That’s okay. In the end, I just want all of us to be educated about what we’re eating. Safety first.

Originally Published January 2019

The post Gluten Free Oats: Differences Defined appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.