It takes a village...Enjoy Life granola

A while ago, the lovely folks of Enjoy Life Foods sent me three of their gluten-free granolas to try out: Cinnamon Crunch, Cranapple Crunch,and Very Berry Crunch. Great cheerful packaging with yummy-looking pictures, and very encouraging with the big "ALLERGY FRIENDLY" blurb on the front. Looking good! Then I read the label....and found that this granola had RICE in it. Grrr! Yes, it's gluten-, nut- and allergy-free for most folks, but not the Food Allergy Queen. Dang! Foiled again since this Chinese girl is allergic to rice :P I took a little nibble of each flavor, then gave the bags to two friends of mine who have gluten-free children to test in my place.

Here is the "village" who participated:

- Mom #1 with a 6-year old boy who is allergic to gluten got the Cinnamon flavor.
- Mom #2 who is gluten-intolerant, with 10-year old daughter also intolerant got the Very Berry flavor.
- The FAQ's boyfriend who is not allergic to anything but somewhat picky got the Cranapple flavor.
- The FAQ!

And the votes are in!

Mom #1 thought the package looked yummy. Both she and her son liked the product a lot, and ate the whole package in one day, both dry and with milk.
Mom #2 thought the flavor was good for herself, but her daughter was lukewarm on the taste. Both only ate them dry.
The boyfriend liked the flavor, and only ate them dry, but thought the packaging was boring.
And I only liked the cinnamon flavor. I thought the other two were a bit bland. And I wasn't crazy about the texture....too light and not "clustery" enough for me. (But then again, and I'm dating myself, my benchmark for granola is Quaker 100% Natural, which was the unhealthiest cereal ever!) I realize that to avoid the major allergens you sometimes have to give up texture.

So, gluten-free moms and the boy approve, and the FAQ is somewhat neutral. The village has spoken. Enjoy!