Gluten Free Hot Cereal - 4 Product Reviews in 1!

You're probably sitting around wondering what I eat for breakfast.  Before this whole fiasco I ate Quaker oatmeal in the winter and Grape Nuts with fruit in the summer.  Well, that all went out the window.  Here's a fun fact about oatmeal: oatmeal is naturally gluten free, but because it is usually grown on the same fields as wheat in alternating seasons, it is considered too cross contaminated to safely eat.

But, don't worry, gluten free oatmeal does exist.  Some people grow it on special fields and then sell it for a ton of money.  I get mine from Bob's Red Mill.  Bob has a lot of products, gluten free and not, including some gluten free brownie mix that is good.  I've tried some of his other gluten free products and liked them too.  The problem with this oatmeal is that for some reason I have a hard time finding it, and when I do I'm often too cheap to buy it (most gluten free products are extremely expensive - more on this later).

One of the first gluten free things my mom bought me was a breakfast cereal from Arrowhead Mills that is basically cream of wheat except it's cream of brown rice.  It has a lame name, but I don't hold that against it.  While I like it, I can't really seem to find it in the city either.  Not that I've looked that hard.  If these people would like to send me some I'd eat it.  Just saying....

Once the gluten free oatmeal and brown rice cereal my mom sent me from Vermont were gone, I was at a loss.  I stumbled into Broadway Natural near my apartment in Astoria and was pleasantly surprised by all the gluten free products I found.  In fact, I spent almost half an hour in there just wandering around.  They started to give me weird looks, so I took some Cream of Buckwheat and got out of there.  Cream of Buckwheat?  Weird.  Yet surprisingly good!  The first day it kind of creeped me out because it has a different consistency and says it can be used as baby food on the box.  Once I got over that I rather enjoyed it.  If these people want to send me some I'd definitely eat it.  In fact, this is what I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow morning with a little maple syrup.

What I hope no one sends me are Quinoa Flakes.  Gross.  Sorry quinoa, but I don't like you.  Gluten free people seem to love quinoa.  They think it's the greatest thing ever.  It is really healthy, and I guess it's cheaper than other gluten free grains, but I just can't get used to the taste.  I attempted a few different recipes, this hot cereal, and the flour, but I haven't liked it anyway you shake it.  I'll try it again, but mostly because I still have some in my cupboard and I can't afford to throw it away.