Save the World Over Breakfast

Living with a wheat allergy is challenging. I've gotten to the point where I no longer want to purchase anything that isn't boldly marked "Gluten Free," because whenever I read the ingredients myself and deem them safe, I still seem to fall ill.

On yesterday's shopping trip my trusty gluten free granola was out of stock, so I found myself reaching for a kid's cereal called "Peanut Butter Panda Puffs," by EnviroKidz. I'll discuss this cereal in a moment, but it is also HIGHLY worth noting that children who suffer from Autism benefit greatly from a diet free of gluten and casein. I find this extremely fascinating, as well as downright frightening, to think that nearly all of the foods we are feeding our children are strewn with, or mostly comprised of both gluten and casein elements. Something as seemingly benign as lunch could be making our children ill, or keeping them ill. This is food for thought that all parents should chew on and digest.

Jenny McCarthy placed her son, who has Autism, on a gluten free, casein free diet and saw immediate improvement in his condition. She recently went on a press tour for her new book, Louder Than Words, and applauds and credits this diet for helping bring her son out of the clutches of Autism.

I am glad that companies are making more gluten free products. Nearly all of the gluten free products I buy are constantly out of stock, so perhaps people are catching on to the health benefits of ditching wheat and gluten! Now back to my cereal!

EnviroKidz makes organic, gluten free cereals, and the Peanut Butter Panda Puffs I ate today rivaled that kid favorite, Peanut Butter Captain Crunch in yumminess factor. Even better, the company cares implicitly about the environment and proves it in the following ways:

• 1% of their sales is donated to children's environmental education and habitat conservation.
• They decreased the size of their cereal box by 10% which "lessens yearly impact upon the earth by saving over 1,300,000 gallons of water, 940,000 KWh of energy and 144 tons of paperboard."
• Their use of organic food saves the earth from synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, which all harm both wildlife and people.

So reach for a box of this good stuff on your next trip to the grocery store! They also make several other cereals, so if Panda Puffs aren't your bag, try another variety!