vans natural foods - Stuff Parents Need

It is very likely that you personally know someone who has some sort of gluten sensitivity. That person might even be someone in your immediate family. My mother-in-law cannot eat wheat, so we try to remember to have some wheat-free options on hand every time she visits.

I recently got to experience what it was like to not only be wheat free, but also gluten-free. Tim and I practiced the Paleo diet for about a month, and one of the things you avoid on this diet is gluten. While it was tough to break old habits and stop eating things I was very used to eating (pasta, bread, carbs of all shapes and sizes), I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find YUMMY food that was gluten-free in the stores. When I asked my mother-in-law about her experience finding such products, she said that it has become significantly easier over the past few years, as awareness and diagnosis of the allergy has increased.

Gluten-Free Snacks

Van’s Natural Foods is a brand that I have purchased before and will definitely purchase again. They make a wide variety of nutritious and delicious products, including two gluten-free options I wanted to highlight today. And trust me when I say that you don’t need have a gluten sensitivity to love these. They are DELISH!!!

First up are the Van’s Whole Grain Crackers. Lately I’ve been pairing these with hummus and just keeping a platter on the dining room table for snacking throughout the day. We’ve tried the Multigrain flavor and the Say Cheese flavor, and I would buy them both again! These retail for a very reasonable $2.99 and are made with gluten-free oats, brown rice, millet, quinoa and amaranth. They are free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, which makes them very clean-eating friendly, too! Don’t they look yummy?

The other product we have been enjoying, especially around 3pm when you hit that slump in the day, is the Van’s Whole Grain Snack Bars, which retail for $4.49 per pack. These contain more than four times the fiber of other gluten-free bars on the market today, and they are nutrient-rich. I will usually split one with Darah along with a glass of milk. They are very satisfying!

One of the reasons I’m particularly fond of these snack options from Van’s is because they pack so much nutrition into products that are very fun to eat. I think that’s a big improvement over things like popsicles, which are of course also fun to eat, but typically just full of empty calories.

What are you serving up for snack time over the summer? Any suggestions to offer to others as they make their grocery lists?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 2 coupons for free whole grain snack bars and 2 coupons for free whole grain crackers (ARV $14.96)!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

For those of you with kids back in school, have you found your morning rhythm? Does your household run like a well-oiled machine from the time your alarm goes off until the time you head out the door to take the kids to school or the bus stop?

Yeah, mine neither.

Some days we do great, and others, well…let’s just say my child has gone to school before with teeth that haven’t been brushed or with a tummy that isn’t as full as it should be.

There are two products that are helping us be more consistent with good morning routines, though. First, I’ve got some breakfast products from Van’s in my freezer, and they are frequently requested for breakfast by our preschooler. We’ve got waffles and english muffins, and Van’s Natural Foods are high in protein and whole grains, and they are low in sugar. So they are a healthy choice and give Darah the fuel she needs to get through the day, not a sugar high to get through the next hour. And I love these products because putting together a hearty breakfast is a breeze.

The other thing we are doing is taking a healthy habit with us in the car since we are pressed for time. Darah is learning how to floss her teeth with the help of Plackers Kids Flossers. These individual flossers are in cute animal shapes and the floss is flavored so that kids are motivated to keep trying! :-). I love that we can leave the packet in the car and she can grab one every morning and practice flossing while I drive. What a great use of that time! 🙂

Plackers and Van’s are helping to streamline our morning routine and they are also encouraging good eating and oral hygeine habits.

Is your morning routine in need of some assistance? Well friends, you are in luck!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a prize pack just like what is shown above (it also includes FREE Van’s product coupons!).
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary prize pack for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.