Enjoy Life Natural Brands

Breakfast is always the hardest meal to get done.  In the morning, I have to get the girls up, dressed, fed, and prepare their lunches.  On weekdays there just isn't enough time to make a huge, hot breakfast.  Therefore like a lot of American parents, I will use cereal.  Today's gluten free cereal test is Perky's Nutty Rice from Enjoy Life Natural Brands. 

When I originally picked up the box, I was reminded of the older Grape-Nuts cereal boxes.  It use to be one of my favorite cereals, but what poured out of the Nutty Rice box was nothing like Grape-Nuts.  Nutty Rice was a light, crunchy cereal with a strong toasty, nutty taste.  I had liked its flavor and texture, and ate several handfuls before trying it in milk.

However once milk was added, I did not like it for two reasons.  The first was that the milk washed away almost all of the flavor from this gluten free cereal.  The toasty, nutty flavor that I enjoyed straight from the box was now missing from each milk soaked spoon.  The second reason was that once the cereal got wet, it began to fuse into one large brick.  I had to constantly stir it to keep it broken up.  

Now if I were going to make my own trail mix or needed something to top ice cream, I might purchase Perky's Nutty Rice again; however, I am not buying it as a breakfast cereal. 

Since I do this website on the side, I occasionally stay up late getting out these reviews.  Unfortunately that means the next morning, I'm dragging my feet as badly as the children.  Therefore I would something as simple as cereal to get them fed in the morning.  Today's candidate was from Enjoy Life Natural Brands.  It's the Original Perky O's.

This gluten free cereal has the same shape and texture as Cheerioes.  It's a bunch of dense little circles that float in your milk.  However, Perky O's are a lot denser than Cheerioes.  Where the oat cereal has a light crunch, this gluten free cereal has to be bitten and chewed.  When you do eat it, I recommend that you use milk.  The dry cereal will leave a powder in your mouth that saps away all of the moisture.  You will find yourself looking for a drink. 

Neither of my daughters like this cereal.  The youngest refused to eat it after a single spoonful.  The oldest only ate half a bowl, and then declared herself done.  

The Original PerkyO's is not something I will purchase again.

I'm always looking for additional snacks to put in my little girl's school lunches.  She's a big fan of nuts, berries, and granola.  Unfortunately Enjoy Life's very berry crunch did not measure up. 

First of all, this is not a granola.  A better comparison is that of a granola bar.  Instead of a loose collection of various items, these are little bricks stored in a pouch.  I use the term brick because they are also incredibly hard to chew.  I was afraid that I was going to bust a tooth trying to bite into one of these bricks.

The taste was not much better.  Though the package is called very berry, I could hardly taste any berry in this gluten free granola.  All I really tasted was a dry powder as I crunched through the brick.  Once I was done, I desperately wanted something to drink because my mouth was completely dry. 

Now I applaud Enjoy Life Foods goal of making foods that avoid all of the major allergens.  I realize that this is not an easy goal to achieve.  I have also enjoyed several of their other products, but I did not enjoy this.

Enjoy Life's very berry crunch granola will not be purchased again.   

It's obviously getting into November because all of the cookies are coming out of the wood work.  My oldest daughter has been extremely happy to point out all of the new cookies that are now available.  This week at her insistence, we chose Enjoy Life's Chewy Chocolate Chips Cookies. 

Now I'll start with Charlotte's review.  She said, "we should get more."  Frankly, I can't argue with her.  Most gluten free, chewy cookies that I have tried had a horrible chew.  After chewing them a little bit, they seem to either dissolve into a slick plaster that coats your mouth, or become sandy little pellets that scratch your tongue.  Enjoy Life's Chewy Chocolate Chips almost escapes that problem.  There is a little grittiness to the cookie chew, but it is no worst that a gluten based chewy cookie that has been allowed to dry out for a while.  

Though I will give them high praises for the texture of the cookie, I'll have to deduct points for the taste.  To me, this tasted more like a spice cookie than a chocolate chip.  I had to double check the box to make sure that I was reviewing the right product.  Now there is a chocolate taste to the cookie, but it is very weak and mild.  If you're looking for a Nestle Toll-house replacement, this isn't it, but this is a good cookie.  I enjoyed the taste, and I think the included chocolate chips made the cookie a more enjoyable chew.  

I would purchase these again.