Then, off we went to do what we do... read all the labels in our pantry and freezer, take a walk down the aisles of the co-op, and adjust. We are now rice free (with small exceptions - noted below).
Now, you may be wondering why we took such drastic measures - no one said that people shouldn't eat rice. They said to "eat a wide variety of grains". Hm. Okay, then, for most people, maybe that seems reasonable. Now, go to your pantry and your freezer, and see how many of your foods contain wheat (or modified food starch - aka wheat). Then tell me how varied you are feeling. Gluten intolerant families have already elimintated about 90% of the mainstream food choices, and a lot of what is left has at least one rice ingredient.
We had the following casualties: our pasta, our bread and rolls, our frozen pizza, our frozen waffles, our pancake mix, one brand of our chicken nuggets, our cake mixes, our snack crackers, our fake cheese, our muffins and cinnamon rolls, our snack bars, several of our breakfast cereals. I could probably go on.
So you can see the pause that the news of arsenic would give us. We consume a lot of rice. More than the average person.
In good news, we have gotten pretty good at this. And we have as a result found these amazing products, that we like even BETTER than their predecessors... which is why I had to share today.
1 - Breads from Anna bread mix. HOLY smokes! Our rice-based pre-packaged bread has NOTHING on Anna. Except of course that I have to mix it up and bake it. But it is amazing. It totally reminds me of the from-scratch wheat bread we used to make before the big gluten shake up.
I completely recommend this product! Allergy or NO! And she has a ton of varieties. (All of her products are gluten free, and can be made egg free)
2 - Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix - another HUGE winner! Not only is it every bit as tasty as it's Cherrybrook Kitchen predecessor, it is possibly more moist and overall tastier, and it LASTS way longer - which is a huge issue in GF / EF / DF eating in general - baked goods die FAST. Not this one. We made cupcakes a week ago for a birthday party, and they were still good for a party today, 7 days later. Simply awesome. We love Bob, and don't know why we didn't try it sooner. Thanks, Bob. You rock our world!
3 - Thirdly, I have to throw some props at this delicious pasta. Quinoa has been a staple for us for a while, but we had not tried this corn / quinoa based pasta. It is so good. Cadel even told her Nanny the other day that she doesn't think she should eat it, because it tastes like it must have wheat in it (this is a compliment - yet it is a bit sad - what 4 year olds shouldn't have to know). It's also Non-GMO and Organic - woot!!
Finally, I just want to throw some props to Amy's. This company has their crap together. In addition to seeking out new foods, I've contacted the makers of all of our foods with rice ingredients to see what they do to control arsenic in their rice. Amy's had the only response that gave us reason to keep eating their food. They ALREADY MEASURE for arsenic, even though it is not a requirement. And they measure themselves against the World Health Organization and the European / Austrailian standards (who are generally more stringent that the U.S. when all parties have regulations in a category - e.g., what qualifies for organic labeling). They insure they are lower than both of those guidelines. So these friendly little bunnies are going to be around for a while. This is good news, given the 400 boxes in our basement:
Happy allergy and arsenic free eating, friends!!
Michael
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