Cereal Review: Nature's Path "Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise" and EnjoyLife "Granola Very Berry Crunch"

Most breakfast cereals contain either wheat, barley, oats or rye - which are also the four sources of gluten. Even seemingly safe cereals, such as Corn Pops, use barley malt.  Here is a review of two gluten-free cereals that I eat often, and they're healthy too!

Nature's Path Organic's Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise is made without any preservatives, and is certified organic. The ingredients used are said to create, "Less soil erosion, less groundwater pollution, and improved farm biodiversity."  Nature's Path recently reduced the size of their packaging to save cardboard - yet the box still contains 300g of cereal! Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise is delicious. The vanilla flavour is not overpowering, and the mixture of gluten free grains create a unique taste.

INGREDIENTS: Whole corn meal*, evaporated cane juice*, brown rice flour*, yellow corn flour*, inulin*, quinoa puffs*, flax seeds*, natural vanilla flavor, buckwheat flour*, quinoa*, sea salt, amaranth*, molasses*, tocopherols (natural vitamin E). *Organic. Produced in a facility that uses peanuts, tree nuts or soy.

EnjoyLife's Very Berry Crunch mimics oat granola, but it is made primarily from brown rice flakes.  Though it is sold in a small bag, the cereal is very dense (365g) - which is 65 g more than Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise. Along with gluten, it is free of dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, sulphites, sesame and mustard (I didn't know that mustard could be an allergy until I read this). 

Very Berry Crunch is FULL of vitamins and minerals (ie: 35% of your daily iron intake, 20% of your daily magnesium intake). The dried strawberries add flavour, yet this cereal is definitely better with real fruit added. I recommend using plain unsweetened yogurt and blueberries.

INGREDIENTS: Brown Rice Flakes, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Rice Bran, Rice Crisps (Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Honey, Salt), Water, Freeze-Dried Raspberries* and Strawberries*, Expeller-Pressed Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil), Natural Strawberry Flavor, Citric Acid, Ground Flaxseed, Rosemary Extract

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Both cereals are sold for around $6.99 each. 

If you are looking for the best natural and delicious cereal, choose Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise. But, if you are looking for something that is natural, AND full of vitamins and minerals, try Very Berry Crunch.

* Avoid Glutino brand cereals, they taste like chemicals.

Deo-Dry No Aluminum Deodorant - The Body Shop

In my quest to find more natural products, I purchased Deo-Dry No Aluminum Deodorant from The Body Shop.

What is it made from?
Though products sold by The Body Shop are often not as natural or fresh as those produced by Lush, Deo-dry is free of parabens and aluminum salts.  The company advertises Deo-dry's volcanic mineral and essential oil ingredients - though most of these oils are at the end of the ingredients list:

Ingredients: Propylene glycol, Aqua, Glycerin, Staeric Acid, Hamanmelis Virginiana water, Ceteth-20, Perlite, PEG-40 Hydrogenated castor oil, Parfum, Sodium Hydroxide, Alcohol, Citral, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, Cymbopogon fleexuosus oil, Perlaonium corlandrum sativum fruit oil, Anthemis nobilis flower oil, Eugenia caryophyllus bud oil, Nepeta cataria oil 


The Body Shop website states, "Community Trade alcohol is made from alcohol which comes from the organic sugar cane farmers of the CADO cooperative in Ecuador." Also, the aloe vera comes from a Community Trade group in Guatemala.

Does it work?
Deo-dry goes on clear, and does not leave a difficult-to-wash-off residue on skin. It is not an antiperspirant, and therefore should only be used on days where you don't plan to partake in strenuous activity that may cause sweat. Though it advertises 24 hour odour protection, the "Fresh & Floral" scent mixed with sweat smells a little odd.

The Body Shop carries Deo-dry in stores, and it can also be purchased online for $5 CDN. Deo-dry appears to be gluten-free, and I have not had a reaction to it (yet I'd advise you to stay away from The Body Shop's Vitamin E facial spray if you have celiac disease).

Verdict
Though this is likely safer than many popular deodorants, Deo-dry does not work incredibly well. I would assume that there are all-natural deodorants that do work - and when I find one, I'll blog about it!
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Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

Burt's Bees is an all natural cosmetics company with environmentally friendly skincare and haircare products. Many of their products are based around the use of beeswax, including their Honey Lip Balm.

This product keeps your lips from getting dry, and smells just like what it is made of - beeswax and honey (along with: sunflower seed oil, cocoanut oil, lanolin, flavour, honey, rosemary leaf extract, soybean oil, canola oil, benzyl benzoate, and coumarin).

The only ingredient on that worried me was "benzyl benzoate"...what on earth is that? I did a bit of online research, and I stumbled across a blog similar to mine (but with in-depth info on ingredients) called Dying to Look Good. The blogger, a doctor, explains that while the natural version of benzyl benzoate is generally safe, the synthetic version can be dangerous. Burt's Bees products are certified 100% natural, so I would deduce that this is the safe version.

Burt's Bees honey lip balm is listed at $4.49 CAD on their website - I recommend it, decent price and great product!

The Burt's Bees line is widely sold in grocery stores, and other locations across Canada.

*Product appears to be gluten-free.