Attune Foods (Erewhon Cereal) – Products Worth Reviewing and Giveaway

When my son was ready to eat finger foods, it was difficult finding something that he would enjoy eating as well as being nutritionally adequate. He already enjoyed eating certain vegetables and fruits, but we wanted to enlighten his tastebuds even more by offering other types of foods. And then that’s when we discovered he had a slight intolerance to wheat products. So then it became another journey to find food that didn’t contain any wheat in them. After a vigorous  search and while we were at a newly-opened supermarket nearby, we discovered upon Erewhon Cereal. The packaging indicated that it was completely gluten-free and made simply with brown rice, brown rice syrup, and sea salt. And the fact that they were made with organic ingredients appealed to me even more. So I showed the colorful box of rice cereal to my son while he was sitting in his stroller and his eyes lit up brightly. Yup, looked like it was a winner. So I purchased the box of Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal and we headed home to give it a taste test (and allergen test). From then on, Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal became a main staple in our house.

It seems that nowadays more and more people, especially young children, are developing more allergies at the onset of infancy. Sometimes it’s easy to determine immediately what the allergy is, sometimes you don’t find out until after they’ve eaten or touched the offending product. And even more prevalent these days are the allergic reaction to wheat or gluten products. The dangerous thing is that although some food products are made without any wheat, it can still linger in the byproduct if it’s made in an equipment shared with other wheat products. That’s why it’s important to make sure that the company you’re buying from makes only gluten-free products, or at best, label them as certified gluten-free and indicates what type of facility they manufacturer their products in. And my number one recommendation is to always read your labels!

Attune Foods is the parent company of Erewhon Cereal and the Erewhon brand has been making their cereal for over 40 years. But that’s not the only brand of cereal or products that they produce. Attune Foods also makes other brands such as, New Morning, which includes oat cereal and graham crackers; Uncle Sam which is their flagship cereal products using familiar flavors such as multi-grain, honey almond, and strawberry; Skinner’s Raisin Bran Cereal; and Attune probiotic chocolate bars which I tried and was delicious! You wouldn’t even know it was a fortified chocolate bar that’s supposed to be good for you. But our favorite is of course the Erewhon Cereal because they make a wide variety of flavors and they’re just sweet enough. The Erewhon Rice Crispy cereal are also made with simple, natural, and organic ingredients so you really can’t go wrong there. In fact, all of the cereal made by Attune Foods are made with all-natural and organic ingredients and they don’t include any unnecessary ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or any genetically modified ingredients. We love the Erewhon Brown Rice Crispy Gluten-free cereal because it’s slightly sweet yet with a savory aftertaste due to the sea salt and it has an immense amount of crispy-crunchiness to it. And best of all, my son loves to snack on it during the day by itself without any milk. They’re also great in your rice crispy treat recipes and any other recipes requiring rice crispies. I also like to sprinkle some on our organic yogurt or kefir because it gives it a nice crunch when you bite into it. And my son’s favorite part about rice crispy in milk – the fact that it “talks” to you in the form of “snaps” and “crackles” as it’s sitting in milk.

The name Erewhon itself sounds quite unique as it was derived from a popular nineteenth century novel with the same name. And it’s a great connection because the novel Erewhon was about a utopia in which everyone was responsible for his or her own health. To that extent, Erewhon’s cereals are made with only high quality, all-natural and organic ingredients and the company itself  started the Charter of Quality Standards for Natural Products which is a guideline that all naturally-made foods must adhere by. In order to be called “natural”, products must adhere to the following guidelines:

— No synthetic additives or preservatives
— No artificial colors or flavors
— No hydrogenated or solvent extracted oils
— No refined flour or sugar
— Only natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup and molasses.

For more info about Attune Foods guidelines for healthy eating, please visit: http://www.attunefoods.com/Benefits-of-Eating-Healthy .

Erewhon was later acquired by Attune Foods who continues with the same traditions and guidelines as Erewhon. As Attune Foods motto goes, “What matters most is what’s inside”, I think that should be a standard motto for everything in life. And when it comes to food, it really matters what you’re eating and buying and cereals like Erewhon and other products made by Attune Foods can really help you achieve that. Their cereals contain whole grains which is achieved by using the entire whole grain of an ingredient such as the Germ, the Endosperm, and the Bran, all of which plays an important part in optimal digestive health and overall nutrition.

As a member of the Attune Foods Street Team and as an advocate for organic and all-natural food, I was fortunate to receive several products from Attune Foods to try and review. They are also giving 1 LUCKY reader of Happymomblogger a chance to try any of their cereal for FREE! The winner will receive 1 FREE product coupon good for any cereal made by Attune Foods. So are you ready to give your tastebuds and stomach a healthy start? Read below to find out!

Here’s how to enter in the Attune Foods giveaway:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

#1 entry – “Like” Attune Foods on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/attunefoods  and write on their wall that you are entering the contest at Happymomblogger: http://www.happymomblogger.wordpress.com/. Please put Happymomblogger as the heading.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: 

#2 entry – Become a follower: http://twitter.com/#!/happymomblogger and “Tweet” me @happymomblogger that you are entering the Attune Foods giveaway. Follow Attune Foods on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/attunefoods and Tweet that you are entering the Attune Foods giveaway at Happymomblogger.

#3 entry – Visit  http://www.attunefoods.com/ and tell me what products you would like to try.

#3 entry – Subscribe to my Blog.

#4 entry – Enter in my other contests.

#5 entry – Vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs using the link provided below.

You can enter as many times as you like but you MUST enter in the Mandatory entry to qualify. The more you enter, the more chances your name will be drawn.  You can enter by telling me the 5 entries in the LEAVE A COMMENT box. Please be sure to give me your name and email address so that I may contact you if you win. Contest is open to residents of US only. 18 years and older please. Please be sure to provide a physical address and not a P.O. Box.

Contest Start Date: June 6, 2011

Contest End Date: June 20, 2011 – Contest closed, winner will be selected. Congratulations to Layne for winning the prize!

Only 1 winner will be chosen at random and I will post the winner’s name on my blog.

GOOD LUCK AND THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Disclaimer: The product(s)were sent to the author for review by the manufacturer/PR. All reviews on “Happymomblogger” remain unbiased and unpaid and are the sole decision of the author. The opinions of these product(s) were not influenced in any way, shape, or form. As always, please read the ingredients carefully when trying new products. 

Please read the labels and ingredients carefully and follow all manufacturer’s instructions (if any). The products selected for the giveaway were generously donated by the companies/PR to help readers learn more about their products. The winner’s choice in using/consuming these products are entirely up to the winner and will not hold the author and her family liable nor the companies/PR liable. These products are made with non-toxic ingredients but always be safe with what you use and consume.

http://www.topmommyblogs.com/blogs/in.php?id=storm