I have to apologize - I wrote this two whole weeks ago but never got around to final tweaks and adding the photo until today. Why? I’m 31 weeks pregnant and nesting big time! I have not had the time to do much other than work and nest and then of course just be tired! Also, I haven’t been making anything new lately either, just lots and lots of oat flour crepes. Now I’m craving my take on Runza Casserole and Warm Quinoa Salad…nothing new. Okay, on to the review:
My son is down for a nap, I’m hungry and need a snack. What should I eat? I’ll go get the mail and think about it. Fantastic timing! My Custom Choice Cereal has just arrived! I’m so excited, my kitchen is a mess and I need to clean, but I ignore the mail piles (sorry husband) and pour myself a nice little bowl of my custom cereal. And then another bowl. And now I’m eating it dry out of the bag. Is it that good or am I just hungry? 🙂 A little of both I think.
I ordered the Good Morning flakes made with corn flakes, flax, quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth. The flakes alone are crunchy and hearty, and I enjoyed them, but my mom couldn’t get over the flaxy/fishy flavor. Then again, my mom doesn’t ever buy things with flax or anything too healthy. I think I may be immune to that, though I detected it - it doesn’t bother me. I like the nutty/seediness of flax. Also, because I’m pregnant and think my body really wants those Omega 3’s! Normally I don’t like salmon due to fishiness and I love it right now. Anyway, the crunchy almonds, bananas and coconut all worked really well together and if you’re sensitive to flax, you won’t be able to tell if you have your bite of flakes with any other ingredient. If you eat flax anyway, then it’s no big deal. I also got hazelnuts and organic strawberries in the cereal mix. My custom additions made it all feel so tropical I called my cereal, “La Isla Yummy.” Fun! If you have a gluten-free family at home, you will not be confused at whose cereal is whose:) If I were to order again, I’d get the Good Morning Flakes (love the heartiness), coconut, almond and banana. The strawberry was great while eating the cereal dry out of the package, but the chewiness of it didn’t work for me in the milk. Custom Choice Cereal is expanding their ingredients so I’ve suggested freeze-dried strawberries! The hazelnuts all fell to the bottom of the bag but I was so ravenous I didn’t even notice I wasn’t eating them! I forgot to shake them up - but everything else was evenly distributed.
A friend of mine, Megan, has celiac disease and so I decided to give her half of the bag to try out for herself. She said that she loved the flakes, they held their texture in milk significantly better than other gluten free flake cereals she has tried. Like me, she loved the added ingredients save for the strawberries, which were too big and chewy. So we both recommend this but without the strawberries!
The other main cereal choices are regular (gf) corn flakes and (gf) cinnamon granola. Those strawberries would be perfect in the granola! Custom Choice has lots of different fruits that you can add to your custom mix, including: goji berries, mangoes, cherries, blueberries, raisins, pineapple, apricots, cranberries, apples and pears. These fruits are all dehydrated except for the bananas that are fried and crunchy. Check out the nuts and seeds for yourself! It’s really fun trying to figure out the perfect cereal mix - and the people over at Custom Choice are happy to hear any suggestions that you may have.
It’s really cool to make your own cereal and see the Nutrition Facts change with each item that you add/subtract. What was even cooler is that when I received my order in the mail, within the week, my nutrition facts were printed on the back with a complete ingredient list. It had an order number for easy re-ordering as well. I love love love this concept and hope it continues to flourish… Initially, the price is pretty expensive for your first bag - but each additional bag is only $1 (I think?!) - check with the company once you find your mix, because that becomes a great deal!
Disclosure: I received free product from Custom Choice Cereal
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Great review! You’re almost there!
oh man do i love cereal, this sounds like the perfect thing!
Unfortunately I think the $1 for each additional bag is just the reduced shipping cost per bag :(! Although they have a promo code space so if I find an active coupon out there I am ordering some!
Ann, thanks so much for the review! It’s funny that you mention the strawberries’ since it is the ingredient we receive by far the most most compliments on. One more proof that tastes and preferences are different, and it emphasizes that letting you choose your ingredients makes perfect sense! We also tried freeze-dried fruits before, and they unfortunately pulverize completely….
Megan, you are correct in that the shipping rate is reduced to only $1.00 for every bag from the second bag onwards. I also wanted to point out that we currently have a Father’s Day promotion - get 15% off with the coupon “4dad2010” until 6/20!
Gluten free cereal, that is great!! I have a very good friend whose husband AND son have a gluten free diet and would most certainly eating a tasty cereal for breakfast in the morning. I’ll send this right along to her! Also, 31 weeks! WOW! You are in the home stretch!