Cheerios!; Product Review of Great Value GF Granola Bars; The Rusty, Dusty Wagon Wheels Are Rolling Again

Before I arrived in South Carolina in September to see my new granddaughter, my son bought some gluten-free cereal so that I would have something to eat for breakfast while I was there. I was delighted to find out that one of the cereals was Honey Nut Cheerios, and it was gluten free! When I got home, I purchased Frosted Cheerios and Multi-grain Cheerios as well.  I love these cereals! I enjoy mixing plain Cheerios with Honey Nut Cheerios, to lesson the sugar load. 

I was fascinated as I read the back of the cereal box about the person (Phil) who works for Cheerios and made changes to the process to make these cereals gluten-free for his daughter-in-law and others. Amazing!  

I am glad that General Mills weathered the storm and stayed with gluten-free production, even though they had an unfortunate, one-time incident in July at their Lodi, California facility.  The rail system was down, and the gluten-free oat flour was being off-loaded from rail cars to trucks.  Due to human error, wheat flour ended up in the gluten-free line, and Cheerios cereal was cross contaminated.  They had to recall boxes to prevent more people from getting sick.  A huge thank you to General Mills, and to Phil Zietlow, for removing gluten from the entire process and for making sure that the oats are sorted out and separated from the wheat and barley grains. Phil invented Honey Nut Cheerios as well. :)  

Click on this link to watch a touching video about Phil and how he surprised his daughter-in-law after five years of hard work in figuring out how to make gluten-free Cheerios.

https://youtu.be/WEQbGcMVqR4

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We recently tried three varieties of Great Value Gluten-Free Granola Bars.  Way to go, Wal-Mart, for working on more gluten-free products for us!

I am rating the Peanut Butter flavor at 2 out of 10 (none of us liked it very much), Fruit Mix at 6 out of 10, and Dark Chocolate at 8 out of 10 (though these are a bit too sweet for me).

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"Rusty, dusty wagon wheels" is included in the title because I haven't written a blog post since September.  I must admit I have been consumed by several projects, but mostly I have loved spending time with family (particularly two new grandbabies, along with a visit to my 4-year-old granddaughter).  How can I resist?  They are all too cute and lovable!

I feel you would agree that we will gain more satisfaction and joy in life by nourishing our relationships and serving others than by any other way.  So please give a child, a parent, a sibling, or a friend a hug today and perform a good deed for them.  You will be glad you did!  :)