Gluten Free Breakfast Ideas: Puffed Rice

If you have an allergy to gluten or to wheat it is sometimes difficult to come up with breakfast ideas and everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The answer comes in little balls of puffed rice that you can add anything to. It is a slow release food so keeps your blood sugar levels even. Even blood sugar levels makes life much easier if you are dieting as it is when you have sudden drops in blood sugar levels that you crave food. The puffed rice here is pure and natural. It is NOT adulterated with processing or additives that make it Pop when milk is added. All that is in it is are brown wholemeal grains of rice, that are compressed, left for a minute and when released become individual puffs of rice. Beware of many brands that add sugar and/or salt. They are not healthy options.

Puffed rice done properly contains no additives or preservations.  Be sure to read the label.  It is low in fat and gluten free.  There is also no sugar or salt.

It is good to vary your diet and with puffed rice it is easy to add various fruits, nuts and seeds to ensure you have a nutritous start to the day. It is also fun to see what combinations you can come up with and you need never be bored.  These are favourites.  For those with dairy sensitivites, it can be served with soya (soy) milk.

Puffed rice with apples and sultanas

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away and there is some truth to that.  Apples are thought to help keep your blood pressure healthy and your weight down.  They also have no fat and the potassium in apples is thought to help maintain a healthy heart.   Here, the apple provides a crunch while the sultanas an added sweetness.  Sultanas are dehydrated grapes and are a high energy food.  They provide a natural sugar that the body finds easy to use and they are high in antioxidants, those elements that help fight various diseases.

1. Wash an apple under cold running water.
2. Core the apple.
3. Add a portion of puffed rice to a bowl.
4. Slice the apple and add a handful of sultanas.
5. Add soya or skimmed milk.

Puffed Rice with Bananas

The easiest of fruits to prepare, bananas never get old.  Bananas are slow release high energy food.  They contain protein, vitamins and minerals all essestial for good health.  They are also very high in potassium When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium which helps to maintain a good blood pressure and a healthy heart.  Bananas are also quite high in iron. 

1. Place a portion of puffed rice in a bowl.
2. Peel a banana and slice thinly.
3. Add soya milk or skimmed milk. 

Puffed Rice and Blueberries

Blueberries are one of the best foods you can eat.  They are high in antioxidants that help prevent diseases such as cancer, strokes and heart disease.  They are also incredibly tasty.  This powerful litte berry is one of the super foods that do just about everyone to help create a healthy body.

1. Place a portion of puffed rice in a bowl.
2. Add washed blueberries.
3. Add soya milk or skimmed milk.

Health benefits of puffed rice

Gluten is a glue-like substance, a protein that is found in food like wheat, rye, oats and barley.  A sensitivity to gluten in the diet is not easy to diagnose, indeed, it has taken some people up to 10 years to get a diagnosis.  Fortunately people and their health care providers are becoming more aware of symptoms of gluten allergies and sensitivities.  Those people with the full blown auto-immune disease known as coelic disease can even test negative in blood test but are still suffering from gluten intolerance.  Common symptoms include, fatigue, depression and weight gain, often called the triad as they are often linked.  Some people complain of aching joints and mustle fatigue.   Digestive symptoms might include bloating, diarrhoea or indeed constipation, abdominal cramps  and symptoms of an irritable bowel.