Lenny and Larrys
Allergy. Disease. Weight loss. Gut health. Inflammation. Sensitivity. Intolerance. The list of reasons to go gluten-free has grown.
Just less than a decade ago, our understanding of gluten-related health issues was considerably more limited. But today is a different story. Now, you can find many dieticians and health professionals recommending the benefits of a gluten-free lifestyle.
Lenny & Larry’s has always had a commitment to better for you options, but we are equally loyal to the pursuit of great fun and great taste!
We want to support you on your health journey, so our team put in the work to understand what it means to go gluten-free.
A Guide to Gluten-Free Living
Let’s jump into understanding what it means to be gluten-free. This field of nutrition and health has grown into an essential movement that is helping people around the globe. But you might be wondering what it means to be gluten-free.
To start, gluten is a protein found in grains. These grains can include wheat, barley, rye, triticale (a cross between rye and wheat), and others. So, at its most basic, going gluten-free means avoiding foods with these types of grains. But as with most things, committing to a gluten-free lifestyle involves further insights and opportunities.
Direction on how to go gluten-free
The FDA has certain requirements around labeling foods gluten-free to provide shoppers better information. Any food claiming to not contain gluten must have fewer than 20 parts per million of gluten. This can include foods that are naturally without gluten. It can also include food that has not been cross-contaminated with ingredients that contain gluten. Or it can be foods that have removed gluten through processing.
You’ll want to be looking for labels that read "gluten-free," no gluten," or "without gluten." But it's always important to double-check the label and ensure no gluten product has been missed by the FDA. For example, wheat or wheat gluten can commonly be added as a binding agent, flavoring, or coloring—making it difficult to identify on a label.
What about some gluten-free diet options?
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the idea of a gluten-free diet, go ahead and leave the fear at the door. You can still indulge in a rich bounty of foods, snacks, and desserts.
There are even a ton of grain alternatives that you can still enjoy. Without the risk! Check out our list of some favorite gluten-free grain alternatives below:
- Brown, white and wild rice
- Buckwheat
- Almond meal flour
- Coconut flour
- Corn
- Potatoes and potato flour
- Quinoa
- Soy
One more thing to really keep at the forefront of your mind when exploring gluten-free diets is the gluten that gets hidden in foods. Below is a list of some sneaky gluten items, but it’s not an exhaustive list.
- Farro
- Farina
- Bulgur
- Durum
- Malt/malt extract
- Semolina
- Soy sauce
- Vegetable gum
- Dextrin
- Bleached flour
- Bran
- Brewer’s yeast
- Brown flour
- Brown rice syrup
Gluten-free snacks and cookies
There are all kinds of great gluten-free snacks. You could indulge in yogurt, peanut butter or simply stick with nature's bounty of fruit snacks like bananas, apples, oranges, and so on.
But Lenny & Larry’s has perfected the business of snacking. And we recently elevated our game. We originally went gluten-free with our Keto Cookie but are now launching the next level of gluten-free snacking!
We outdid ourselves with The Complete Cookie-fied BarTM. You get a unique texture contrast of crunchy cookie pieces in a chewy bar—all with 12g of plant-based protein, 5g of prebiotic fiber, and 6g of sugar.
The Complete Cookie-fied BarTM comes in three flavors. You’ll be able to switch up your snacking with Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, or Cookies & Creme (available in October).
It’s time to get excited about healthy, gluten-free snacking again!
Final thoughts
Snacks and health just happen to be our specialty at Lenny & Larry’s. We have dedicated ourselves to creating products that treat your tastebuds and meet your gluten-free goals.
Explore our website for a whole lot of flavor options for plant-based protein and gluten-free snacking.