Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker
Being part of General Mills My Blog Spark program has its perks. Participating bloggers receive samples of new products to review online. I missed getting the new Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes because I signed up after those were offered in the My Blog Spark program.
Last week I received a My Blog Spark box from Betty Crocker. Inside was a Pick’em up sticks game, a lighted yo-yo and a plastic flyer (like a Frisbee). The theme of this promotion is Simple Joys- hence the old fashioned toys. OK – so yo-yos didn’t light up when I was a kid, but you get the picture.
Also in the Simple Joys box were two new products from Betty Crocker - Create-A BUG and Variety Pack fruit flavored snacks. Both products are labeled gluten-free right on the front of the box. With no kids in the house, I had to to test taste some of these treats geared towards kids myself.
The Create-A BUG snacks are somewhat like Gummy Bears. They are shaped like parts of bugs, and you have to put them together to form said bug. There is a diagram on the box which offers hints on what bugs you can create with the pieces. I think this game will be a lot of fun for kids and will especially appeal to little boys who love bugs! The taste of bug pieces was also similar to Gummy Bears. It was a bit sweet for my taste, but of course I am not their target customer for this product.
In the Variety Pack were Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit by the Foot and Fruit Gushers. All three of these were as you’d expect them to be, meaning that kids that like this type of candy will love these treats! The fun textures of the candy is an added bonus but watch out for those gushers. I’m not sure they could not be used as a candy weapon!
The slogan for this new snack line is “All the fun – None of the Gluten!” How cute is that?! First came the reformulated Chex cereals, then the fabulous gluten-free baking mixes from Betty Crocker and now these snacks. I wonder what else they have up their sleeve for us over at General Mills. One thing is certain, they are just getting started in our rapidly expanding market. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for us next!
These products are on the shelves in some stores already and will continue rolling out nationwide this Fall. If you find them in your area, they will make perfect Halloween treats for the gluten-free goblins in your life!
One of our readers is going to recieve the new Simple Pleasures gluten-free samples box, complete with the toys! All you have to do is post a comment below. If you have time and are so inclined, please list one of your “simple pleasures” in life as well. The lucky winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 20th. Good luck!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Stacey who is the winner of the ’Simple Pleasures’ gift pack from Betty Crocker!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad to hear that mainstream food producers are taking note of the need for more gluten-free products. Thanks for giving us more info on GM!
So glad to hear that mainstream food producers are taking note of the need for more gluten-free products. Thanks for giving us more info on GM!
This is great! Thanks for sharing the info with us.
FYI – most of these mainstream gummy type snacks are already gluten free (I’ve had to research this since I have 2 little kids who love these sugary blobs!) – they just don’t say gluten free on the packages. It’s nice though that now some of them will.
FYI – most of these mainstream gummy type snacks are already gluten free (I’ve had to research this since I have 2 little kids who love these sugary blobs!) – they just don’t say gluten free on the packages. It’s nice though that now some of them will.
You’re correct! The company is offering such items after finding out (through market research) how many people prefer to see gluten-free right on the box and move on with their shopping. Who wants to read a label every time? Certainly not me and I feel I have way more time than Moms do
My gluten eating neice and newhpew loved these new roll ups but thought the gushers were too sweet.
You’re correct! The company is offering such items after finding out (through market research) how many people prefer to see gluten-free right on the box and move on with their shopping. Who wants to read a label every time? Certainly not me and I feel I have way more time than Moms do
My gluten eating neice and newhpew loved these new roll ups but thought the gushers were too sweet.
It’s so nice to be able to shop at regular stars now! One of our favorite simple pleasures is the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. It’s fun for my girls to still be able to help with cookies and it not be an all day project! I love that stores are starting to offer a better variety for those with celiac!
Like other readers, I’m glad that there are more and more gluten-free options available (or clearly labelled). But I also want to be sure that my kids’ snacks are healthy, and just b/c something has fruit in it, that doesn’t make it healthy–there’s a lot of sugar and food coloring in those “foods”. If your kids want a sweet, crunchy, cripsy treat that’s not fresh fruit, try Crispy Green’s line of freeze-dried fruits–only the fruit, and nothing added. A few of the varieties have a small amount of sugar added, but that’s it. My GF kid also loves nuts and Glutino pretzels. We love the Betty Crocker GF chocolate chip cookie mix too, but the cake mixes are terrible–they don’t rise well, and the texture is mealy even when fresh, and it becomes stiff and dry very quickly. Kinnikinnick’s cake mixes are far, far superior.
We have a grocery store here in Oklahoma where the owners wife has celiac disease and they have a lot of gluten free foods available and certain sections specifically devoted to gluten-free products. It’s nice not to have to go to the health food store all the time to get the special foods. I also like that some of the “big named” companies are starting to pay attention. I have a family of 5 and my daughter and I are both gluten intolerant. It gets expensive having to go to the health food store to get the foods and with “big named” companies listening it helps the budget. I’ve tried the Betty Crocker products and most are pretty good. I have to add extra vanilla to hold the cookies together enough to put them on the tray. I agree with Kim Sumner-Mayer that the cakes need some help. Although, the devil’s food is pretty good. It went faster in my house than the vanilla cake did.