It is that time of the year again when all thoughts go to packing school lunches and it is especially hard when it has to be a gluten free lunch. What I find the easiest is to think of a gluten free lunch as a sort of antipasto meal. Pack fruit, veggies, crackers and dip gluten free deli meat rolled up, a gluten free cookie or bar and a drink. Packaged gluten free snacks are so expensive so why not make your own, this way you can add healthy ingredients as well as sneaking in some good gluten free grains.
I am so excited to have gluten free Chex here in Canada and it adds a multitude of gluten free snack options. I searched the Chex website for some recipes and then modified them to fit my likes.
Here are 2 options for gluten free school snacks, one is a sweet and one is a savory. Please feel free to add your own gluten free goodies to the mixes and have fun playing.
I started with the Original Chex Party mix and modified it to be gluten free.
Gluten Free Chex Party Mix
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 tsp seasoning salt (I used Fire Salt, a spicy salt I got at Spice Merchants)
- 1/4 tsp roasted garlic powder (Williams Sonoma)
- 1/4 tsp toasted onion powder (Williams Sonoma)
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 1 1/2 cups Honey Nut Chex
- 1 cup gluten free pretzels
- 1/2 cup nuts * (with schools being peanut free I used more pretzels instead)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- In a large bowl add melted butter with seasonings.
- Stir.
- Add cereals, pretzels, and nuts (optional).
- Stir ingredients until evenly coated.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and top with cereal mixture.
- Spread out evenly and place in oven.
- Stirring every 15 minutes, cook cereal for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Once cool, serve immediately and then store in an airtight container.
Gluten Free honey Nut Fruit Crunch
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups Chex Honey Nut Cereal
- 4 1/2 cups Chex Rice Cereal
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup dried fruit
- 1 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup organic seed mix ( flax seeds, sunflower seeds, chia and pumpkin seeds)
- 1/8 cup dark chocolate quinoa (optional add on once mixture is cooled)
Instructions
- In large microwave bowl add cereal, almonds and seeds.
- In a 2 cup microwave bowl add brown sugar, butter, honey and salt.
- Cook uncovered on high for 1 1 /2 minutes, stirring every minute.
- Pour over cereal and stir well.
- Microwave on high 4 minutes, stirring every minute.
- Stir in dried fruit and microwave for 3 more minutes, again stirring every minute.
- Remove from microwave and spread onto a parchment lined cookie sheet to cool.
- As an option I added 1/8 cup of dark chocolate quinoa to the mixture for an added chocolate flavor.
- Let mixture cool and store in airtight container.
