With more people becoming conscious about their health everyday, we’re often hearing about them partaking in Gluten Free diets. Gluten Free used to be a topic that no one really knew about, but it’s becoming common language in many households now. One of the brands that I’ve known and loved for the past couple years, Udi’s is now the #1 gluten-free brand in America! You can read all about Udi’s history and see what they’ve accomplished since the beginning.
I was very fortunate to be among a select group of bloggers on a Virtual Briefing with Udi’s Vice President/General Manager, Denise Sirovatka about 2 weeks ago. It was such a fun call and we learned so much useful information, not only about Udi’s, but about gluten-free living in general.
There are so many people that just don’t feel good on a daily basis. Some of them have found that reducing their wheat intake (which is a natural inflammatory) actually makes them feel better. Others that have celiac disease and other gluten intolerances simply can’t have wheat and Udi’s is finding that both these type of people are sticking with their brand.
My family got up close and personal with Udi’s and we were able to sample some of their delicious products. Until the briefing, I was under the impression that Udi’s mostly carried bread, buns and cookies, but soon found they offer so much more than that. They have Ancient Grain Crisps – which my son just loved and devoured the Jalapeno Cheddar, Granola Bars, Brownie Bites, Muffins and oh so much more!
I didn’t tell my family anything about Udi’s being gluten-free before they sampled all of the yummy things that came to our door. I just let them eat everything naturally, as they would. I wanted to see if they could tell a difference in taste, compared to other similar food we eat. They didn’t say a word and genuinely enjoyed everything. My favorites were the Snicker Doodle Cookies and Salted Caramel Cashew Cookies when it came to snacking.
I’ll be honest here, I feel “irregular” quite often. It seems my stomach doesn’t agree with me a lot of the time and I know it has a lot to do with what I eat. I can’t help it though, I keep putting that “junk” into my body because it tastes so good and relieves my craving for something sweet, salty or whatever I’m craving at that time. But now that I know there are great tasting alternatives that are completely gluten-free, I’m in. I will always buy Udi’s for my own personal cookies and grab a bag of the Ancient Grain Crisps instead of the usual junk I buy. I’ll also be incorporating some of their other products into my family’s every day diets, such as their bread and buns. Udi’s gained one more customer in me and I’ll be sharing my new found love with everyone I know!
In closing here, I would like to share some of the Q&A’s from the virtual briefing I had with Udi’s and The Motherhood. I learned so much useful information that I never knew, and I just can’t keep it secret. I have to share it with all of you and I hope this information will help any of you that suffer from Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance and/or just general inflammation.
Before I go onto the Q&A, I’d like to help you understand Gluten Free Eating. Here are some facts that might be of use to you or someone you know:
- 78% think others don?t understand what a burden it is to be gluten free
- Only 10% are medically diagnosed
- 37% are self-diagnosing
- They have an avid thirst for knowledge and look to multiple sources for information including friends/family, search engines, websites and stores
- 72% would go without or to another grocery store if they could not find Udi’s
- 87% say that Udi’s made them feel normal
Will the benefits be seen if a family eliminates gluten products one at a time or do you have to completely go off of gluten to see the results?
If you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, then you absolutely have to go off of it all the way! That’s the only way your body is going to heal itself and stay healed. If you are choosing to eat gluten free for your own health reasons then that is up to the individual. Some people choose to start by adopting ?Gluten Free Friday.?
Are there any tips for families who want to cut back on gluten but not go completely gluten free?
We make simple substitutions in my family. So when we have pizza nights, I started using gluten free pizza crust instead of a wheat-based crust. There are some great gluten free pastas out there, so you can substitute gluten free pasta on spaghetti night. A lot of the time, no one notices a difference!
Do you have suggestions for trying to accommodate everyone in the family, when not everyone is gluten intolerant?
We see all the time that it is so much easier when the whole household goes on a gluten free diet together, so that everyone feels they are part of the group. What we try to do on our website is create recipes that nobody in the house would know that they are gluten free and recipes that the whole family can come together and enjoy. See Udi’s gluten free recipes here.
Are there things we should look for (other than wheat or gluten) on an ingredients list?
Most of the hidden wheat ingredients will be lower on the list. It will be things like emulsifiers or wheat maltodextrin. Most of these things are in salad dressings or soups as a thickening agent. You want to look at ketchup to see if there is any wheat-based maltodextrin on the label.
Where can we find Udi’s products?
You can find us at national grocery stores. Sometimes it is in the bakery, sometimes it is in the frozen food section, depending on the product. Use our website store locator to find which grocery stores are carrying your products.
Connect:
You can connect with Udi’s on Facebook, Pinterest and/or @udisglutenfree on Twitter!
