Now that I have a little bit of my appetite back I’m craving tons of things, and true to form both sweet and salty. I’ve always been somebody that loves a salty bite after a sweet or vice versa and pregnant me I guess is no different. I certainly have been craving some fun snacks from my beloved pickles or cheddar and sour cream potato chips to a good bowl of ice cream. Besides the obvious treats, I also can’t get enough of fresh fruit and salads galore. Since fresh fruit can be very very pricey at this time of year in my neck of the woods I on occasion enjoy a fresh fruit salad but I also turn to juices or smoothies. I used to love making these fresh and mixing in some veggies here and there, but until produce prices come down a bit and I get a little more energy to make them on my own again, I rely on delicious fruit smoothie substitutions like this one by Naked.
Naked offers tons of different smoothie options from all fruit to fruit and veggie and most are gluten free. They have a perfectly thick and smooth smoothie texture and are packed full of nutritious goodness. I pair a half of a glass of smoothie in the morning with either a sweet breakfast treat or toast or a bagel, keeping my growing belly full for just a bit longer than usual. I’ve only tried a few of the fruit flavors but my favorite so far is the strawberry banana which is conveniently marked gluten free. Check out more on this smoothie option and all of the rest of their Naked Fruit Juices. But I should probably note that there is some confusion on gluten free labeling for these juices.
According to Naked, there are only a few varieties that they do not recommend to you if you’re gluten free and by my inspection it appears to be because of the presence of barley or wheat. However, some of the varieties like the strawberry banana are marked gluten free while others whose ingredients appear fine are not. I was in mid drink of a glass of the mango juice smoothie and noticed the labeling difference and called customer service for an explanation on the discrepancy. Unfortunately, the information I received was less than helpful and I was told to review the ingredients with my doctor. Now I should mention that regardless of whether an item is marked gluten free or not, I personally always review the ingredients for my own reassurance; that being said, prior to the instruction to just read the label, I knew already that the ingredients were okay on the mango juice but I wasn’t sure why some were marked gluten free and others were not, i.e. because of cross contamination or something like that. After a few more minutes going over cross contamination and differences in labeling I was no closer to any clarification but was directed again to read the ingredients on the label carefully and even told that maybe Naked was starting to label those kinds that were gluten free.
Despite the confusion on the juice labeling, by reading the ingredient labels I have never had an issue with any of the varieties I’ve tried. But for now, I’ll be purchasing those that are labeled gluten free for my own reassurance so I can enjoy every last drop!
Sincerely,
Lindsay (19 weeks)