Frozen chicken products are another convenience food that parents of celiac children (and many adults) often miss. It’s one of those quick meals that millions of American parents prepare for their children or even get at restaurants (when is the last time you saw a kids menu at a restaurant that didn’t include either chicken nuggets or chicken tenders?).
There are a number of gluten-free chicken products on the market, but the Bell & Evans gluten-free products are outstanding and actually have a breading that tastes like the real thing, light, flaky and a slight crunch. In fact, my three children (none of them are diagnosed celiacs — I’m the only diagnosed celiac in the family) all prefer the gluten-free version over the gluten-full version — it’s quite entertaining to see them devour it and ask for seconds whenever we serve any of the Bell & Evans products. Some of the things we’ve made in the last year have been, simple chicken nuggets with a dipping sauce, chicken parmesan and chicken sandwiches. All of these were outstanding and never a disappointment. I’d love to hear more about how you have used any of the Bell & Evans gluten-free products.
It would be easy for restaurants with kids menus to add a product like this to their menu as a gluten-free option. The fact that they are baked and not fried would make the prevention of cross-contamination less of a risk.*
According to the Bell & Evans Website, their gluten-free products are not produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility, below is an excerpt from the Bell & Evans Website on how they go about assuring their products remain gluten-free:
The facility that produces our Gluten Free (“Black Box”) nuggets and tenders also produces our world famous “Blue Box” items that contain gluten. However, great care is given to protect against gluten containing products from coming in contact with Gluten Free products.
The process begins with training. All new hires are trained in the handling of allergenic materials used in that facility – Milk, Eggs, Soy Beans, Wheat and Gluten.
Whenever ingredients are delivered, all allergen containing ingredients are identified, tagged and segregated from other ingredients and packaging materials. If a spill were to occur, only specifically identified cleaning materials may be used to clean up the allergen.
All Bell & Evans Gluten Free products are produced at the beginning of a shift and only after all processing equipment has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. In addition to our sanitation and segregation protocols, we begin each new shift of Gluten Free production with Fresh, Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil.
* All restaurants wanting to adopt a gluten-free menu should go through an organization like the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program. Along with offering a gluten-free menu comes the responsibility to understand the risks that people with celiac disease face when eating at a restaurant. Their can be great rewards for restaurants that do it right as well as dire consequences for restaurants who fail to take it seriously.
