Gretchen Scalpi, RDN

Well it’s official. Pillsbury, those folks who make poppin’ fresh refrigerated biscuits, breads and cookies, have announced their entry into the gluten-free market. They join literally hundreds of other food manufacturers who have jumped on the gluten free bandwagon. Earlier this month the brand announced that the gluten free products will be available in most major supermarkets later this summer.

Convenient? You bet! Nutritious? Not very. The pizza dough is likely the best of the three for nutritional value. It includes whole sorghum and millet flour along with the first ingredient : modified tapioca starch.

I’m sure many people with celiac or gluten intolerance will welcome a gluten free version of an old favorite. I too, grew up loving the biscuits and refrigerated cookie doughs. So as a treat, perhaps these will fit the bill. However, the appearance of these products demonstrates once again that many of the packaged gluten free products manufacturers have provided for us fall way short of nutritional value. In fact, many of the gluten free products are even higher in fat and sugar than the wheat-containing counterparts.

If gluten free is part of your lifestyle either by necessity or choice, keep products like these in perspective. You are being offered an “alternative”, but it’s quite simply lacking in nutritional value. Will I try these when they become available? Well, maybe. I know that by mixing my own gluten free whole grains for baking mixes, I can do much better and come up with a tasty pizza, bread, or cookie dough. It takes more time and effort to make your own, but the results provide you with food that actually has nutritional value. Gluten free or not, isn’t that what matters most?

Tags: gluten, Pillsbury