Rice Chex

How many of you ate Chex party mix as a kid? I did.

When my parents had friends over — for pool parties or poker games — they always put out a big bowl of the stuff. Several kinds of Chex cereals, cashews or peanuts, pretzels, maybe some of those goldfish crackers, all mixed together with butter and soy sauce. Say what you want about how abominable the stuff really was, but it was addictive. I constantly wandered into the living room to steal handfuls before heading back to the bedroom to read comic books with my brother.

I must admit — I hadn’t thought about Chex mix for years, or particularly missed it. After I went gluten-free, there was no chance of something with Wheat Chex in it. But earlier this year, when I read that Rice Chex had gone gluten-free, I grabbed a big box at the supermarket. How could I not?

This is one of the biggest mainstream companies to go gluten-free, and to do so with a flourish. The outside of the box pronounces, with a red check: gluten-free! This alone makes me happy.

And heck, the Chex website has a page of gluten-free recipes for this sturdy cereal.

Here’s the thing. This isn’t my favorite cereal in the world. It feels healthy and the same as always. And I’m probably not going to be making Muddy Buddies any time soon. But this is big.

When you start to see yourself portrayed in the mainstream, you feel more accepted.