I’ve been wanting to feature packaged snacks in this column now that an extensive selection is out there for gluten-free eaters, and I hope to make it a recurring topic. To start, I visited two stores with multiple locations, Safeway and Down to Earth, as these are accessible in different parts of the island.

Here’s my takeaway: A trip to a natural foods store is time well spent. At Down to Earth, healthful gluten-free snacks abound. (Too often, these foods contain high amounts of sugar or fat to compensate for the lack of wheat and other gluten.) I took a long time in the aisles to select a few items to try, settling on Wai Lana Chips’ Thai Curry & Lime Cassava chips and The GFB Gluten Free Bites.

This doesn’t take away from Safeway’s general gluten-free inventory — this supermarket does much better than most in catering to our needs. I revel in their selection of prepared frozen foods, which offer countless options for those nights when you just don’t want to cook. Their snack selection, however, is smaller. After pondering a few boxes of nonwheat crackers and a couple of cookies, I selected Quaker’s Buttermilk Ranch Rice Crisps.

Here’s a rundown.

>> Wai Lana Chips Thai Curry & Lime Cassava chips ($3.39 for a 3-ounce bag, Down to Earth): Cassava root is a major crop in developing countries of the tropics. Tapioca is made from its starch. The texture and crunch of this chip, however, is far from the soft chewiness of tapioca; instead, it’s reminiscent of shrimp chips, making it a great accompaniment to a soup or salad.

The chips come in a variety of flavors: sweet and spicy, lime-chili, barbeque, sea salt and vinegar, herb and garlic and this one, flavored with spices of turmeric and lemongrass. They are a healthful snack, just 130 calories for 17 pieces, and are non-GMO and free of cholesterol, dairy and soy.

Flavorful and fun to crunch on noisily, these make for joyful snacking.

>> Quaker Buttermilk Ranch Rice Crisps (S4.99 for about 6 ounces, Safeway): These little crisps aren’t at all new; they are tiny, seasoned versions of the puffed rice cakes that were all the rage among healthful snackers 20 years ago. But I chose them because they’re representative of what you’ll find at mainstream supermarkets. Plus, I wanted to know what a buttermilk ranch-flavored, low-cholesterol rice crisp tastes like.

Even with an eye toward healthfulness, this crisp was quite delicious — not as salty or punchy as a Doritos chip, for instance — but flavorful nonetheless. The crackers are made of whole-grain brown rice flour and popped (not fried) rice, and boast 13 grams of whole grains per 17-piece serving. At just 130 calories per serving, they’re a relatively guilt-free snack for dieters.

Buttermilk ranch is among a list of flavors. When I shopped, the bags were on sale at $6 for two bags, so I also picked up a caramel flavor, free of high-fructose corn syrup.

>> The GFB Gluten Free Bites ($5.79, 4 ounces, Down to Earth): Hearty and satisfying, these bites are the kind of snack that will sustain you whether you’re out hiking or in an office working on a marathon project.

The core of the bites is a complete protein blend of brown rice and pea proteins, plus flaxseed, organic dates and organic brown rice. Depending on the flavor, they also include chocolate and are rolled in different nuts, making for a protein-rich snack.

The dark chocolate and peanut butter selection, made with 70% organic dark chocolate and rolled in dry-roasted Virginia peanuts, was thoroughly delicious. Other flavors include coconut-cashew crunch, dark chocolate coconut and chocolate with cherry and almond.

These treats are vegan, non-GMO, dairy- and soy-free and kosher. Two bites are about 110 calories.

“Going Gluten-Free” helps meet the cooking and dining challenges faced by those on wheat-free diets. It runs on the first Wednesday of each month. Send questions to Joleen Oshiro, joshiro@staradvertiser.com.