My Daughter Was Just Diagnosed

[Hayleesdad]

We live in the mid-west(mo)I'm finding it difficult to find gluten-free foods.

Do you have to order everything?She's 6 years old and very picky.

I'm finding this very difficult.

[jerseyangel]

Hi dad, and welcome to the board!

There are many naturally gluten-free foods that you can get at any grocery store. Meats, poultry, fish, eggs, some yogurts and cheeses, fruits, veggies, peanut butter, jellies, etc. Even a few cereals.

For the specialty mixes, flours, breads and those kinds of things--do you have a Whole Foods, Wild Oats or a local health food store? I actually find that my larger grocery stores are carring more and more gluten-free products.

Look for Tinkyada Pasta--it's very good. My local Acme even carries it.

Try not to let this overwhelm you--the diet gets easier with time. Feel free to ask any questions you have--someone here will know the answer--or tell you where you can go to find it!

[Sweetfudge]

Unless you have stores around, or can just make naturally gluten free meals, I would suggest using amazon .com they have tons of gluten free food in the grocery and gourmet sections. let us know, there's lots of knowledgeable people here who are ready to help

[Budew]

I am from WI.

All of the suggestions so far are great.

I do a lot of ordering on line. Amy's Foods is carried in many stores. Their website makes shopping easier by sorting out the products for you. Given this is a kid, Amy's gluten-free mac & cheese is good.

IGA carries some things, so does Woodmans.

FYI- Hershey Kisses, milk chocolate bars, jolly ranchers are gluten-free candies.

Kraft labels are excellent. If they have gluten they will disclose it on the label.

When in doubt of a favorite food or brand I call the company directly.

I have found alternatives for almost everything.

What are you looking for?

Maybe we can make this easier for you and her.

[linds]

I live in a small town in northern Minnesota and there are very few options. I either make naturally gluten free meals such as meat, fish, potato, rice, fruit, and veggies. Otherwise I order my stuff from amazon .com.

[Nantzie]

If you feel comfortable saying what city is closest to you, someone may know of something there or nearby.

The best/easiest thing to do is just eat things that are naturally gluten-free, and then experiment with replacement products such as breads, pizza crusts, cookies, etc.

Other than that, I order a lot of stuff. It's the easiest, least time-consuming way to do it. It gets aggravating to drive all the way cross town to a health food store only to find out that the one item I really need is out of stock or not being carried anymore.

The thing that I did when I went gluten-free is pick one thing that I was really missing (crackers), and just tried a new brand/style when I got a chance until I found something I really liked. (Ener-G Wheat Free Crackers were my and my kids favorites.)

This board is a great way to wade through all of the options by looking at other people's opinions of products. For example, if your daughter is missing sandwiches, it'd be helpful for you to ask about that because some gluten-free breads practically disintigrate (sp) if you try to use them for sandwiches. But there are others that work really well.

Nancy

[Hayleesdad]

Well thank you all so much.I'm dealing with this alone(single parent).I thought that was hard.NOW this.

I appreciate the support of the forum.I'm really glad I found this.

[Canadian Karen]

Hi! Welcome to the board!

Make sure you look up a member here by the name of nini. In her signature, she has a link to a "Newbie Survival Kit" that is simply amazing...... it will help out alot.

Any questions, regardless of how minor it might seem, go right ahead and ask - there's a great bunch of people here......

Karen

[jerseyangel]

Well thank you all so much.I'm dealing with this alone(single parent).I thought that was hard.NOW this.

I appreciate the support of the forum.I'm really glad I found this.

You're very welcome Let us help you!

Read through the older posts--there are lots of food ideas in the recipe and product forums, and check out the Parents of kids and babies with Celiac.

You're not going to have to deal with the Celiac part all by yourself--anything you need, just ask

[Hayleesdad]

You're very welcome Let us help you!

Read through the older posts--there are lots of food ideas in the recipe and product forums, and check out the Parents of kids and babies with Celiac.

You're not going to have to deal with the Celiac part all by yourself--anything you need, just ask

thanks

[LauraW]

We live in the mid-west(mo)I'm finding it difficult to find gluten-free foods.

Do you have to order everything?She's 6 years old and very picky.

I'm finding this very difficult.

Hi Haylees dad,

If you have a Meijer's there, there is a small gluten free section there. Good luck!

[GFBetsy]

This summer a health food store opened in Chillicothe, MO. The address is 424 Washington. I'm not sure if they are still open . .. the last couple of times I've called them, no one has picked up the phone. But I know that they had a gluten free section. So if you're anywhere near Chillicothe, that might be an option. If it will take you a while to drive there, I'd probably call someone at City Hall in Chillicothe and ask them if the store is still open . . . they'll probably know or be able to find out for you. The name of the store is Pure N' Simple.

Good luck!

[angel-jd1]

We live in the mid-west(mo)I'm finding it difficult to find gluten-free foods.

Do you have to order everything?She's 6 years old and very picky.

I'm finding this very difficult.

I'm not sure how close you are to KC. There is a Wild Oats on 119th. There is also a Whole Foods Market over by 95th on the Kansas side. Both are good places to pick up things.

Hy-Vee's are a great place to shop. They have a natural foods section with tons of gluten free foods.

A year or so ago Wal-Mart has started labeling their "Great-Value" brands if they are gluten free, look for it under the ingredient statement usually. They have also started carrying Sunstart Bakery gluten-free cookies and also Van's plain gluten-free waffles. (At least in my area in Kansas).

Like mentioned before, there are tons of natually gluten free foods.

The specialty items are where you run into the cost.

Try to keep it as simple as you can.

Some good "Kid friendly" things are:

Amy's rice crust pizza

Ian's Allergen free chicken nuggets

Ian's Allergen free fish sticks

Tinkayada Pasta and Velveeta cheese

Mission Corn tortillas topped with pizza sauce peparoni and cheese, bake in the toaster oven for 10-15 min.

Frito Lay Chips (see their website for a complete list of gluten free items)

Skippy Peanut butter

Jiff Peanut Butter

Kraft is a great brand, they will list any gluten containing ingredients right on the label

Blue Bunny IceCream (of course the obvious cookie, cake type ones are out)

Edy's IceCream (again the obvious ones with cookies and such are out)

Bryers(obvious cookie/cake varities are out)

Lunch Meat roll ups (hillshire farm lunch meat with kraft singles cheese rolled up)

Hope that gives you a small start.

-Jessica

[abigail]

hi, I've found that several product Great Value brand (wallmart brand) are happily marked clarly GLUTEN FREE. and they are really inexpansive too!!

hope this is usefull for you...........!

abi