Whole Foods?

[Joni63]

I've got 2 weeks to stock up and prepare to go gluten free. I have a Whole Foods an hour away and I wonder if it's worth driving that far to stock up on some food.

Do they have a good selection that is not too expensive?

I checked the local Walmart today and all they had was a brownie mix and a muffin mix which I did buy out of sheer fear that I wasn't finding anything else.

I also have a Shoprite and an Acme kind of close. Is either grocery store usually more stocked than the other with gluten free foods?

I live in Southern NJ. Any other SNJ people on this board?

[AndreaB]

I shop at Wild Oats since that is closer to me. I've popped into Whole Foods once but didn't spend much time there. Both stores have a lot of gluten free choices. They are both on the pricey side for a lot of things but I find there gluten free products to be similarly priced as other stores, although they are a little bit more.

[Mango04]

Whole Foods has a great selection, but it's really pricey. Trader Joe's has some good options, if you have one of those nearby. Farmer's markets are great places to get good food for cheaper prices as well.

[Karen B.]

You can go to the Whole Foods website and find out what the store you want to visit carries before you go there. Open Original Shared Link

Once you find out the brands you like, check Amazon because their prices usually beat Whole Foods. Many of the items ship free if you spend over $25 and you don't pay tax which give me a 8% discount over Whole Foods.

But until you know what brands you like, you probably won't want to buy a 6-pack of bread mix. Tinkyada pasta may be an exception. If you check Amazon, go to the tab at the top "See All 41 Product Categories" and about half way down the page on the left is a link for "Gluten-Free Food" and you can brouse. Or, of course, you could just search on the brands you know you want.

[jerseyangel]

Hi, I live in South Jersey!

Shoprite actually has a pretty decent gluten-free area for a regular grocery store. It's not huge, but they have Tinkyada, some Envirokidz cereals and bars, some Bob's Red Mill, Lara Bars, Ener-g Rice Flour, some Glutino, and Gluten Free Pantry. The prices are about the same as Whole Foods.

I go to the Whole Foods In Marlton--lots of variety there.

The Acme near me used to carry a few gluten-free things, but stopped all but a very few.

Are you near a Wegman's? They are far and away my favorite place to get my foods and even my shampoo, Badger Balm Lip stuff, etc. They have a great selection in the Natural Marketplace section.

Let me know if you need any more help

[Joni63]

I'll have to check and see if there is a Trader Joes or a Wild Oats near me, but I haven't ever heard of either.

Great suggestion about amazon .com! I didn't even think about the super saver shipping - it will definately be cheaper to order things than drive an hour and pay the gas and tax. Thank you!

I don't have a Wegmans near me, but I am visiting my sister next week and I know I've heard her mention it. She can also 'show me the ropes' about shopping because she is a celiac.

Jerseyangel, thank so much for that list. Now I know what brands to look for and ask for. It's so nice to have someone to ask about these things. I'm sure I'll have many more questions about things.

[blueeyedmanda]

I am coming to Southern NJ tomorrow and I know of an Acme and a Shoprite where we are staying, in fact we have been in the shoprite a few times. I am going on a gluten free search!!!

I have to recommend you go to the Wegmans too, awesome store for celiacs. I stocked up there last night for our beach trip.

[GeoffCJ]

Whole Foods can be expensive, but some of their stuff is very reasonable. Especially their 365 brand. I buy the rice crackers, and the jams/jellys, as well as other things.

Geoff

[Karen B.]

Great suggestion about amazon .com! I didn't even think about the super saver shipping - it will definately be cheaper to order things than drive an hour and pay the gas and tax. Thank you!

Just check to see if it's available on the items you order, it's not on everything. First time I ordered Fast and Fresh burger buns, I didn't realize their products were not eligible for super saver shipping on Amazon but if you order direct from them, orders over $25 ship free. (but they were worth the shipping)

You start to feel quite the sleuth after you get the hang of some of these deals. :-)

I just checked and found that Amazon is now listing AltiPlano Gold Instant Quinoa and my favorite summer cake, Authentic Foods Lemon Cake (one pkg makes a loaf pan and it's yummy split and iced with lemon curd in the middle and Cool Whip on the outside!).

[grantschoep]

I have too many natural food store choices here. Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, and Wild Oats, a few others that aren't chains too(there are 4 Wild Oats, and 1 Whole foods within about 10 miles of my house.. Of those, Vitamin Cottage is always the cheapest. They have my favorite Enviro Kids gluten-free rice crispy bars for only like $2.25 a box, they are $5 at the Safeway by my house.

However, I really have found a great selection of things at Safeway/Kroger/Target. Things that are specifically gluten-free, and things that just are. I've found that Safeway generally puts the gluten-free things in the specialty/organic area. The Kroger brand store here, King Soopers, doesn't really have that, and just puts it around the store with what it is. I generally just buy the normal things that are gluten free, you get to know what they are after awhile. It ends up being a lot cheaper. Though, I love the grocery store, I drive my wife nuts. She likes to go in and grab the 10 things she needs and heads out. I like to wander up and down every aisle, checking everything out. I spent over 2 hours in a Safeway by my house once a few months after being diagnosed.

[GeoffCJ]

Though, I love the grocery store, I drive my wife nuts. She likes to go in and grab the 10 things she needs and heads out. I like to wander up and down every aisle, checking everything out. I spent over 2 hours in a Safeway by my house once a few months after being diagnosed.

My wife thinks I'm OCD. I hate skipping aisles in the grocery store. Even aisles that have nothing we ever buy in them.

Geoff

[Karen B.]

My wife thinks I'm OCD. I hate skipping aisles in the grocery store. Even aisles that have nothing we ever buy in them.

Geoff

My hubby drove me nuts when we first went shopping together. I swear he took 10 minutes to decide which can of corn! I told him "It's a can of corn, not a life commitment. For Pete's sake, it'll be fertilizer in a couple of days, just grab a can!"

We've been married over 20 years so obviously, we got over it. :-)

Celiac shopping has taught me patience the hard way.

[Dandelion]

I've found that by me (on Long Island, NY) Whole Foods is actually cheaper on a lot of products than Stop and Shop. So it's not as bad as it's made out to be. I like the variety at Whole Foods and the fact that they sell lots of gluten free products. Less worry for me. I also find it to be so much cleaner and the food fresher than the regular grocery stores. That's worth any extra money for me.

By the way, Whole Foods is buying Wild Oats.

[ElenaDragon]

I just started gluten-free yesterday, so Whole Foods is great for me. It's close to home, and has lots of choices for me to try different things out. I shopped at Whole Foods before this to get dairy free and soy free stuff. Yes it can be a little pricey, but for me it is worth it for the convenience. If you know what you like and don't mind buying in bulk, you're probably better off going with something like Amazon. But if you like to try things out, Whole Foods has a great selection. I haven't even been to the much bigger store downtown (I live in Austin, TX, where Whole Foods first started).

[Mango04]

By the way, Whole Foods is buying Wild Oats.

That was the plan, but the I think the FTC stopped that from happening, or they're trying to at least. I hope the merger doesn't happen, becuase I don't want to lose Henry's (a store owned by Wild Oats)

[AndreaB]

That was the plan, but the I think the FTC stopped that from happening, or they're trying to at least. I hope the merger doesn't happen, becuase I don't want to lose Henry's (a store owned by Wild Oats)

My husband was telling me what he had heard about that recently.

Seems someone high up in Whole Foods was bad mouthing Wild Oats, although people didn't know he was from Whole Foods. After stock prices went down they made their buy out offer.

Sounds to me like the whole thing should be stopped with that bit of info.

[buffettbride]

I have too many natural food store choices here. Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, and Wild Oats, a few others that aren't chains too(there are 4 Wild Oats, and 1 Whole foods within about 10 miles of my house.. Of those, Vitamin Cottage is always the cheapest. They have my favorite Enviro Kids gluten-free rice crispy bars for only like $2.25 a box, they are $5 at the Safeway by my house.

However, I really have found a great selection of things at Safeway/Kroger/Target. Things that are specifically gluten-free, and things that just are. I've found that Safeway generally puts the gluten-free things in the specialty/organic area. The Kroger brand store here, King Soopers, doesn't really have that, and just puts it around the store with what it is. I generally just buy the normal things that are gluten free, you get to know what they are after awhile. It ends up being a lot cheaper. Though, I love the grocery store, I drive my wife nuts. She likes to go in and grab the 10 things she needs and heads out. I like to wander up and down every aisle, checking everything out. I spent over 2 hours in a Safeway by my house once a few months after being diagnosed.

We live in Arvada, CO and are less than 2 miles from a Vitamin Cottage, so that's where we get most of our speciality gluten-free foods (our Tinkyada, Gillian's, Kinnickinick). The Safeway and King Soopers near us have what we need to supplement as well. Whole Foods and Wild Oats are a decent drive for us, so unless we're near one on accident or are in a pinch for something specific, we stick with Vitamin Cottage.

[Karen B.]

I just started gluten-free yesterday, so Whole Foods is great for me. It's close to home, and has lots of choices for me to try different things out. I shopped at Whole Foods before this to get dairy free and soy free stuff. Yes it can be a little pricey, but for me it is worth it for the convenience. If you know what you like and don't mind buying in bulk, you're probably better off going with something like Amazon. But if you like to try things out, Whole Foods has a great selection. I haven't even been to the much bigger store downtown (I live in Austin, TX, where Whole Foods first started).

Whole Foods is my Go-To place for a lot of stuff I can't mail order (like Amy's cheese enchiladas) and where I've tried several gluten-free products. But some of the stuff I want, they don't carry. For instance, they stopped carrying Authentic Foods products, don't carry much Ener-G and no Chebe at all.

But I love their Deli Counter!!! If anyone had ever told me I would crave broccoli salad, I would have thought they were nuts. But their broccoli, bacon, raisin (and I don't know what all else) salad is great! I just always have to watch out that what I'm getting is not next to something like the ravoli rolled in breadcrumbs. But they list ALL the ingredients and never swap spoons. And if I want something that is next to the breadcrumbs, they'll go in back and get it straight out of the container.

[Lizking531]

That was the plan, but the I think the FTC stopped that from happening, or they're trying to at least. I hope the merger doesn't happen, becuase I don't want to lose Henry's (a store owned by Wild Oats)

Yeah, pretty much the Whole Foods/Wild Oats deal is gone - especially after the Whole Foods CEO's shenanigans came out online. FTC started investigation into monopoly and it ended up finding that the CEO had been perusing finance sights under an assumed name (an acronym of his wifes) slandering Wild Oats and boasting about the superiority of Whole Foods. I would expect more to come out of that investigation - especially since they've taken over so many other groceries in the past.

My gluten-free works at Wild Oats and there is a Whole Foods across the parking lot. She has been on top of this for a while