I Don't Know Where To Shop!

[mommyagain]

I'm pretty new to the gluten-free diet. I was gluten-free for a while when I lived in Washington, DC and I usually shopped at Whole Foods (I passed 2 on my way to and from work every day and had several more nearby).

Now I live in the Webster/League City/Clear Lake area just South of Houston, TX and I work in Deer Park. If anyone knows of any grocery stores near me that carry more than just a few gluten-free items, I'd appreciate it. My closest Whole Foods is about 25-30 miles away from my house, and I don't get any closer to it going to work.

I know I can buy stuff on-line, but I HATE buying frozen/frig stuff and having it shipped. I know they pack it well, but I'm probably more than a little OCD and would have to check the temperature inside the cooler when it arrived. Then I still might convince myself that something was wrong with it and not be able to force myself to eat it (which would suck considering how expensive the gluten-free food is).

Thanks in advance.

[Nikki'smom]

Sorry about the distance for you. We live about an hour away for any Whole foods too. so I think we have decided to make the trek there at least once a month and just stick certain things in our deep freezer so they don't go bad.

I know you said you didn't want to buy frozen stuff but fresh frozen by you personall;y I think is better then 'packaged frozen.IMO.

Good luck!

[ab123]

I totally know how you feel. I was diagnosed 6 months ago, and since then it has been so hard to shop! The HEB (over by Don Julios and Coldstone Creamery) in Dickinson has the most gluten free selection that I have seen in our area. You have to search in there though. If you want Van's Waffles, you have to go to the waffle section, if you want g.f. flour, go to the flour, etc. There is a small section labled Gluten free, but mostly you have to search.

The Kroger in Texas City has a pretty good selection for its size and usually has good sales. All of there stuff is in the health food section. I always hear about different neat foods that people get, but we have no access close to us!

Sorry that isnt much help (you probably already knew of those places). It has gotten harder for me now because I am off to college and it is even a smaller town! Good luck!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I only buy frozen bread (Kinnikinnick) for emergencies. That's the only frozen gluten-free thing I buy. I make everything else from scratch. It's really not too hard.

I make a big batch (12 cups at a time) of gluten-free pancake mix (white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca, corn starch, potato starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, sugar, and salt) and keep it in an air tight container. When we want pancakes, I measure out 2 cups of mix (sometimes I pre-measure into zipper bags, like, 6 at a time, so all I have to do is dump the bag), add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. If it's a busy work week, I make a double batch on Sunday and nuke leftovers (with a pat of butter on each one) for breakfast all week.

I do the same pre-mixing thing with the dry ingredients for bread.

For pizza crust, I use an adaptation of Roben Ryberg's recipe in The Gluten Free Kitchen, which only uses cornstarch and potato starch, so it's pretty much like making a Bisquick crust. If I'm in a real hurry, I use corn tortillas as the crust (I spray them with Pam and toast them in the toaster oven, then top them and toast again). My gluten-loving children eat them with no complaints.

Same thing for biscuits--it's like making Bisquick biscuits. I don't even use a rolling pin, I just press out the dough and use my coffee mug to cut circles (6-year-old LOVES to help with that part--it's like Play-Dough time for her). If it's sticky, I dust it with corn meal.

For chicken fingers and fish sticks, I use gluten-free corn flake crumbs or potato flakes.

I enlist the aid of my children for cookies and cakes--they help measure, mix, and dump.

Part of the reason I do this is I am cheap (yes! I admit it! I can't afford premade gluten-free items!). But mostly, the made-from-scratch stuff tastes SO much better than the premade stuff (tastes like styrofoam), I figure I can either take the time and effort to make it from scratch or else do without (which is probably healthier anyway).

If there are any Asian stores in our area, you can stock up on white rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, and tapioca starch at MUCH cheaper prices than Whole Foods. Indian stores carry sorghum flour (they call it jowar flour) and bean flour. Xanthan gum you might have to order on line, or travel for.

I hope this helps!

[TxPillowLady]

Hi!

Do you have "The CupBoard" anywhere? We do in Denton- north Dallas area. Kroger was the first place I found gluten-free things. There are gluten-free pastas in Wal-Mart!

My sister in WI even mailed me boxes of gluten free mixes she found discontinued at a Wal-Mart there. She's also sent me things from Trader Joe's (We need them here in TX!). Recruit a relative and mail them money to send you things we can't get.

I'm pretty new to this too, but have found that getting a few books and spending time on web-sites have gotten me somewhat educated. Today alone I found out that I need to look in shampoos, makeup, soda, breath mints, and who knows what else! It's a long road, so hang in there. We'll get healthy together!

Tara