First Gluten Free Shopping List

[Chelley]

I am preparing my list to go grocery shopping tonight. This is the first time I am shopping gluten free. Can anyone give me an example of their shopping list? What I need to LOOK OUT for, and what is always gluten free, ie: veggies (I know are), but what else? I am TOTALLY overwhelmed.

Are eggs gluten free? Is there gluten free rice? Coffee Creamer?

Does coffee have gluten?

UGH>>>>

THANK YOU. ~ Michelle

[jerseyangel]

I am preparing my list to go grocery shopping tonight. This is the first time I am shopping gluten free. Can anyone give me an example of their shopping list? What I need to LOOK OUT for, and what is always gluten free, ie: veggies (I know are), but what else? I am TOTALLY overwhelmed.

Are eggs gluten free? Is there gluten free rice? Coffee Creamer?

Does coffee have gluten?

UGH>>>>

THANK YOU. ~ Michelle

Hi Michelle and welcome

First, take a deep breathe and relax What seems so foreign and different right now will quickly become second nature--I promise.

At the beginning, it's usually best to stick to mostly naturally gluten-free foods like all fresh meats, poultry and seafood, all fresh fruits and veggies, potatoes, rice (plain rice, not mixes), eggs (gluten free!), butter (Smart Balance margarines are also gluten-free), nuts (in shell), most dairy (watch out for yogurts and things like cheese spreads) beans, and pure nut butters.

Pacific Foods Chicken Broth is gluten-free and very good.

Coffee Mate is gluten-free.

[blueeyedmanda]

Patti's advice sums up what I was going to tell you.

Also this will help, Kraft does not hide gluten sources. This is a big help.

Sticking to simple things for a little bit is the idea, it will give your body a chance to heal.

The first few trips are the hardest but they get so much easier. Don't let it get you down the first time, we have all been there.

Good Luck!

[ThatlldoGyp]

Hi, just want to add my support. Right now there is a lot of information coming at you, and it is overwhelming...but don't worry, you will get the hang of it quickly! In a week or two you will be feeling so much better you won't believe you lived "like that" before, lol!

Gluten is in wheat, barley and rye and anything that is made with the products or by-products of those grains. Luckily,There are options out there! What I would first suggest is that you have the red "Gluten free shopping" bible rushed to your door (you can find it on this website), or you can have it downloaded to your handheld or blackberry.

Anyway... start with the basic whole foods... rice (no mixes such as pilaf), potatoes, plain meat in the fresh section only for now (stay away from anything seasoned), fruit, fresh vegetables and in-shell nuts. For dressings there are many you can have... but when you are first starting out, I would suggest sticking to brands that are clearly marked as gluten free... Newman's own, Annie's organics. You can find gluten-free breads in the organic sections usually. If you need fast meals for luch, A Taste of Inda , taste of Thi products (by the cup o noodle or ethnic section) is clearly marked gluten free right under nutrition info. Amy's organics also has gluten-free frozen foods that are marked as gluten-free on the bottom right hand corner on the front. Bob's Red Mill has gluten-free oatmeal produced on ddedicated lines, so look for those products as well.

WARNING: WHEAT FREE does NOT mean Gluten Free! Tocepherols are another sneaky thing to watch for.. vitamin E can derived from wheat, so check the source if you see that on a list of ingedients). Gluten in hidden in "seasonings" so double check the product before you buy it.

Eggs are gluten free. Check your soy sauce, some have gluten in them.

Avocado is easy and delicious, but fatty, lol! You want to buy a softer one. Peel with a knife and either chop into cubes for your salads or mash up and mix with salsa for guacamole.

Some coffees do have Gluten. Starbucks and Newman's own are gluten-free. Gevalia can have it. Ghiradelli is gluten-free as well. There are more, but that will get you started.

There is another post with "my gluten-free list on this topic... you can check that out and get some more ideas!

The hardest part is going through the products already in your home. I went cabinet by cabinet and searched everything on the net until my shopping bible finally arrived! It was hard work, but worth not accidently glutening myself (yes, that is a verb on this site, lol!).

I'm so happy for you that you got diagnosed and that you are now on your way to healing and feeling better. You can message me anytime if you need support or have a question about anything. I love cooking, so if you have any questions about cooking with some of the new products that you are about to explore, I will help you the best I can.

This will get easier, I promise, and on the good side you get to explore new foods and eat healthier than ever!

Hope this helped!

[missy'smom]

The hardest part is going through the products already in your home. I went cabinet by cabinet and searched everything on the net until my shopping bible finally arrived!

This is a good thing to do. You can also call the 800 number on the packages. Once in a while you'll find a company that doesn't provide enough info. but many are very helpful. Info. on the web can be found on the FAQ links "frequently asked questions" or sometimes you can find info if you click on "contact us" When I found that a product was gluten-free I marked a big G F on it so I could remember that I had already checked that product and found it was OK. Some companies will send you a list of their products that are gluten-free. You can print these and take them shoppping with you. It's always wise to double check the labels and check how long ago their list was last updated.

[loco-ladi]

"Hormel" is another company very good at marking their products "gluten free" they have lunch meat, pepperoni and bacon that is safe. I have a complete list relatively recent if you would like it.

[Worriedwife]

If you have one near you, Walmart is a great place to shop. Their Great Value brand will definitely identify items a being gluten free, and they have a lot of them.

I agree with previous posters about trying to stay with naturally gluten free items as much as possible, as they are normally much healthier for you. Remember that gluten can sneak into the most unlikely things (like Twizzlers) so you will need to check everything.

Good luck with your shopping trip, just remember to be patient and it will get easier as you go along.

[Lisa]

Here is a list of "good" companies who have a wonderful policy of listing all gluten (as "wheat, malt, barley, rye"):

Open Original Shared Link

It is better to rely on reliable companies rather than gluten free product listings.

[Juliebove]

When my daughter was first diagnosed with food allergies, I went overboard buying things she could eat. I bought every kind of cereal I could find. Every kind of flour, every shape of pasta, etc. I wound up throwing a lot out because she either didn't like it, I couldn't find a recipe for it (flour), or it just plain expired. But in our case we have additional food allergies, so that makes it even tougher.

Obviously buying plain meats and vegetables is a good place to start. But you'll eventually want to branch out and buy other things, like gluten-free oats, other cereals, pasta, flour, etc.

I can't speak for Walmart because the one in this area doesn't sell groceries. We got some rice chips there that daughter loved but they no longer seem to carry them.

We get a lot of our gluten-free things from the health food store. You can also get some things in the Asian food section.

I get sweet rice flour (used for thickening gravy and sauces) in the Asian section. You can also buy some rice noodles there. I haven't actually tried those.

For general baking I use a white rice or brown rice flour and also a four flour gluten-free blend. I don't buy any other flour unless I have a recipe that specifically calls for it.

I do a lot of my gluten-free shopping online. There are some things I just can't find in the stores here.

[Bill in MD]

All very good advice, so far. A few additions come to mind:

Read every label, every time you shop. This will soon become second nature to you. Products change suppliers for their ingredients all the time, or change their "recipes." Something that is considered gluten-free today may not be so tomorrow.

Most frozen vegetables without sauce are gluten-free. Most OreIda frozen potatoes, too, but read the labels carefully on the seasoned ones.

Be cautious about canned/cartoned broths and stocks (took me awhile to realize this one). Pacific Life, Kitchen Basics, Emerils all are gluten-free, some of the store brands are not. HerbOx bouillion is gluten-free.

Progresso soups are clearly and reliably labelled, many of the vegetable classics are gluten-free (creamy mushroom, French onion, lentil, etc.)

Avoid veined cheeses (bleu, Stilton, gorgonzola) unless clearly marked as to the source of the mold. All Boar's Head meats and cheeses are gluten-free.

I've found that some "low-fat" versions of products contain wheat, when the "full-fat" version of the same product does not. Read "low-fat" labels very carefully.

Snacks: it seems to be universally agreed on this forum that all Frito/Lay products should be avoided due to an apparently high incidence of cross contamination in production. If you can get Utz products, they are safe, clearly labeled as gluten-free, and better tasting to boot (imho).

Since you appear to be female, you may want to scrutinize any cosmetics you use, especially lipstick/lip gloss. Search this forum for discussions on this.

Over-the-counter and prescription meds may contain gluten, but will rarely be labelled so that you can tell. Now is a really good time to get to know your pharmacist better. There are lists of gluten-free meds available on this website.

If you share your kitchen with others who are not keeping gluten-free, you need to have your own separate containers of butter, peanut butter, jams/jellies, mayo - anything that might accumulate crumbs from wheat breads.

Hope this all helps. It's a lot to deal with, we know, and unfortunately there are really no short cuts. But there are a lot of people here to help you along, and it does get easier to deal with. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

[buffettbride]

All very good advice, so far. A few additions come to mind:

Snacks: it seems to be universally agreed on this forum that all Frito/Lay products should be avoided due to an apparently high incidence of cross contamination in production. If you can get Utz products, they are safe, clearly labeled as gluten-free, and better tasting to boot (imho).

I agree with everything but this statement. We get regular Fritos and Lays Stax all the time with no problems. There is a lot of emotion around whether or not Frito Lay products are safe. Some people eat them with no problem and others seem to react negatively to them. It is a personal choice, likely based on your reaction to them.

That said, I'm pretty micro-managing when it comes to my menus. This is what a typical dinner menu of ours looks like:

(ALWAYS CHECK THE LABEL EACH TIME YOU BUY SOMETHING COMMERCIALLY NOT MARKED gluten-free)

Tinkyada Spaghetti w/ Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage, Classico sauce w/ veggies and salad

Pork Tenderloin (not premarinated) w/ rice (we just buy generic instant rice or make our own sticky rice in the rice cooker) w/ veggies and salad. We marinate w/ Kroger-brand soy sauce.

Tacos - Ortega shells and seasoning. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, shredded Kraft Mexican style cheese, sour cream.

Banquet Crock Pot Meal - Chicken and Rice. Serve with Chebe cheese rolls.

French Toast and Johnsonville Breakfast Sausage - Kinnickinnick sandwich bread dipped in egg/vanilla/sugar/cinnamon mixture. Makes and tastes like regular french toast. Breakfast for dinner is always great!

Steak - Steak marinated in Kroger soy sauce. Baked potatoes w/ fixins, salad and veggie.

Noodles and Company - We go out for dinner once a week at Noodles and my DD w/ Celiac gets rice noodles.

That is a pretty typical week of meals for us. Other staples on my grocery list are:

Yoplait yogurt

Milk

Eggs

Kraft or Kroger shredded cheese

Velveeta

Hormel Natural Choice lunch meats and bacon

Fresh chicken, pork tenderloin, ground beef, etc.

Dove/Lever body wash

Dove shampoo/conditioner

Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch bars (OMG REALLY GOOD!)

Fresh produce and LOTS of it

Fritos

Lays Stax

Fruit Leather (Stretch Island Fruit Co.)

Tinkyada Pasta (all kinds)

Kinnickinnick bread, pizza crusts (makes great garlic bread), donuts, muffins

Pamela's gluten-free baking mix (this is the Bisquick of the gluten-free world IMO)

Daisy sour cream

Smart Balance light "butter" spread

String Cheese

Progresso Veggie/Rice, Corn Chowder, Clam Chowder soups

[Chelley]

OH MY GOSH!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I didn't think I got any replies, but I just realized I did. So I am slowly reading through it.

Thank you for your support.

[buffettbride]

OH MY GOSH!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I didn't think I got any replies, but I just realized I did. So I am slowly reading through it.

Thank you for your support.

It's tough getting started. I cried the first time I went grocery shopping after DD was dxd. It took 4 hours in the grocery store reading every label and becoming familiar with what was and wasn't OK. I'm pretty good at the grocery store now and I have the cooking down-pat. It's always nice to make new gluten-free discoveries. Before I never enjoyed shopping or cooking or planning the menu. Now I look forward to it!

[mischka]

I do a lot of my gluten-free shopping online. There are some things I just can't find in the stores here.

hi Juliebove and everyone ! you might want to add to your online list this new baking products that are safe for celiacs....www.tasteslikerealfood.com

check out this link that introduces the new products...Open Original Shared Link

[Guest digmom1014]

Here is a list of "good" companies who have a wonderful policy of listing all gluten (as "wheat, malt, barley, rye"):

Open Original Shared Link

It is better to rely on reliable companies rather than gluten free product listings.

Thank you all so much! I have been gluten-free for a week and it is overwhelming!

Momma Goose-where in NC do you live? I am a recent x-fer to the Charlotte area.

Sarah