Trip To Wegman's

[BigDogz]

I finally decided to break down and make the 120 mile round-trip trek to my nearest Wegman's tomorrow. My aim is that I'm not going for gluten-free things that I can get at my local Wal-Mart like meats, cheeses, eggs, milk, etc.

I want to get products that aren't available locally like gluten-free pizzas, breads, rolls, cookies, snacks, frozen entrees, crackers, soups, etc. Problem is, Wegman's carries multiple gluten-free brands of these items and if I'm going to go that far and spend that much time & gas, I want to make the trip count by getting the best tasting products.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone that shops at Wegman's could suggest specific items and brands that I should seek out. For example, which is the better gluten-free bread...Ener-G Tapioca Loaf, Brown Rice Loaf, White Rice Loaf or Glutino's Harvest Corn, Flax Seed, or Premium Fiber? Are Glutino crackers better than Blue Diamond Nut-thin crackers?

Also, are there any gluten-free items that are made fresh at Wegman's that anyone would recommend?

Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions y'all can make!

[annemarie246]

This is only my 17th day being gluten-free, or trying at least. I have been to Wegmans a few times. I bought Pamela baking mix and made a pretty decent coffee cake with it. Hope to try pancakes this weekend.

The Envirokidz cereal is pretty good, tried the Gorilla crunch, and it's a reasonable price, saw a box of Gluteno this morning for $6.50?? at Bloom. Also, their Crispy rice bars are good.

I haven't tried any bread yet, thought I'd see if I could just live without it.

Did try the Redbridge gluten-free beer, it's really good, similar to Killian's.

I like the fact that they have a special 'Gluten-free' aisle, or 1/2 an aisle, and it's labeled clearly. I haven't ventured into the bakery to see if they actually make any gluten free products fresh, they did have some cookies/muffins in a refrigerated section, but they were quite expensive.

Love our new Wegman's, but will need a second job to afford shopping there often. Enjoy your shopping expedition! That's what I think of grocery shopping any more!

[BigDogz]

This is only my 17th day being gluten-free, or trying at least. I have been to Wegmans a few times. I bought Pamela baking mix and made a pretty decent coffee cake with it. Hope to try pancakes this weekend.

The Envirokidz cereal is pretty good, tried the Gorilla crunch, and it's a reasonable price, saw a box of Gluteno this morning for $6.50?? at Bloom. Also, their Crispy rice bars are good.

I haven't tried any bread yet, thought I'd see if I could just live without it.

Did try the Redbridge gluten-free beer, it's really good, similar to Killian's.

I like the fact that they have a special 'Gluten-free' aisle, or 1/2 an aisle, and it's labeled clearly. I haven't ventured into the bakery to see if they actually make any gluten free products fresh, they did have some cookies/muffins in a refrigerated section, but they were quite expensive.

Love our new Wegman's, but will need a second job to afford shopping there often. Enjoy your shopping expedition! That's what I think of grocery shopping any more!

Shopping expedition...LOL! I think we all pretty much felt that way when we first started out on the gluten-free "adventure". Trust me, it will get easier as time goes on and you know what you can and cannot have. For me, the hardest part is going out with friends and having any degree of confidence that the following couple days won't be spent in the bathroom and feeling miserable. Pretty much, my friends have tried to be understanding but, unless you live it day in and day out like we do, you just don't truly understand how hard it can be to eat out just anywhere.

I am looking forward to going to Wegman's tomorrow. I've never been before and I keep hearing all of these amazing things about the place. Like you, I've heard that it can be quite expensive...even for the non-gluten-free foods.

It's funny that you mentioned coffee cake. I used Betty Crocker's yellow cake mix to make a coffee cake. Whipped it up just as the directions say but filled the pan about 1/2 way, tossed on some cinnamon, brown sugar and butter mix, filled the remaining batter and sprinkled on more cinnamon/sugar/butter mix. Turned out pretty well.

I've pretty much learned to live without bread, too, although I did try a couple of the Bob's Red Mill bread mixes. Unfortunately, I did NOT like either of them. Instead, if I'm feeling like a "sandwich", I use a 100% corn tortilla as a wrap. I just thought I'd try one of the commercially prepared gluten-free breads and see if they're any better than those mixes. I'd LOVE to have a ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast...or cinnamon toast, but it won't kill me if I can't.

By the way, since you're new to this, you should check out the website called Glutenfreeda.com . I've found some really awesome gluten-free recipes on there. They rate them from Easy to Intermediate to Involved depending on how much prep work is required. I've made quite a few of the dishes for non-Celiac friends and they said they were so good that they couldn't believe they were "special" recipes.

Anyway...Thanks for your suggestions and we'll see what wonders of gluten-free dining I can find tomorrow at Wegman's!

[ravenwoodglass]

Wegmans has a pretty good selection but some stores have more stuff than others. I also vote for the Pamela's mix. It is great for muffins and pancakes and such. Give the Grainless Baker a try, they will be in the frozen section. Their hamburger buns and really good and as soon as I run out of my Kinnickinnick bread I am going to try their bread. I personally found Ener-g bread to be like eating styrofoam. Some do like it though. Their crackers are good. There is a company I would love to try called Schars. Unfortunately they use soy flour in their mixes but the cookies and that sort of stuff looked really good.

Ready made cookies like Pamela's Choco Chunk and P nut butter are good. Then of course there are pretzels. Both Glutino and Ener-g make them and both are good.

Oh and one of my favorites that Wegmans carries is Gluten Free Pantries French Bread mix. It makes a great pizza crust.

Do check the regular aisles to while you are there. Wegmans is good about marking all their gluten-free stuff as gluten free with the circle G. Really cuts down on the label reading.

Enjoy your trip. Don't miss the ready made chocolate cakes and cheesecakes in the freezer. They're expensive but so good.

[ciavyn]

Have fun and do as much of your shopping for perishables there as you can -- they usually have the best prices!

Let's see -- I fourth (or fifth) the Pamela's bread mix mention. Yummy, and I freeze it to enjoy individual slices. I LOVE almond butter on Lundberg rice cakes, with a little bit of honey.

I think Wegman's has THE best corn chips ever. one nice thing is that ALL of their brand food is marked with a G.

Let's see...what else...check out their frozen Contessa meals -- some are labels gluten free. They are pan fry quick meals. They have a decent selection of gluten free icecreams and bread, but I would make your own.

Check out the bulk foods - AMAZING selection.

Glutino crackers are BETTER than Ritz, any day. I like everything I've had by them.

Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats are awesome!! I love those. Add in some flax seeds and you are good to go.

Good luck and have fun! I love Wegmans!

[gefen]

Wegmans is hard for me because they don