Gluten Free Nuts & Seeds

[Mama Melissa]

Hello All,

I am having a hard time finding nuts and seeds that are gluten free??Does anyone know any mainstream brand nuts or seeds that are gluten free??I really want some to throw in my salads and just to munch on in general:)I have looked at planters products alot of them say conains wheat. Why in the world would you put wheat in nuts???UGh they should ban wheat all together that evil evil grain lolz..

[cap6]

Check out Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts. The only listed ingredient is peanuts. I eat them a lot. I agree - what's with wheat products in nuts???

[fakename]

Hello All,

I am having a hard time finding nuts and seeds that are gluten free??Does anyone know any mainstream brand nuts or seeds that are gluten free??I really want some to throw in my salads and just to munch on in general:)I have looked at planters products alot of them say conains wheat. Why in the world would you put wheat in nuts???UGh they should ban wheat all together that evil evil grain lolz..

I'm a major nut eater and I always eat planters -at least most of their peanut, mixed nuts, and cashew brands do not contain wheat.

But I heard from them about a year ago that they don't know about if their facilities are gluten free they just know that they'll tell you if they are free of the "common allergens".

Nuts Online have gluten free raw cashews and other products -but they cost like $20/ibs.

[BethM55]

I buy most of our nuts and seeds at Trader Joe's. The ingredients on the bag of dry roasted and unsalted almonds is..... Almonds. I've never had a problem eating these or the cashews, or the sunflower seeds. I've bought the pepitas (pumpkin seeds) too. Simpler is better, I think.

[Mama Melissa]

Thank you for your input:)Beth i agree i bought pistachios from target which ingridients just said pistachios.Well that night well over half of the contsainge ri had the runs all day the next day it was HORRIBLE.I am not terribly sensitive like some others and i am not sure if it was just because i ate to many or a gluten reaction it seemed to be more of a reaction i eat nut bars and peanuts in shell all the time without reactions so this left me confused:(

[Racer-J]

I'm a major nut eater and I always eat planters -at least most of their peanut, mixed nuts, and cashew brands do not contain wheat.

But I heard from them about a year ago that they don't know about if their facilities are gluten free they just know that they'll tell you if they are free of the "common allergens".

Nuts Online have gluten free raw cashews and other products -but they cost like $20/ibs.

Nutsonline has them for $10.99 a lb (raw/organic) & $7.99 a lb (raw/organic/pieces). They also have conventional raw cashews that are slightly cheaper. However, with the cost of shipping & handling, it does approach the $20.00 a lb price so, I guess that's what you were referring to. If you ignore the cost of shipping, the price of cashews is almost identical to what Whole Foods charges in the bulk bins. Some of the prices of other items at Nutsonline are the same as Whole Foods bulk bins and, some of them are more expensive. The shipping & handling is really only "expensive" if you order 1 lb at a time. Since the OP was looking for multiple types of nuts and seeds, the shipping & handling may not increase the cost of each item much. For example, if I were to buy 6 lbs total, the shipping would be $10.40 total. Broken down, that would add $1.73 to each lb which is probably about the average markup for a certified gluten-free item vs a non certified one. The shipping & handling cost can be offset if you order enough compared to just ordering 1 lb. It will probably never zero out though as 12 lbs shipped to me would be $12.50 total. Broken down that would be $1.04 a lb. It's really a question of if total weight of all the items you order is going to be reasonable compared to the added cost from shipping & handling.

A quick note on "raw" cashews though. From what I have read, there are two ways "raw" cashews are shelled. One is by steaming which technically doesn't make them "raw". The other way is by a mechanical device that actually removes the shell. The mechanical advantage is that it keeps them "raw" in case that is a deal breaker. The steaming advantage is that it makes the nut nontoxic. There is actually a toxin in the shell and since the steam doesn't really make physical contact, the toxin can not get onto the nut. However, there is a chance the toxin can transfer from the mechanical device to the nut since there is physical contact.

The point is, it is entirely possible to get sick from eating "raw" cashews that were shelled mechanically so, take caution if that happens and don't be quick to blame it on CC. The typical advice I have seen is it's pretty rare to get sick from the toxin if you eat less than a 1/4 cup of them a day. Again, this only applies to "raw" cashews shelled mechanically. I'm not sure how the ones from Nutsonline are shelled. However, they do say they are not pasteurized and the only way nuts are pasteurized is via steam or a chemical. The chemical is not allowed for use in organic food which leads me to believe the "raw" cashews they sell are probably shelled mechanically.

"raw" cashews also have a vastly different taste and texture than roasted ones so take that into consideration if you have never had them. Vegan recipes for nut based cheeses/creams/etc. containing cashews usually specify them to be "raw". Having eaten them, I can see why. They are extremely "creamy" when you chew them compared to roasted ones and the flavor is more subtle and "smooth". I honestly prefer the taste of roasted but, both have their time and place.

Thank you for your input:)Beth i agree i bought pistachios from target which ingridients just said pistachios.Well that night well over half of the contsainge ri had the runs all day the next day it was HORRIBLE.I am not terribly sensitive like some others and i am not sure if it was just because i ate to many or a gluten reaction it seemed to be more of a reaction i eat nut bars and peanuts in shell all the time without reactions so this left me confused:(

Pistachios are generally considered to have a high mold content just like peanuts. From what I gather, it really only applies to their shelled incarnations. Unshelled pistachios and peanuts have substantially less mold but, they are still higher in mold content than any other nut or seed. It also could have been CC as several different products are sold under the "Applegate Farms" Target brand. It's just like any other "store label" brand. It's just an "unbranded" name brand. An "article" on Livstrong says that diarrhea is not a common allergy symptom for pistachios but, it probably isn't taking into a account a compromised digestive system and anyone can write an "article" online. There was also a major recall of pistachios in 2009 due to salmonella CC.

I hate this disease. It makes it incredibly difficult to figure out what and why.

Having said all of that, I know this was an odd first post for me lol. I just felt compelled to post on this topic.

I don't have an official diagnosis. My father is a diagnosed Celiac though and my aunt and her daughter were negative to the Celiac blood test but, came up positive for gluten sensitivity on the EnteroLab $99 test. My aunt had a score of 40 and her daughter had a score of 13. Given all of this and all the food sensitivities/intolerances/allergies I have developed within the past few months after being gluten free for 6 months (ignoring the inevitable CC & random glutening), I'm pretty sure I have issues with it as well. I wasn't working at that time and the blood test was just to expensive. I made the analytical decision to just drop it from my diet and have never looked back nor had any cravings for any gluten product. I am currently in the process of collecting a sample for the EnteroLab $99 test though. Apparently it can still detect issues with gluten up to a year after you stop ingesting it. The blood test will never be an option for me as I absolutely refuse to knowingly ingest gluten and that simply will not ever change. I have just seen to much change and, discovered to many other issues since I stopped ingesting it to ever submit my body to that type of chaos again. If an official diagnosis would make all the gluten stuff free, then I might consider taking it lol.

For even further disclosure, I have never used Nutsonline. I will be ordering hazelnuts and sunflower seeds from Nutsonline next month to see how that goes. I just no longer trust the bulk bins at Whole Foods given the problems I tend to have after eating something from them. I need to rule out the bloating from being a CC issue or an issue with the actual food in question. That really helps me to justify the cost of shipping even if I am just going to be ordering 2 lbs a month.

BTW, when I say bloating, I mean gaining 5-6 inches in my entire abdomen within 5 - 10 minutes of eating 2 teaspoons. It is ridiculous. It even happens when I eat the certified oats from BRM (Bob's Red Mill) or the Organic Brown Basmati Rice from Lundberg Farms. To be fair, that could be an issue with oats considering Lundberg Farms uses them as a cover crop. However, given I have similar issues with all the other gluten free grains and corn, I have removed any and all grains from my diet. That got rid of my miscellaneous aches & pain and the delicious taste of rice and oats isn't worth getting it back. I do really miss Mexican food though but it is severely lacking once you have to ditch onions, peppers, beans, corn, and flour tortillas (because corn tortillas are gross lol) for various reasons. WARNING (TMI ALERT): The onions and peppers don't cause bloating but they feel like lava coming out.

Sorry for getting off topic but, I wanted to be thorough about why I posted and why I joined. Especially since this post has to be approved my a mod