Need To Grocerie Shop

[RVluvin]

I normally enjoy grocerie shopping, but I'm not looking forward to going tomorrow. I've been gluten free for less than 2 weeks and need to shop, not just for myself (gluten free), but for the family as well. I've been skimming labels looking for those 2 words "gluten free", reading ingredients, and looking up productes on the web, all which is time consuming. Is there a web site that shows all products that are gluten free?

Where do folks with celiac go to grocerie shop. I'm going to go to Sprouts for items not available at Wal-mart. I like the way Sprouts identifies its products gluten free/lactose free on the shelf label. I don't care for 3 & 4 times the cost on half-sized packaged products.

Whats the best loaf of bread, and where can it be found. I tried a $6 1/2 loaf from Sprouts that went straight in the trash. It taste like what I imagine a sponfull of uncook cream of wheat would tast like. I've been taken a swandwich for lunch for the past 16 yr, any ideas on a substitute would be appreciated. Thanks for any information that may be helpful as I make this trasition.

[eatmeat4good]

Yeah, shopping is hard at first.

You can google gluten free shopping lists that will give you items that are gluten free.

The caution is that labels still need to be read as ingredients can change.

I started with the lists. Very helpful when you are overwhelmed.

I try not to buy anything in a package or bottle. Just shop the fresh produce and meat. But we do use Ketchup, Nutella, and Ranch Dressing. And Udi's baked goods are perfectly acceptable substitutes for gluten foods in my opinion. They are usually found in a health food store.

Udi's makes good blueberry muffins, chocolate chip muffins and cinnamon rolls.

Bread we like is Udi's, but it is expensive and a small loaf. I have heard that it can be obtained from Jason's deli stores....they will sell you a whole large loaf of Udi's bread that has gotten great reviews from those who have tried it.

I use Kinnickinnick English Muffins. They are not like English Muffins but the are a good bread substitute. I cut them horizontally into 3 pieces and then toast them. All gluten free bread is better toasted. Just the way it is according to almost everyone who eats gluten free bread.

If you bake...you can make better things than you can buy.

But for now...use the lists and find a few gluten free products to use and then eat mostly whole foods you cook yourself.

Good luck to you.

It does get easier as time goes on. You learn to stay out of the middle aisles and do your research before you go to the store.

[srall]

It truly will get easier. I agree with EM4G that eating whole foods and just looking for meat and veggies and fruits is a good place to start. I would like to say that this is what I did, but honestly I just drove to whole foods and bought a bunch of gluten free stuff. It didn't take long to discover that those gluten free processed foods were also making me sick, and that the only sustainable thing for my family was eating non processed from scratch. Totally overwhelming and it takes time to get into that groove. I would start with finding recipes my family likes, figuring out if they are gluten free or need to be modified, start with a couple of things then slowly add to your repetoire. (obviously cannot spell that word)

I think that like EM4G I would say, start buying the gluten free foods, but plan on moving your family to home cooked meals. And I would also recommend that the entire family eats the same meal...I started out by cooking 3 things, one for me, one for my little daughter and another for my gluteny husband. After my daughter went gluten free the house pretty much went gluten free. So...we slowly figured it out. Don't worry too much at first. The most important thing right now is to learn how to say no to gluten. I think the rest will slowly follow.

[Jenniferxgfx]

Plan extra time for your shopping trip, and don't go there on an empty stomach. I made that mistake. By week 2 I was famished and in a huge calorie deficit, and needed a lot more than I was eating. I nearly had a meltdown in the store with my husband because so many of my favorite items had hidden gluten. I eat a vegan diet and lots of whole foods, but my favorite condiments and other little things seemed to have gluten! It took SO much longer to look for gluten than it ever took to look for animal products, which blew me away because I've always been shocked at how animal byproducts are hidden in foods. But gluten takes the (gluten-free) cake.

I've been a huge "from scratch" girl, but learning to bake gluten-free (and dairy and egg free) has been humbling. I've found a few decent mixes that have helped boost my confidence in gluten-free baking. The King Arthur cookie mix is quite good! The Namaste pizza dough mix is pretty good, too.

But mostly I suggest picking out all those gorgeous fruits and veggies in place of gluten-free convenience foods. BUT, if you like sweets, get yourself a treat for midnight snacks. I love kinni-something brand oreos. They helped soften the blow of transitioning to gluten-free, although I rarely have them now. It's been 3 months (Close to 4) for me.

Good luck! It's still hard and time consuming for me, but it's a LOT easier. The folks here give great advice! You'll be a pro in no time

[AVR1962]

It is a lot of work at first but it does get easier. You find something that is safe, something you like and you stick with it. The gluten-free stuff is a hit or miss thing. Some of it is good and others not so much. I like to bake and make my own stuff with the flour I prefer but I live in Germany and I am using a gluten-free German brand that I doubt is available in America. I was not too keen on Bob Mills flours. There was something in them that didn't set well with my stomach and I found the flour to be too grainy. You have to just try things and if you ahve to throw out a $6.00 half loaf a bread or a box off cookies, it's okay. I realize this stuff isn't cheap and you don't want to waste your money but that's how you are going to find out what you like and don't like.

[missy'smom]

If you shop on a weekday during normal business hours you can stand there in the store and call the 800 numbers on the packages from your cell phone. I and I'm sure many others here have done that. Many mfrs.(not all) are prepared to answer the ? "is this gluten-free?"

I carry a note pad and pen and write down brand names and phone numbers or websites and take it home for looking further into another day.

Do learn to read labels and not rely completely on tagged shelves. Our local healthfood store has inappropriately tagged a few wheat-free products as gluten-free.

It will get easier.

[RVluvin]

Thanks everyone for the encourgement, I'm on my way to the stores now.

What is the difference between wheat free and gluten free.?

[kareng]

Thanks everyone for the encourgement, I'm on my way to the stores now.

What is the difference between wheat free and gluten free.?

Many times, they are the same. But read the ingredients because sometimes " wheat free" can still have barley (malt) or spelt ( a form of wheat) in it. Sometimes they say " wheat free" because they don't test for gluten but they don't use any gluten in the product.

It gets easier with practice. Really! It does!

[missy'smom]

In addition to what's already been said about the differnce between gluten-free and wheat-free,

there are a few products that contain oats but they are not certified gluten-free oats and so those products are not gluten-free. They are just wheat-free because the oats are cross-contaminated with wheat. The products with oats that are labeled gluten-free are USUALLY safe. A few that I know of that are not gluten-free that have oats are labeled as wheat-free. Used to be certified gluten-free oats were too expensive to use in products but the cost has come down...

Used to one of the Newman's Own cookies(if I remember right)and some supplements had oats but were not gluten-free.

[New Community Member]

I buy Canyon Bakehouse bread (cinnamon raisin and San Juan 7-grain). They are both really good. Natural food stores typically have gluten free things labeled and marked. I've ordered gluten free things online, too.

[Jenniferxgfx]

I forgot about online shopping! If you have space, when you find a non perishable item you like, you may be able to find it online cheaper. My husband went a little crazy online and got a case of pretzels and cookies we like, and stocked up on Lara bars and peanuts. We saved money and it's a few less items to stress over at the store.

[Nor-TX]

Yeah, shopping is hard at first.

You can google gluten free shopping lists that will give you items that are gluten free.

The caution is that labels still need to be read as ingredients can change.

I started with the lists. Very helpful when you are overwhelmed.

I try not to buy anything in a package or bottle. Just shop the fresh produce and meat. But we do use Ketchup, Nutella, and Ranch Dressing. And Udi's baked goods are perfectly acceptable substitutes for gluten foods in my opinion. They are usually found in a health food store.

Udi's makes good blueberry muffins, chocolate chip muffins and cinnamon rolls.

Bread we like is Udi's, but it is expensive and a small loaf. I have heard that it can be obtained from Jason's deli stores....they will sell you a whole large loaf of Udi's bread that has gotten great reviews from those who have tried it.

I use Kinnickinnick English Muffins. They are not like English Muffins but the are a good bread substitute. I cut them horizontally into 3 pieces and then toast them. All gluten free bread is better toasted. Just the way it is according to almost everyone who eats gluten free bread.

If you bake...you can make better things than you can buy.

But for now...use the lists and find a few gluten free products to use and then eat mostly whole foods you cook yourself.

Good luck to you.

It does get easier as time goes on. You learn to stay out of the middle aisles and do your research before you go to the store.

Yes, the Udi loaf from Jasons is probably the best gluten free bread I have eaten. They sell it frozen, so make sure you go right home and pop it in the freezer, otherwise the slices will stick togethe. It is 30 ounces, huge, wonderfully normal and sells for $11.99. It is well worth it in my opinion. I have 2 or 3 in the freezer so I never run out. It is just as delicous untoasted as toasted. Yummy

[Marilyn R]

I've finally found something that works for me. I go to the produuce stand or farmer's market once a week.

I go to the grocery store and just buy meat and dairy, (Sometimes I pick up a pint of Haganndaz Rum Raison Ice Cream.)

I buy rice and coconut milk from the Oriental store, along with rice noodles and pure coconut milk, dried mushrooms, fish sauce.

We have an Indian store with superb spices. And they have some gluten-free flours. I spend very little time in traditional grocery stores, but tend to inhabit stores I didn't use to bother with.

[Fairy Dancer]

I shop from the fresh foods aisles and pass on the processed foods, as the former don't usually contain gluten.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I find it helps to go in with a detailed list written in the order of the grocery store layout. Most of my items come from the fresh produce and meat sections but if I do need to venture down an aisle I know in advance which brand of something I am buying. If I need to buy something I have never bought before (like a new type of condiment) I try to research which ones are gluten-free before I go and write down the brands to look for. I double check the labels while in the store (mostly because I have other intolerances because gluten to look out for) but that is faster if I already know which brands have been posted as safe in the past. I think of grocery shopping as more of a hunting mission instead of a browsing mission. I get in, find what I need, and get out as fast as possible. I only allow myself to browse in the produce and fresh meat sections or at the farmer's market, where if I see an extra good deal or something that looks good I can pick it up without having to worry about ingredients.