Finding "normal" tasting gluten free food is getting easier and easier but can still be challenging. It took me several years of trial and error to find the right brands for various foods. One brand may make good noodles but a horrible bread, so it took time to figure out what we all liked.
When I first found out I had Celiac I tried to embrace my new food life with a positive attitude. I immediately went to Whole Foods and tried to find something I could snack on. At the time, my favorite snack was pretzels so I bought the first gluten free bag of pretzels I saw. I went out to my car and ripped into the bag...what I saw inside scared me. It was supposedly a pretzel but it looked more like a twig. Still, I was trying to be optimistic so I took a bite. Eww! It tasted like the twig it looked like! I have since found gluten free pretzels that actually taste like real pretzels. I ended up giving the twig like pretzels to my chickens.
The following are some of the items we use on a regular basis that are easy to find and taste like normal food. I can usually get away with feeding this food to normal people and they don't even know it's gluten free. I also included where I found most items. If you don't live in the Northwest, I'm sorry, I'm sure you'll be able to find these at your local stores too, but this really is the best place to be gluten free!
Salty Snacks:
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Crackers and Chips from Costco.
Crunchmaster crackers are awesome!
You can get the Food Should Taste Good at regular grocery stores as well.
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These are the pretzels I was talking about!
The Glutino Gluten Free Pretzel Twists taste like real pretzels, light and crispy.
Watch out though, they are not fat free like real pretzels! I get these at New Seasons.
You can get Pirate's Booty anywhere but I get the big bag at Costco of course!
Juanita's Tortilla Chips you can get anywhere too.
They taste like the authentic chip you'd expect to get at a Mexican restaurant.
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Other cracker alternatives.
The Glutino Gluten Free Crackers are a good basic cracker without lots of flavoring.
Substitute for Saltines or a more bland version of Ritz.
The Blue Diamond Nut Thins come in lots of flavors and are pretty tasty.
Found in most stores.
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Bars and Treats:
These are just a sample of some good gluten free bars that we keep on hand.
You can get Think Thin and Uber bars at most stores.
I have only found the Orchard Bars at the local 76 gas station or online.
They are all natural and local ingredients.
Also, I don't usually buy store bought cookies but if you must, the WOW brand is the best!
Got these at Costco but have seen them elsewhere.
These Premier Protein Bars are really good to keep on hand (or stashed in your car)
for when you go to a restaurant or some one's house and you can't get gluten free food.
They fill you up. Lot's of protein and not a ton of fat.
Just make sure you drink lots of water with them!
These are all from New Seasons but you can find everything but the "oreos" at Fred Meyer too.
The Namaste Brownie Mix is the best!
The Glutino yogurt covered pretzels are my son's favorite treat.
The Mi-Del version of the oreo is by far the best gluten free option out there!
Annie's bunnies are a good replacement for animal crackers.
Envirokids Crispy rice bars are a good quick snack to grab in snap.
Bet you didn't know you had to watch out for Chocolate milk! A lot of them are NOT gluten free but Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa is. Also, as you may guess, I bought this at Costco! They do sell it in regular stores in much smaller containers if you want :-)
Frozen Foods:
They now sell Udi's pizza at Costco in the freezer section.
You can also get it at New Seasons, they have more variety.
Got this Sabatasso's Pizzeria gluten free pizza at Costco in the freezer section.
It's actually quite good and the pizza is bigger than Udi's...update -
Costco now has Udi's pizza that is the same larger size as this.
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Good quick alternative to making them from scratch.
Found these Feel Good Foods at New Seasons in the freezer section.
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Once again, Ore Ida are found in the "regular" freezer section at most stores.
They are marked gluten free with no cross contamination. |
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Pantry:
Pacific Foods has a large selection of GF foods. I mostly buy it at New Season's but the
red pepper and tomato soup is available at Costco.
Progresso Clam Chowder is gluten free and sold in the regular food section.
Gluten Free Cafe soups are in the gluten free section at New Season's.
Bionaturae is our favorite pasta. My husband says he actually prefers it to regular pasta.
It's made with rice, potato and soy.
I get it at New Seasons and Fred Meyer.
Ortega Taco Shells are in the regular food section but are gloriously gluten free!
Annie's mac and cheese is a favorite of my kids', however, I've started buying the
Bionaturae noodles and adding the sauce pack from Annie's only because the amount of
noodles you get with Annie's is barely enough for one kid. I just add a little freshly grated
cheese and a little salt along with the sauce pack and it goes a lot further. I can get 5 times the
amount of Mac and Cheese that way!
All from Trader Joe's. All ok, but not our favorites.
Good if you want brown rice as a health alternative to the white rice, potato and soy.
Both from Costco.
You can get the Pacific broth anywhere.
I use it when I need to make vegan dishes for friends.
Bragg Liquid Aminos is an interesting alternative to soy sauce.
I think it tastes the same (well, close at least) and I really like the spray bottle.
My kids can put it on their rice and not drown it in shoyu!
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Almost all Taste of Thai sauces are gluten free.
Be sure to double check the back though, I have only found one thing that wasn't gluten free.
Tamari is what I use for soy sauce when I cook.
It's just real soy sauce, not watered down with wheat!
The Organic Ville sauces are ok, good if you want a quick sauce,
but not as good as home made sauces. |
The Fiesta sauce packs are pre-mixed and you just dump them in.
I liked them but my kids didn't.
The Simply Organic dry mixes are good but not all of them are gluten free.
You have to look carefully at the back to see if they are marked gluten free.
I actually haven't found these recently. I've ended up just making my own taco
seasoning from other basic spices and everyone seems to prefer that.
Breakfast:
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People ask why regular oat meal isn't gluten free.
The oats are, but they get cross contaminated in their storage and transportation.
You can find Bob's Red Mill at most grocery stores in the gluten free section. |
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Tasty granola alternatives.
Kind offers many different flavors selections.
Udi's simple granola used to be at Costco, but they haven't had it for a few months.
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Once again, you can find Chex in the regular cereal section at the grocery store.
All their flavors are gluten free except Wheat of course! |
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Flours and Breads:
Mama's Coconut Blend is my family's all time favorite flour. You can use 1 to 1 with any recipe,
but you do have to add xanthan gum. The nice thing about adding xanthan gum is you can
adjust the amount depending on what you are making, it really does make a difference!
Whenever I make anything using Mama's people ask for the recipe and can't believe it's gluten free!
I get it at New Season's. I usually wait for it to go on sale and stock up!
Namaste Gluten Free Organic Flour Blend is a quick and easy alternative to Mama's.
Much less expensive and you don't have to add the xanthan gum.
It's not quite as tasty but you can still make food that doesn't taste gluten free.
Got this big bag at Costco.
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Udi's is my kids' favorite. It tastes most like regular bread.
You can find it in the fresh bread section, usually near the bakery window but it is
best if you just find it in the freezer. Usually if they have it near the bakery, it has been
taken from the freezer and defrosted anyways.
Costco now carries Udi's!
The loaves are twice as large and the slices are the same size as real bread!
The Essential Baking Company bread is also found at Costco.
It's full of seeds and a little darker so the kids don't really like it.
I usually have it on hand for out of town guests who are
going through bread withdrawals! |
As you can see, Udi's also has other selections available in the freezer section too.
New Season's has a great selection of French Rolls, French Baguettes,
hamburger and hot dog buns and even bagels.
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Click on the link for a comprehensive and continuously updated list of safe candies
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