gluten free food - where to buy?

[tiggerUK]

hi all,

planning our trip to WDW and we're bringing our boy who is gf/cf and also MSG and sweetener free too. we will be bringing some of his fave biscuits, milk and probably gf pancake mix but would like to know the names of some stores that sell gf/cf foods such as bread, cakes, biscuits, etc. would be really helpful so we are prepared before we come! also where these stores are would be helpful info too. thanks.

we will also be buying meat and veg from walmart or supermarket, do the supermarkets sell any gf/cf foods? and do the sell organic foods?

do you have orgran and ener-g brands in florida? do you have alpro soya?

thanks so much

 

[VirtuallyMe]

I can't answer your question- but wanted to let you know that WDW is great at diets and having the right foods for you... you can contact Brenda for more information- the contact information I think is in a sticky- I'm at work and don't have it here...

But I'm wheat free and ate just fine all over- you just have to know what to ask for- but counter service has books with information and the table service will have a chef come out to speak to you at the table to accomodate the kids. and I secretly think that they love to do special things for the kids that are off menu because I've seen them do some special things for them

 

[MBW]

hi all,

planning our trip to WDW and we're bringing our boy who is gf/cf and also MSG and sweetener free too. we will be bringing some of his fave biscuits, milk and probably gf pancake mix but would like to know the names of some stores that sell gf/cf foods such as bread, cakes, biscuits, etc. would be really helpful so we are prepared before we come! also where these stores are would be helpful info too. thanks.

we will also be buying meat and veg from walmart or supermarket, do the supermarkets sell any gf/cf foods? and do the sell organic foods?

do you have orgran and ener-g brands in florida? do you have alpro soya?

thanks so much

Definitely have Ener-g, I'm not so familiar with Orgran. But there are some other excellent brands, including Kinnikinnick (Canada, but widely distributed in the US - check their website for locations), Glutino (widely distributed), Amy's (Pizza), and Food for Life (breads). There are Whole Foods and other natural food stores near Orlando which stock, and you might be able to get them to deliver to your resort.

We had no problem getting most of our son's GF dietary needs fulfilled on-site, in fact, they did it with incredible graciousness and downright aplomb at times. All they needed was timely (3 days?) notice.

Good luck. If you want, if you give me some idea of what kind of GF foods you typically consume, I can try out some of the US brands, and give you a run-down (I need to try and expand my son's diet as is ...)

 

[tiggerUK]

the gluten and dairy free bit i think will be quite easy its the msg and sweetener free that often causes the problem.

i will be trying food on site but will prob steer clear of ready made things as i need to check ingreds. will prob stick to meat and veg, pots.

biscuits and chocolate puddings and custard puddings would be really helpful as joe eats these daily. also do you have any idea how much a loaf of ener-g white rice bread costs over there? very expensive here £6 a loaf (about $12!!!)it would be handy if we could buy them. if you do find a choc pud, would it be possible to post ingredients? don't worry if you can't i can always search net.

thanks for your help mbw.

anyone know where any natural food stores ar in the orlando area?

thanks. any other info most appreciated

 

[ducklite]

Whole Foods is a good poke from WDW, at minumum 45 minutes, if you get stuck in traffic, it can take over an hour.

Publix has a pretty good selection of WF/GF foods, including breads, cookies, cereals, and snack items.

Anne

 

[dawnball]

Ener-g white rice bread will likely run you around $5-$6/loaf in the US. The harder part will be finding it. Publix is probably your best local source, but I couldn't swear that they would carry it. They do carry the Envirokids gluten/casein free animal cookies though. For chocolate pudding or custard we used Jello instant pudding and coconut milk (I know they set with coconut milk, I don't know what other milk subs will work).

Note that dairy free was much harder for the resorts than gluten free was. MSG free (assuming naturally occuring glutamate like those found in mushrooms are ok) and artificial sweetener free shouldn't be more of a problem. Gluten/Casein free pretty much limits you to meat/veg/potato/rice pasta anyway.

If you're staying on property (or elsewhere you can recieve packages) it might be worth making an order from one of the US gluten-free retailers to have delivered for you.

 

[CHRIS_PRESTON]

Tigger,

Our DS, Joe is GF/CF, MSG and sweetener free too. As a previous poster mentioned the first thing to do is contact Brenda at Disney she can tell you about all the food outlets at Disney and what they have that is suitable.

We actually took our own cereal and a few other bits with us - we found that with this and actually eating at Disney retuarants and counter service we didn't need to buy anything else.

As far as I can remember the supermarkets had a similar amount of gluten/dairy free foods as you found in the uk, albeit some of the brands were different.

You could also visit Chamberlins Health Food Store, who have a number of stores in the Orlando area (http://www.chamberlins.com/). I think if you contact them they will be able to give you a list of suitable items. Some of their branches actually bake fresh GF bread - but you'll need to check other ingredients.

I've got to say that we were impressed by the service at WDW restuarants, nothing was too much trouble - this made our holiday, much easier than eating at restaurants at home.

 

[tiggerUK]

thank you for the replies.

unfortunately we can't use envirokids products as they are crosscontaminated with dairy, even though they don't actually contain dairy, there are traces.

will have a look at the chamberlins website, thanks. does anyone know where publix is in orlando area? we'll be staying at the pop century in WDW.

we will probably take foods with us, just would like to ease the load a little as 3 weks worth of food will take up a lot of space!!!

thanks, any other info appreciated.

 

[CHRIS_PRESTON]

www.publix.com - there is a store locator on this site.

This may seem silly but don't forget to declare all the foods you take into the country when you feel the customs form out on the plane. Last time for some reason I decided not to fill in all the items I had with me and got stopped by a customs officer - luckily she was very sympathetic.

 

[ducklite]

The Orange Lakes Publix will be the closest one to Pop.

Anne

 

[tiggerUK]

hi dawn ball, or anyone else.

that is a good idea about ordering gf/cf food to be delivered to our hotel. we are staying at the pop sentury, i presume that things can be delivered there?

anyway, does anyone know websites for any gf/cf mailorder companies in US?

thanks

 

[tiggerUK]

bumping up. anyone any ideas re gf/cf mail order?

thanks

 

[dawnball]

thank you for the replies.

unfortunately we can't use envirokids products as they are crosscontaminated with dairy, even though they don't actually contain dairy, there are traces.

Shoot. That explains my roving dairy reactions though. I wonder how I missed that on the labeling.

Yes, you can have packages delivered to Pop. I'd call and talk to them about any special labeling requirements. As for mail order - Kinnickinnic or ener-g are who I usually order from. Somewhere like http://www.food4celiacs.com/ might be a better option for you, since you can get foods from a variety of manufacturers all shipped together in one box. They have a reputation for good customer service too.

 

[tiggerUK]

hi dawnball,

thanks for the info. i will have a look at that website.

re: envirokids - i don't think the dairy cross contamination is mentioned on the packaging. i contacted the manufacturers and they disclosed it over the phone. joe is soooo sensitive to gluten and dairy, we do have to be so careful.