Recommendations for good gluten free products

[Nina1]

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease (last week) and have begun following a gluten free diet. I meet with a dietician at the end of the week, but before then, I thought I'd ask for some recommendations about good gluten-free products/brands, based on your personal experiences. We already eat alot of fruit and veggies, and I cook alot of chicken and seafood, etc. but I am wondering about items such as pasta, bread, snack items, cereals etc. I plan to still use the brands we have always used for my husband and son, but when I make pasta for them, for example, I want to be able to have it too, if possible.

Also, I was wondering where the best place is to purchase gluten free foods. I went to our local grocery store today and was shocked at the prices of some items. For example, a 14 oz. package of Glutino (sp?) pretzels was $7.49. I thought that was outrageous. I do plan to go to Whole Foods later this week and I'm thinking maybe their prices might be better as I understand they carry a large variety of gluten free products. But, am I better off purchasing items online? I'm at the beginning, so I still have alot to learn. Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[jmartinez1895]

My son likes a cereal made by EnviroKidz called Gorilla Much. It is GF and organic. To me it taste just like Kix. I know its targeted to kids, but you may like this or some of the otehr kinds they have. We buy oru at Walmart in the GF section and they also have it at whole foods.

 

[C&G'sMama]

We're new at this too and I posted right around the same time as you looking for advice. We are doing it for our 6yo son with Asperger's. I know you said you are going to a nutritionist later in the week. Here's a link to an autism website that has some ideas about gf/cf. I know your just talking Gluten Free and it's celiac, but there seem to be some good tips as a jumping off point.

http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm

 

[pugdog]

I just saw in the store that one of the big companies are making gluten free cakes and cookies, don't remember if it was General Mills or another one of the big ones though. I'll look next time I go and let you know.

 

[LuLuO]

I've been gluten free since 2004. Thank goodness there are more choices available now in our local stores. Unfortunately it is expensive to buy prepared GF products. The price of the pretzles that OP mentioned is the same here in the Saint Louis MO area no matter which grocery store chain I buy from. The cost of going GF is just something you will get used to over time. It is worth it, believe me.

I like Dr. Schar bread and pizza crusts. I also like Ener-G Brown Rice Loaf.

I like Amy's Kitchen products, especially the soups, but not all are GF so you have to read the labels.

I like Pacific soups also but not all are GF so read labels.

Hodgson Mills products are also very good.

I like Tinkyada pasta, Mrs. Leepers pasta, Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta, Ener-G pasta, and Dr. Schar pasta.

I love Arrowhead Mills Maple Buckwheat Flakes cereal. Delicious. Buckwheat is not wheat. A lot of people get confused by that.

Chex are now GF. Yay!

A lot of Hormel products are GF and will say so on the package.

Glutino pretzles are pricey but totally yummy and worth the price. They're the best tasting pretzles I've found. I also like Glutino crackers but only buy them for special parties if I want to have cheese and crackers.

Bob's red mill baking products are great. I love the all purpose flour and the cake mixes and the pancake mix.

Enjoy Life caramel apple snack bars are fantastic as are the Mixed Berry bars.

Betty Crocker has choclate cake mix, vanilla cake mix, and cookie mix that are really good. The brownie mix is just so-so.

Vans Gluten Free/Wheat Free frozen waffles are good.

Smart Balance products will be labeled GF if they are indeed GF.

Soon Kix will no longer contain gluten ingredients but they will not guarantee the cereal is free from cross contamination.

GlutenFreeMall.com has a ton of products and their prices are very comparable to my local stores.

I found that Whole Foods is really more expensive than the other grocery stores in my community but if that is all that is available they are fantastic to shop with.

Unfortunately it is more expensive to eat GF, there is really no getting around that, but totally worth it.

There are some restaurants that have GF options. Outback has a GF menu. Pasta House has GF pasta though they will not guarantee that they are free from cross contamination though I've never had a problem. PF Changs has some GF selections.

celiac.com is a fantastic resource. Going GF is frustrating, especially because of all of the hidden gluten ingredients in products. In the beginning it is time consuming because of all the research you have to do. You have to read every label and not all products are labeled well. Wheat, oats, rye, barley and their derivitives. Just because someting is labeled Wheat Free does not mean it is Gluten Free.

I'm sure you know this, but since you have others in your house who are not GF and will have gluten containg products in your house, it is suggested that you have seperate toasters, peanut butter, butter, mayo, etc., to avoid cross contamination.

There are a lot more options now than there were even 6 years ago when I went GF. I talk up my local grocery stores to get more products. When they carry new products I speak to the manager let them know how much I appreciate them trying new products out.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Maybe I can help.