If you live in a large city, especially in the land of fruits and nuts, where there are Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Sprouts and health food stores all within five miles from your home, finding GFCF foods is not a problem. If you live in a tiny town, hundreds of miles from any large, or even medium sized communities, you have a much more difficult time purchasing GFCF foods, unless you order online.
Whole Foods Market www.wholefoods.com exists in thirty-eight states and D. C., with seven stores in each UK and Canada. Some states have ONE store, where as some cities have five. Whole Foods has an incredible array of GFCF foods to choose from, to whet your appetite. They even have guides in each store of the brands of GFCF foods that can be found. Ask at Customer Service for this printout.
Trader Joe’s www.traderjoes.com is in thirty-four states and in DC, with more locations being added constantly. They have a great GF list and a Vegan list, to find GFCF, read the labels and call, when in doubt. You can combine these two lists, yet Vegan also means egg free and animal product free, so it is casein free for sure. Their products are marked with a lower case “g” on the package and an upper case, “V” designating gluten free and Vegan. For their GF products see: http://www.traderjoes.com/pdf/lists/list-no-gluten.pdf for their Vegan items: http://www.traderjoes.com/pdf/lists/list-vegan.pdf Keep in mind, if it is GF, it is not necessarily CF and if it is Vegan, it is not necessarily GF.
Sprouts http://sprouts.com/home.php is located in only four states, but they are expanding rapidly. The four states are: California, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. They have a huge assortment of GF items and a detailed guide in the stores of all of their GF products. Read the label to see if they are CF, as well.
Wegmans Food Markets www.wegmans.com (look for special diets on their web site) are located in five states on the east coast: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland. They just have a GF list, but they do give some suggestions on their web site for CF, as well.
Many locations are popping up with GF stores and bakeries, with MANY offering GFCF choices, as well.
For those who do not live near any of these stores your best bet is to order GFCF foods online. Typical grocery stores are adding more and more GFCF foods to their inventory, but they are usually pretty costly. When you go on day trips or vacations, you can stock up on items if these stores are located in your destinations. Take a cooler with you to keep perishables fresh. Fill plastic juice or water containers with water and freeze them to use as heavy duty ice blocks.
Here are some of the more popular online sites to find GFCF items.
It is wise to do an online search for health food stores in your area or gluten free stores/bakeries. You might find some in your town or the next town over.
www.glutenfreeregistry.com lists restaurants, stores, bakeries, catering companies and more, that carry GF foods. Make sure they can accommodate CF and other allergens you might need to avoid.
Two good web sites for support and information are: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/ http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.php
I have compiled a list of GFCF brands/items that seem to win the most votes on being some of the best.
Breakfast foods:
Cereal: Nature’s Path EnviroKidz, Glutino
Waffles: Van’s, Trader Joe’s
French Toast: Glutino, Ian’s
Breads/Buns/Muffins:
Udi’s, Kinnikinnick, Food for Life, Ener-G, Canyon Bakehouse, Schar
Snacks:
Chips: Terra Chips, Lundberg Family Farms, Arico
Pretzels: Glutino, Ener-G
Snack Bars; BumbleBar, Arico, Larabar, Jocalat Bars, Enjoy Life, Clif Bar, Glutino
Meals:
Chicken Nuggets/strips: Garrett/Wellshire Farms, Ian’s, Bell & Evan’s (black box), Coleman’s
Hot dogs: Applegate Farms, Shelton’s
Lunch Meat: Applegate Farms, Boar’s Head, Shelton’s
Pasta: Tinkyada, Trader Joe’s, Orgran, DeBoles
Cheese alternative: Daiya
Yogurt: Ricera, Turtle Mountain
Desserts:
Sorbet: Sharon’s, Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Dreyer’s/Edy’s, Ciao Bella
Ice Cream: Good Karma, FreeZees, Rice Dream, Turtle Mountain
Pudding Mix: Dr. Oetker’s
Cookies: Enjoy Life, Mi-Del, Nana’s, Ener-G, Kinnikinnick, Arico
Cake/brownie/cookie mixes: Namaste, Gluten-Free Pantry, Bob’s Red Mill, Authentic Foods
