Gluten free grocery store foods

Avoid the forbidden aisles

If everyone in your family needs to follow the gluten free diet you can speed the shopping process up, by avoiding the bread and baked goods aisles completely.

Also steer clear of the processed foods or ready meals sections. Why make yourself feel bad, by walking past things that would make you ill if you ate them?

However, if the whole family needs to avoid gluten it can work out really expensive!

Shopping tips

• Do not shop when you are hungry! It is much harder to avoid temptation and all sorts of extras can find their way into your trolley/cart.
• Try to work out a basic gluten free menu plan before you go shopping. It could avoid you buying more than you need.

• If you have a companion with you whilst shopping ask them to carry a separate basket in which to place the danger foods bought for other members of the family. This keeps baked items away from your fresh fruit and vegetables and saves you having to handle them.
• Likewise, when packing your bags at the checkout try to ensure that products containing gluten are packed separately. You don't want breadcrumbs making their way into your safe foods.
• On arriving home and unpacking, store gluten free foods on their own shelf. If your children are on the diet, store their food lower down where they can reach it when hungry. Items they shouldn't eat can be stored out of reach.

After buying your gluten free grocery store foods you may find no need to visit those health stores at all.

Safe gluten free grocery store foods

By avoiding the danger areas you can afford to spend more time choosing naturally gluten free products, including....

• Fresh vegetables, especially those in season, are full of goodness and flavor. Ring the changes so you don't get bored. Why not try something new once in a while. Our local supermarket even has preparation and cooking instructions printed onto the shelf labels. Don't forget to take a pen and notepad to jot these down if your grocery store helps in the same way.
• Fresh fruit makes an ideal snack. Add sliced bananas to your cream of rice for breakfast, pop a crisp, juicy apple into your lunch box or stew some apples for a quick dessert.
• Meat, poultry and fish form a large part of most diets. (Although there is no reason why you can't be a vegan coeliac if you wish.) Check processed meats such as beefburgers for the addition of rusk or wheat flour before buying them. Sausages too need care, as they often have cereal binders in them.
• Dairy foods including cheese, milk, cream, and yoghurt (check ingredients) are gluten free. However, when you are first diagnosed with coeliac, you may find you are lactose intolerant, so you may need to steer clear of these for a while. Often dairy foods can be re-introduced to your diet after about one year.
• Cereals and grains are not just limited to wheat, barley and rye. There are many gluten free grains that can be eaten safely. However, I would not advise buying them from open sacks, such as in the photo below, as the risk of contamination is too high.

• Drinks and beverages include fresh fruit juices, some herbal teas and soya, rice or almond milk if you are lactose intolerant.
• Frozen foods, especially vegetables, are normally safe to eat. Do check the potato chips (French fries) however, as they may include a coating that is not gluten free. Frozen ready meals will need careful checking.
• Ethnic foods. Many supermarkets now have an ethnic section, where a variety of naturally gluten free flours and grains are on offer. Rice based gluten free grocery store foods such as rice crackers and noodles can be found here. Look out for corn tortillas and breads here too.

• Specialty foods. More and more grocery stores now provide a "Free From" section. Although these breads, crackers and cakes are often also available on the internet, buying them locally can save on shipping costs. While you are new to the gluten free diet, it can be easier and cheaper to buy bread etc. than to attempt to make your own. Gluten free baking uses different techniques to ordinary cooking and may take a while to get used to. Mistakes can be costly!

So gluten free grocery store foods can save you money, save you shopping time and be healthy and tasty. What more could you ask?