Some of the places I get things you'll have to try and find places close to you...I'll share where I get things anyway and if you live in my area you will know. And maybe the grocery stores near you can even order things in for you??
There are a lot of different flours out there when you start actually baking, but I've found that brown rice flour, rice flour and sweet rice flour are easy to substitute a lot of things. You can't just trade out flour the same way, so it does take some practice...and you also have to freeze your flour once it's opened (I've always done this, but other people don't so you'll have to decide what you want to do). I have a million different flours in my freezer and have kind of figured out the ones we like and the ones we don't like. The best places to get flour (I have found) is Save-on Foods, Sobeys and Planet Organic. Yes, I am driving to 3 different stores sometimes, but to get the best mix of flours and ones we like you have to. I find Planet Organic great...especially when I need to buy bigger amounts of flour (this is also where I get sweet rice flour). So if I knew that I needed more of the specialty flours I would make a trip to Planet Organic, but if I just need rice flour or brown rice flour I can easily find it at any local grocery store. I like the
kinnikinnick all purpose flour mix the best. It's way better than Bob's Red Mill....(I find Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour to have a weird taste). My mom also recently made banana bread from the
xo baking co. all purpose flour and it was great too! So you just need to try a couple to find one you personally like. I also will follow a recipe from a cookbook to make my own mix, but for ease any of these mixes will do the job. Almond flour is a good flour to use in baking too, but you still have to use other flours as well. And then xantham gum and guar gum are basically the same and can be traded out for each other. You don't really need both so just choose one cause they're expensive.
udi's gf bread tastes totally normal...at least the most normal we've found. For some reason gf breads usually only taste somewhat okay when you toast them...otherwise they get kind of gritty, but Cody has no problem with this bread. We do of course keep it frozen, but I can make him sandwiches with it and it's good. Just to be clear...when I buy Udi Bread I keep it in the freezer and then when I use it to make sandwiches I ALWAYS toast it. Any of the bread gets a gritty texture if it's left out, so I only take out what I need right in the moment. And that even goes for most of my gf baking. I never leave it out on the counter or in the pantry...it always either gets put in the fridge or freezer.
Another product we love is the kinni-kwik bread & bun mix (from Save-on...it's a kinnikinnick product). I mix it up and pour it...yes...you pour this bread mix since it's quite runny (think thicker pancake batter) into a mini muffin tin and then cut up a gf
grimm's hotdog and make them into little corn dogs. Everyone loves them (not only gf eaters) and they're so simple. My sister in law who lives in a small town loved them so much (and she is not gf) that she has their grocery store order in the mix and she buys it all the time. Her whole family loves them. Another version I make is a little pizza bun. I'll fill the muffin cups and add pizza sauce, cut up grimm's ham or whatever kind of meat I have on hand and sprinkle cheese on top and bake. Easy.
Pamela's products are really good. We have used the waffle mix and it was really really good!
Our favorite brownies are the
Gluten Free Pantry ones (if I'm using a mix), but I've also heard the
namaste mix is really good too. I haven't tried them yet, but I need to. I personally like homemade versions the best, but these are great for a quick dessert.
We are still on the search for a good pizza crust. So far I haven't found anything as good as real pizza crust. But the frozen premade kinnikinnick pizza crusts are the best I've found so far...not totally the same, but they taste good. Or Udi makes a good one too...which you will find in the frozed section of the grocery store. If you are ever in Vernon, BC there is a pizza place that makes gf pizza and it is really good! The best we've had anywhere!!
All the
Tinkyada pasta tastes completely normal which is nice! Even if I was making lasagna I wouldn't cook the pasta first like it says I just make sure sauce covers the whole noodle and add a little extra sauce. But honestly this pasta tastes really good. It's the only pasta I buy now. Our whole family just eats gf pasta instead of making two different kinds of noodles. You'll just have to decide what to do for your family since gf is more expensive.
And I also have a
gf pinboard on pinterest. The recipes I've tried from there have all been good. Anything I've made I comment underneath, so you'll know if I've made it yet or not!
And remember...you have to be very careful eating gf cause even a crumb can make you feel the same as if you ate a piece of bread. That means no sharing butter...jam...pb...anything like that. Everything has to be separate. It's a lot of work, but you just kind of get into a system! I label all the gf items in the fridge so we don't accidentally share.
I use the the
betty crocker cake mixes to replace mixes in my normal recipes. They're usually around $6...so more expensive, but they taste good and are easy for quick desserts.
At superstore the reduced fat cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup are gf. Just read the label...they use corn starch. So make sure it's the reduced fat kind.
You can also buy corn tortillas that we use for tacos...or the hard shells are usually gf just check the ingredients first!
Thai kitchen has Rice noodle bowls that are gf...found in the asian isle of any grocery store. There are a few different kinds to pick from and that's Cody's version of itchiban. I sometimes will add some frozen mixed vegetable (I'll cook them first).
Most Kraft salad dressings are gf...except cesar...again it's just always important to read the labels.
Watch out for malt, barly, rye, and of course wheat, spelt....
Campbells Tomatoe & Basil soup is gf
Kraft bbq sauce is gf (there are other kinds too that will say right on it if its gf)
VH Soy Sauce is gf
This lady in our ward said that she eats Quaker Oats no problem, but you just can't eat more than a cup a day. Hearing this made me soooo happy since there are some great recipes that use oat flour (which I grind myself). Don't buy generic oats though...stick with Quaker or a gf certified oats package.
Avoid...Food Starch, Hydrolized Plant Protein and spices when reading food labels
McCormicks spices are gf
Some things like corn pops and captain crunch that don't have wheat in them are still not gf since they are produced in factories that make things with wheat so you just have to be careful with things like that. Always always always read labels and be aware of what else may be processed in the same facotry.
Someone else also said you have to watch shampoo and lotions, and lip glosses but we've never worried too much about those things.
Honestly most of it is learning to cook from scratch which I didn't do very good before.
The great thing too is there are endless fruits and veggies that you can eat!
I know this turned into a random post...full of little pieces of advice, but there's just so much to share. Hopefully I've helped you in some way. And if you have more advice please share!! I love helping out!
K :)
p.s. I'll share some favorite blogs, websites and recipes soon!
