Gluten Free Grocery Shopping

Getting groceries with three kids under the age of 5 is always a total blast.  Read: sarcasm.  Now that the girls are getting a little older, it is slightly easier, but I am still saying, "Put that back", "No we can't get that", etc.  Yes, I give them tasks to help.  "Bella, I need you to remember these three things, and Mae you need to remember these three things".  And, yep, it's me who puts it all in the cart anyway. 

Adding to the fun is the fact that Mae has Celiac Disease and has to eat gluten free.  She can't have any foods with wheat, rye, barley, or oats or any of their derivatives.  I am quite adept at reading labels after two plus years of doing so. 

Today, was an exception to all these things.  I was armed with my coupon binder, a list, and two kids.  John took Nolan and went to Rural King after they dropped us off at HyVee.  Now, just so you know, I am going to brand name drop today.  I am not being paid by anyone, but it makes me happy to find products for Mae that are safe, and on sale, so I am happy to share names of products! 

Here are some of the AWESOME things that we bought today that are gluten free:  Kikoman Teriyaki Sauce (this is #1 on my list because few, if any, chinese food items are gluten free), HyVee brand Soy Sauce, General Mills Chex cereals and Trix cereal, Udi's gluten free white bread (unbelievable!!!), Food Should Taste Good cheddar cracker crisps, Hodgson Mill pastas, HyVee brand mini colored marshmallows, flavored milk straws (which are just cool anyway), Betty Crocker fruit snacks (My Little Pony and Thomas the Tank Engine of course), Capri Sun, Jell-o, etc.  There are plenty of other things that we bought (like fresh produce) that are gluten free, but I could go on forever.  My point is, two years ago I spent over 4 hrs in the store almost in tears reading labels and trying to find ANYTHING that actually was labelled as Gluten Free.  A short 24 months later, we are finding many products that are labelled as gluten free and are found in the "regular" food section, not the natural food section (where they can hike up the price more). 

All this said, if you know someone who needs a little extra help at the grocery store, I am happy to help them walk through.  I wish I would have had that person with me the first trip.