Going Gluten-Free

Whether you’ve been told you need to go gluten-free by a medical professional or you’re trying it on your own as a means to feel better, I know how daunting it is. I know the overwhelming feeling you may be experiencing, and the panic of not knowing where to start. I hear you and all of those feelings are completely valid.

The first time I walked into the gluten-free aisle at the store, I cried. I sat down in front of the three measly shelves and cried.

I’m here to tell you, friend, that you can do this! It does get easier. The amount of products available now is truly amazing. I’m not saying you won’t have down days or you won’t be able to find a substitute for that food you’re craving, but you will be OK. You will figure this all out. There is an entire community standing behind you cheering you on.

Below is a list of some tip, tricks, and brands that I like/trust. This is not comprehensive but an ongoing list I update. ALWAYS read labels. Check the allergy statement and how it is processed!

Reading Labels

Look for the GFCO Global Certification Mark. Any product with this logo/label has gone through extensive testing and can be consisdered gluten-free.

Be wary of products that just have a generic GF logo. Always read the ingredients label!

Look at the ingredients. See if wheat flour, barley, rye, or maltodextrin is listed. Maltodextrin can be derived from other grains besides wheat. Next, look at the allergen statement. Wheat is a top 8 allergen so they have to list it if is included. Does it say “May contain wheat”? That’s a no-go. Also look at the processing statement. If it says processed in a facility, that could mean a lot of things but most likely it is OK. I will not eat anything processed on shared equipment.

Going GF

Utensils
Purchase new wooden spoons and spatulas. I prefer the silicone ones.

Appliances
You will need a new toaster or designate one for exclusively GF
New waffle maker, griddle, etc.

Seasonings
ALWAYS CHECK LABELS
McCormick’s
Flavorgod.com
Penzy’s 
Pioneer has GF taco seasoning and gravies

Pasta
Corn or Rice Pasta
Tinkyada Rice Noodles
Barilla GF
Ronzoni GF
Great Value (Walmart)

Chips
ALWAYS CHECK LABELS
Ruffles
Lays
Food should taste good
Fritos (Frito Lay does a good job of marking their products)
Some Lays flavors
Most tortilla chips – xochitl is a favorite
Doritos
Cheetos

Dry Goods
Old El paso – taco kits are GF
Rice
Quinoa
Zatarains spanish rice
*NO couscous

Breads
Canyon Bakehouse (a personal favorite!)
MyBread
Schar
Udi’s – hamburger + hot dog buns
Schar pizza crust
Mission tortillas – corn – labeled

Baking
Bob’s Red Mill GF 1-to-1 Flour (MY FAVORITE)
Almond Flour
Coconut Flour
Be careful with oats – MUST be GF certified (Bob’s Red Mill)
Coconut oil pam
Pillsbury mixes are pretty good – has funfetti cake and cookie mix
Krusteaz
A lot of tubs of icing are safe too

Sauces
Pace Picante Sauce
Soy is a no-go – use tamari, GF soy or coconut aminos
Olive Garden Dressing
Ken’s Dressings
Kraft dressings – always labeled
Francisco Rinaldi pasta sauce
Hidden valley ranch – dressing and powder packets

Condiments
Heinz ketchup
French’s mustard
Hellman’s Mayo
Duke’s Mayo
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ
Vlassic relish + pickles
Bonnie Maman preserves

Breakfast
Lucky Charms
Chex Cereal
Simple Mills products
Van’s cereal + GF waffles
Garden Lites Breakfast muffins

Meats
Be wary of processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, sausage, sandwich meat, etc.
Be careful of large bags of meat like chicken and shrimp to make sure they didn’t use wheat as a preservative.
Jennie-O Hot Dogs
Jennie-O Turkey Bacon
Boar’s Head – All GF
Starkist Tuna in Water
Jimmy Dean sausage – labeled

Soups/Broths
Be wary of soups and broths
Amy’s – check labels
Avoid condensed soups
Progresso has some GF soups

Canned Goods
Most canned veggies are fine
JIF PB
Nutella

Snacks
Welch’s gummy snacks
Motts Gummy Snacks
Target Pantry Gummy Snacks
Glutino cookies – any kind
Kinnickinick Vanilla Wafers
Goodie Girl – anything is good
Immaculate brand- refrigerated dough is amazing
Sweet Loren’s
Pirate Booty
Apple sauce
Fruit cups
Craisins
Orville Popcorn
Skinny POP Popcorn
Trail mixes are iffy – read labels
Be careful with nuts that they aren’t processed on shared equipment
Lara Bars

Dairy
Most cheeses are OK – read labels
Goat Cheese
Most packages cheese are OK – read labels
Cream cheese is fine

Brands
Glutino
Schar
Kinnickinick
Canyon Bakehouse
Rudi’s
Lundberg

Candy
Snickers – regular
Reese’s
Reese’s Pieces
Starburst
Skittles
Hershey’s Kisses
Hershey Bars
Heath Bar
Butterfinger
Sour Patch Kids

Frozen
Feel Good Food
Udi’s Pizza
Ore Ida Tater Tots
Van’s GF waffles – SO good
Golden Platter Chicken Fingers/Nuggets
Applegate Farms
Blue Bell Vanilla
Kemp’s Frozen Yogurt – vanilla and a few other flavors
PhillySwirl Popsicles 
Brazi bites – brazilian cheese balls
Garden Lites Breakfast muffins

Restaurants
Chick-fil-a – grilled nuggets, fries, ice cream (no shakes)
Chipotle – no tortilla
Five guys – bunless burger. Fries are safe.
Rudy’s BBQ
Mia’s Table
Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Snooze
Lupe Tortilla
Outback – be careful but OK to eat
Saltgrass – be careful but Ok to eat – have steak cooked in foil

Stores
Wal-mart – store is not labeled, has GF designated section
Sprouts – whole store is labeled
HEB – whole store is labeled
Kroger – whole store is labeled
Aldi

Additional Advice
Good to buy all squeezy condiments to prevent CC
Butter is fine – make sure lid is labeled GF to avoid CC
Always read labels!
GF certified is best
Check processing statement. Cannot be processed on same equipment
MSG, natural flavors, smoke flavor – can all hide gluten

Feel free to check out my link to some of my favorites on Amazon!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!