Ener-g Foods is a local bakery that ships their products around the world. They have a small store front about 3 miles from here. mama buys tapioca bread, pretzels, and egg replacer there. (you can order directly from their website)
Namaste Foods is a company based in Idaho that makes mixes for some amazing snack stuff--brownies, pizza crust, etc. Their products are sometimes are hard to find, a little spendy, and totally worth the search! (you can order directly from their website)
One of the things that someone with celiac gets used to is an expanded food budget. For example, typical mac and cheese--at $1 a box or less--is out of the picture because the mac is made with wheat flour. Gluten-free versions frequently cost in the $3 to $4.50 per box range. The crackers (above) cost $3.49 for a 7 ounce box. Pretzels are $1.89 for a 4 ounce bag. A 1-lb (or less) loaf of bread is over $4.
Two of mom's favorite stores are Trader Joe's and Fred Meyer. Neither store is completely gluten-free, so shopping can take some time, but there are some mighty tasty things at both. A lot of the Indian fare at Trader Joe's is gluten-free. The salsas, especially our favorite corn salsa, are available there. They have chips, nuts, sauces, rice, rice pasta (which can--surprisingly--be used like regular wheat pasta, and tastes darn fine!), fresh fruit and veggies, as well as frozen fruit (mmm, smoothies).
Fred Meyer has a health food section, with a four-foot section of gluten-free foods. Four feet doesn't sound like much, but they have the basics: crackers, bread, pretzels, brownie mix.
The few places I listed are only a few of them that mama uses. There are lots that you can find on the net. And of course, there are some local places in many large cities--like Seattle--that specialize in gluten-free foods. They are places to be treasured!
14 comments:
Wow, that is furry interesting. Your Momma's food is furry expensive. Namaste Foods is just South of us about 45 miles. We are 75 Northeast of Spokane, up in the Panhandle Of Idaho. Our Daddy's aunt lives in Mukilteo and watches the ferry go to Whidbey Island from her livingroom window.
Patches
I'm sorry that your mom has an auto-immune disorder. My Dad has an auto-immune disorder, too: Crohn's disease. Big hugs to your Mom!
I tagged you for a meme! See my blog for details.
Purrs and snuggles from Marilyn.
Sorry to hear about your mom's Celiac disease. I'm glad that there are so many good gluten-free products out there! My mom has an auto-immune disease too: endometriosis, and it's no fun.
It's hard work avoiding gluten isn't it? I found out the other day that even liqourice has wheat in it.
I'm sorry your mom has this disease, but it sounds like she is managing it well. On a positive note, there is a lot of concern gluten used in human food may be contaminated with melamine, just like the cat food! So at least your mom doesn't need to worry about that!
Tara
Yup. Eatin speshul costs lots of green paypers. Der ist Whole Foods heer, and also Central Market dat has tons of organic and speshul foods. Wenefer Maw goez der, she seez lotz of wat she callz California hippies. Tee hee.
Luf, Us
Pee Sss. Obi sendz hedbutts.
Bernie the Bunny rules!
Boo the gluten.
Those foodies look really good, Suzanne's Momma! Sendin' you big ol' kitty rubs, kittyhugs, and purrs!
It's great that "normal" things are available for those with dietary restrictions. You momma might go to Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Jimbo's Naturally, or Orchards if they're nearby ... All have excellent sections of wheat-free items (bake-yourself AND ready-to-eat).
DMM
Hi Suzanne,
Having celiac's disease doesn't sound like fun, but your mother seems to be coping better than a lot of people would.
My mother may try some of the products she mentioned. She's trying to cut down on he wheat in her diet.
Muffin
a few days after mama was diagnosed last year, she spent several days shopping at the places that might have gluten-free stuff: whole foods market, central market, uwajimaya, trader joes, the local grocery stores.
the most expensive were whole foods and central market. mama doesn't often shop there because of that. she's found reasonably decent substitutes at the places she mentioned in today's blog.
this time of year is especially fun...fresh asparagus, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower. raspberries, grapes, apples (although not yet new crop), oranges.
there's stuff to watch for: soy sauce is made with wheat. tamari can be wheat-free. vinegar isn't always safe.
she often uses her 'america's test kitchen cookbook' and modifies recipes to work for a gluten-free diet. there's some good eating here!
After the pet food recall began, this store in our town started putting little labels on the shelves: GLUTEN-FREE. Mom & Dad get that Annie's stuff sometimes.
Mommy's allergic to dairy, but it's pretty easy to work around so she didn't realize how much work some diets can be. I have to say that since the pet food recall, Mommy has a LOT more respect for people with special food needs. Reading labels is very time consuming. She has a food allergy (dairy) but it's a lot easier to work around.
our mommy's uncle had celiac disease. he akshually started wif it due to chemotherapy for lymphoma that the bean v-e-t saided destroyed the celia. his v-e-t callded it Celiac Sprue. he learnt he hadded it after eating a meal at mommy's house. she felted bad for a long long time after that, 'acause she was convinced that her food caused it. But, he was nice about it and she would go ofurr to his house on baking day and help him make his bread and pasta. The homemade stuff was better than the store bought stuff that was available then.
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