When you go to the grocery store, you probably have a routine and you know mostly what you are looking for and where it is found. You navigate the store with ease, on autopilot. Once you are told to eat gluten free and try to find things in the store, it feels more like you are in a brand new store in a town you have never been to and you are looking for a needle in a haystack! Yet, this is the same exact store you have been to for a long time. The process can feel overwhelming trying to find safe food to eat! This post is about how to navigate the grocery store, both in person and online, and find gluten free food and products. With these 5 tips, you will find your new gluten free shopping routine in no time!
- Some stores will have the GF on the price tags on the shelves in the store. This can be a quick hint in helping while shopping in the store.
- On the product itself, there may be a capital G and capital F inside a circle. This means the product is certified Gluten Free.
- If you are shopping online, some of the grocery stores will have a Nutrition Information section that contains Allergen Info. Here is an example for regular bread (which is not gluten free) that shows wheat flour, grain, etc. So, you would want to look for a product that does not display any of your allergens.
Example of bread:
Ingredients
Enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, sugar, yeast. Contains 2% or less of: soybean oil, salt, sodium stearoyl lactylate, ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, ascorbic acid, calcium propionate (preservative), vinegar. CONTAINS: WHEAT.
Allergen Info
Contains Wheat and Their Derivatives,Other Gluten Containing Grain And Gluten Containing Grain Products.
- When looking for an item on the grocery store website, you may be able to select from a drop-down on the side of the website for Dietary Preferences, like gluten free. So, for example, you would type in “bread” in the search bar, and then filter it from there to see which ones are gluten free.
This drop-down has helped so much with shopping! In fact, I would say I do more online grocery shopping since it is an easier way to tell if something does not contain an allergen. Remember, if you login and use it several times for purchases, most grocery stores’ online sites will have a “prior purchases” field to help find staple items quickly.
Another hack: be sure to choose “no substitutes”. When you are purchasing gluten free food online, you’ll want to be sure you get only the item you chose since you know it is safe for you and not another substitute that may or may not have allergens.
Example from Kroger’s website:
- Stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Walmart have sections in their stores dedicated to gluten free items. Other stores like Target, Kroger, and Publix will have the items stocked by similar item types. For example, all the gluten free pastas will be with the other pastas. It is helpful to know which stores do or do not separate the items so you can be confident and efficient in your shopping.
- While shopping in a grocery store, it may be helpful to find a particular item on the stores online app on your phone. The app will provide the aisle number inside the particular store that you have selected. This use of the online app while inside the store, can save you time and frustration when trying to locate a specific item.
Bonus: If you stick to whole foods like raw fresh meats, potatoes, rice, fruits, veggies, etc. then you know that they are naturally gluten free!
I hope this helps; happy shopping!