Since I realized I have this curse of a disease as they call it, it has been quite challenging to adjust to the lifestyle of not being able to just eat whatever is right in front of you. It’s really about restaurants and catered events, preparing your own food is really no different than everyone else…or is it.
As it turns out, other than meats and veggies, the breads, pastas and desserts you can make are pretty pricey. Hell even pancake mix is a lot. On top of that you can’t really find everything at one store. I mean you can shop totally at Whole Foods, but then you pay a lot more for stuff you can get a the larger chain stores like King Soopers (Kroeger).
Often we find ourselves shopping at at least two stores to do the grocery shopping. We also spend almost twice as much as we used to on groceries because of the exorbitant pricing on GF items. Though there is no relief in site for the costs, there may be a little as competition heats up. Within weeks of my diagnosis Whole Foods created some special Gluten Free sections of their store. A stand out dry goods section and a freezer section. They even have the Gluten Free Bakehouse which bakes gluten free breads and pies and some cookies. They still have the best overall selection, but as of late they have been really slacking with keeping inventory and bringing in new items.
However, King Soopers stores in the area now have a dedicated freezer for GF items! This is great news. Plus they are offering items not sold at other stores including locally prepared items. Now I will admit Vitamin Cottage does this as well. They bring in stuff from a GF bakery in Colorado Springs. The problem with Vitamin Cottage is that they are REALLY expensive. Back to King Soopers, they are carrying mostly KinniKinnick brand items, but they also have stuff from Deby’s Gluten Free under the name 8 Free Foods. They are also going to be carrying gluten free breads from Udi’s. I used to love Udi’s back in my gluten full days, so this will be exciting to try out.
In the end, we will still be spending a lot, but it’s nice to see the larger chain stores coming around. It it is VERY difficult to roam the store looking for GF items. They are putting up flags where there are GF items which is nice. On that note, ALWAYS read the labels, just because it is in the GF freezer or shelf does not mean it is GF. We have notices both Whole Foods and King Soopers mingling in some organic, but not Gluten Free items.
One last thing, Super Target has the best price on Vans Wheat Free Waffles. I regularly buy them there for about $1.89/ box (you only get 6 waffles, sigh), whereas at King Soopers and Whole Foods you pay $2.29 – $2.49/ box. I know that seems trivial, but it all ads up. Plus we buy all our household supplies at Super Target because they are cheaper (paper towels, TP, cleaning products, etc.).
I know this is an out of the norm post for me, usually I am complaining about something else, but I know there are other people like me out there scouring the web for answers and hints on how to live like this. My hope is that this will be useful.