Reading the information on a food package is your first defense against cross contamination (click here to read the introduction to this series on cross contamination of gluten free foods.) Here are specific things to look for:

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Granola is an important part of my gluten free summer. I posted a list of gluten free granola recipes in July and followed that with a an article about how to make ‘safe’ granola bars. This article completes the series by targeting people who prefer to purchase their gluten free granola ready-to-eat.

Udi’s Granola, Bakery on Main, Enjoy Life Foods, and Glutenfreeda manufacture gluten free granola and sell their high quality products on-line.

Several types of gluten free granola are available at the on-line supermarket ‘The Gluten Free Pantry’. Click on the rainbow widget in the right sidebar if you are interested.

As it so often does, Amazon (dot com) offers an incredibly wide variety of choices. In this case, you have 527 options (their computer counted them — I didn’t.) The prices on Amazon are excellent because they sell their items in case lots. You are welcome to share your costs (and the products you receive) with friends who live gluten free. Click on the words ““>gluten free granola” to see what is available.

This is the third in a series of articles on gluten free granola. Click here for recipes for making granola. Click here if you are interested in home-made granola bars.

This week, both Red Lobster Restaurants and Chili’s Grill and Bar are offering discounts and Kay’s Naturals is offering a ‘Sweet Sample Pack’.

Red Lobster is providing a coupon that gives $5 off on any two dinners. You can also get a $2.50 rebate on one entree. The deadline for this offer is July 18.

Chili’s Grill and Bar is providing a free dessert with any entree. This offer is only valid this weekend, June 18-20.

Click here to learn more about the ‘Sweet Sample Pack‘ of goodies from Kay’s Naturals. This prize includes honey almond bites, cinnamon toast pretzel sticks, and protein puff almond delight. All of the the products available from Kay’s Naturals are certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization. The deadline for this offer is “until we run out”.

Every Monday is “Gluten Free Bargain Shopping” on this site. I’ll have new ideas for you next week.

Gluten free food fairs are a great place for people who live gluten free to sample new foods, pick up fresh ideas, and keep in contact with others who thrive on gluten free food. It’s also a great opportunity for gluten free food providers to introduce themselves and the food they have created.

Here are the names of cities that are hosting food fairs this summer and fall. I’ve listed cities where vendor fairs will soon be available along with links that will provide specific information:

September 8-9 in Dallas, Texas

September 23 in Omaha, Nebraska

October 2 in Portland, Oregon

October 6 in Lansing, Michigan

October 13 in Sandy, Utah

October 13 & 14 in Carmel, Indiana

November 10-11 in Gastonia, North Carolina

February 9-10, 2013, near San Francisco, California

I updated this list on August 2, 2012. I’m sure that many more events should be listed. If you know of any please a comment at the bottom of this article. Be sure to include a link for people (like myself) who want more information. I’ll update this article periodically.

A frequent question:We are told to “read every ingredients list every time”. But how can we realistically do that? The lists seem designed to be unreadable and the lists are so stuffed with jargon that we can’t possibly understand them?

The Gluten Free Guy’s response: First of all, the manufacturers are required to include an ingredients list on every package but they are not required (and most are unmotivated) to make that list readable. They are not eager to have you know about the artificial ingredients they use or the fats and sugars that give their product its taste. Customers are expected to read every ingredient label every time to see if anything, but the manufacturers are not required to inform you when changes have been made.

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Chex gluten free cereals were the top five winners in our survey to determine America’s most popular gluten free breakfast choice. If we considered chocolate, honey nut, cinnamon, corn, and rice to be variations of the same cereal, the results could be called a landslide! Gluten free Rice Krispies also appear to be very popular. There was no significant difference between among the three age groups that we surveyed.

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How can we be reasonably sure that the food we consume is gluten free? Two common strategies are to read ingredient labels defensively and to trust gluten free labels on food containers from companies that we trust. There is a third option. Three national organizations place their “seal of approval” on items that they have tested and/or manufacturing processes that they have “certified”.

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Many supermarkets provide lists to  gluten free food. Our power page “Gluten Free Supermarket Shoppingg” lists celiac friendly supermarkets that provide this service. These lists are particularly useful when shoppers are looking for “store brands” which tend to be less expensive. Find these lists by locating the Power Pages section of the side bar and click on the name of the page. You can also use the link at the beginning of this paragraph.

Using a restaurant guide such as the one pictured below is a great way to identify gluten free food. This guide is particularly use when you’re looking for specific brand names. Click on the graphic below to order directly from the publisher.

Our recent survey asked which gluten free flour mixes provided the best results for the members of our gluten free community. We considered 20 different products and got these results:

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Cafe Press is a fun place to shop. People who live gluten free, and everyone else for that matter, can see thousands of different artwork and slogans embossed on thousands of different products.  Since there are six million plus options available, let me walk you through the steps of how to get started.

→ Use the link in the first paragraph to go the site.

→ Type the words “gluten free” in the search box. (You could type Obama, anti-Obama, religious humor, hemorrhoids, Presbyterians, vegetarians, democrats, southern girls, or almost anything else in the box. Let’s start with a simple and useful term like “gluten free”.

→ Look in the left sidebar and choose the type of gift you are trying to produce. This can make everything from bumper stickers to teddy bears to I-Pad cases to clocks to thermos bottles and beyond. Use your imagination.

→ Have fun.

This  not specifically a gluten free website, so you can do much of your Christmas shopping here. The site says “most orders shipped in 24 hours orders or less” so it is not too late. Currently, all T-shirts are on-sale for up to 30% off.

I enjoyed these ‘seed and fruit mixes’. The website categorizes them as ‘trail mixes’. I’m not much of a hiker, but I suspect that the mixes would a great energy-building snack for nature lovers. Actually, these products don’t fit into any category. They are definitely not granola — the nuts and fruit pieces are separate, not in clusters. There are two types of these mixes available — ‘Mountain Mambo’ and ‘Beach Bash’.

I’ll be adding these fruits and nuts to yogurt or other breakfast cereals (hot or cold). These mix-ins taste great and the combination results in an easy-to-prepare breakfast that actually carries me through to lunch time.I’m always please when I have the opportunity to review products from Enjoy Life Foods. Their products taste great — they have mastered the challenge of producing excellent food while avoiding all the major allergens, as well as being gluten free and kosher.

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Here’s a list of gluten free restaurants, supermarkets, and food manufacturers that offer coupons or other money saving strategies. I will be publishing a list like this one every Monday, checking the information quarterly, and posting up-dates as appropriate.

Whole Foods publishes a bi-monthly magazine called “The Whole Deal” which includes many coupons. Many (but certainly not all) of the bargains offered are gluten free. This is a wonderful link because it updates itself automatically and will always connect you to the most updated coupons and bargains.

P.F. Chang’s has a great program called “The Warriors Club” that gives you a 10% discount on all meals.

Earth Fare Markets offers a great collection of coupons on their website. These are good in their store in NC, SC, GA, AL, TN, OH, and TN.

Erohwan Cereals offers a $1 off coupon.

Click for a $1 off coupon on products from French Meadow Bakery.

I’m republishing the information because discount and coupon information becomes out-of-date so quickly. I will be publishing a list like this one every Monday, checking the information at least once a quarter, and posting up-dates as appropriate. See you next Monday if not before.

Here is information from eight manufacturers of gluten free foods. This information may be useful to you as you shop for gluten free food.

Arrowhead Mills / study their display of gluten free products.

Campbell’s Soup / take their printable list with you when you shop / to print, use the button in the right sidebar.

Dr. Pepper / all products are gluten free.

Hormel Foods / take their printable list with you when you shop.

Snyders of Hanover / has a long list of ‘safe’ products; unfortunately the list is not printable.

Wolfgang Puck soup / their list is printable / to print, use the link in the right sidebar.

This article is part of this website’s summary of the gluten free diet. Click here for more information.

Published 10/08/11

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Coupons help shoppers (gluten free and otherwise) save lots of money. Unfortunately, I am not aware of  any sets of coupons that include only gluten free items. You’ll have to browse through a number of lists and select the coupon you need.

In the process, you’ll also find coupons that will be important for the wheat-eaters in your household as well as useful non-food items or naturally gluten free  food that will appeal to everyone. That is the good news.

The bad news is that the stores that send these coupons want you to be on their mailing list. If you sign  up for all the newsletters that you need, you will absolutely swamp your mailbox and not be able to find anything.

The good news is that I have found a solution to that problem. Go to google of Yahoo and set up an e-mail address that you will only use for newsletters or other mailings that you intend to scan for coupons, recipes,  or other ‘bargains’. Scan the content of this e-mail box when and only when you are in the inclination  to do so. Be sure to avoid directing   really important and timely information to that address. Delete the content of your special e-mail account whenever you want to.

Shopping for gluten free food isn’t easy! How and where do we find what we need? How do we know that it is safe? How can we afford it? More and more supermarkets are making things easier by publishing lists of the ‘safe’ foods that they provide and/or by placing all their gluten free food in one area so that shoppers can find it more easily.

My power page “Gluten Free Supermarket Shopping” is designed to streamline your shopping chores. I’ve expanded it to include fourteen supermarket chains and more listing will be added daily. Each entry includes the name of restaurant chain, help in finding a convenient store, as well as links to printable information about available gluten free item.

Most stores offer coupons or “special offers” to attract customers. The third part of each listing includes links that enable you take advantage of these bargains. Be aware that these offerings will generally include some items that are taboo on the gluten free diet. As always, you must shop defensively.

Whole Foods Markets offers gluten free bargains in its bi-monthly brochure ‘The Whole Deal”. The May/June has just been published on-line and promises $45 in savings. Not all the items are gluten free, of course, but the display on the web makes it easy to find gluten-friendly bargains.

For more information about shopping with gluten free coupons, scroll to the bottom this article (past the ads) and click on the red tag saying ‘gluten free coupons and discounts’. The computer will prepare a special page showing the first paragraphs on other articles similar to this one. Click on the article excerpt to read the entire text.

I received several comments last week about my series of posts on methods for losing weight living gluten free. One of you expanded on my idea of “gluten entitlement” by stating that she feels “gluten obligation”. This writer is the only celiac in the house and therefore feels obligated to “eat the rest of it”. We all hate to waste food, but….

Several of you sent me restaurant and recommendations. Just to remind you of my policy — I place comments after the appropriate article based solely on your recommendations. I then verify the information by checking the website and/or e-mailing the establishment. I place the “verification date” or the date I sent the e-mail after your comment. I am a disappointed by the fact that very few establishments answer my e-mails. How should I respond to that? Is a restaurant or bakery that does not respond to my e-mails seriously or mention gluten free options on their site seriously interested in serving the gluten free community? My personal opinion is NO! These establishments are off my personal list of places to patronize.

By the way, when you are sending a recommendation, be sure to include the city and state in which the establishment is located. That makes it simpler for all of us.

Supermarkets provide coupons, special discount, and other incentives to attract shoppers to their supermarkets. They also publish lists of ‘safe’ foods to encourage shoppers who live gluten free. I have already published a power page entitled “Gluten Free Supermarket Lists”.

I am now in the third week of an effort to go back through that same list of supermarkets and advise you on how to save money shopping there. Bear in mind that today’s suggestions apply to all foods, not just ‘safe’ items.

Albertson’s

Earth Fare

Fresh and Easy Markets (enter your ZIP code on this page)

Gelsons (click here to see their weekly ad)

Hannaford

Meijer

PCC Natural Markets

Publix Supermarkets

Raley’s and Bel Air Markets

Thriftway Shop n Bag

Trader Joe’s (doesn’t list coupon or disount information on its site)

VG’s Grocery

Walmart

Whole Foods

These six supermarket chains offer coupons and/or other incentives to shop at their stores. You’ll find one or more gluten free items on each page as well as non-food items and wheat-based foods. I’ll leave it to you to sort through the offerings, perhaps using some of them to meet the needs of the wheat-eaters in your household.

I’ll publish a new coupons/bargains list until I have covered all the super-markets listed on my power page “Gluten Free Supermarket Lists“. Eventually, I’ll consolidate all the information I have about locations, food offerings, and bargains in one location.

Finally, here the links that I promised you. Expect more links to more stores next Saturday. Be sure to check these links periodically. These offers change frequently.

• → Albertson’s
• → Earth Fare
• → Publix Supermarkets
• →Trader Joe’s (doesn’t list this information on its site)
• → Walmart
• → Whole Foods

I’ve been starting my day with gluten free instant oatmeal. I like the taste, the texture, the fact that it is a good source of fiber, and the equally important fact that I can prepare it in three minutes even before I am fully awake. One packet makes a great breakfast — with most instant cereals, I need two packets to keep me going through until lunch time.

I was rather reluctant to try this product. After all, when I was diagnosed oats were an absolute taboo. Recently, scientists have learned that most celiacs tolerate oats well. unless those oats are cross-contaminated by being raised or processed in close proximity to wheat, rye, or barley. Click here for more information about this issue.

I had no unpleasant reactions to this oatmeal. I’m glad that I was dealing with a reputable company like GlutenFreeda and very pleased that the phrase “made with certified gluten free oats” appeared in bold letters on the front of the package. I recommend this product and am looking forward to using all four versions of the product as well as the “variety pack” that is available. If you can’t find these cereal packets locally, click here to order them from The Gluten Free Pantry.

Gift baskets are always welcome gifts. Gluten free baskets are available from Amazon.com. I’ve displayed nineteen of my favorites on the three “carousels” you see below.

→ The first carousel features gift baskets that has “Christmas” or “Holidays” in the title.

→ Since cookies and snacks are my favorite foods, I displayed displayed baskets that have these goodies on the middle carousel.

→ The gift baskets on the bottom carousel are gluten free, but they also address other needs. Some are casein free,  some are free of all the major allergens.

Gift baskets make great gifts for the holidays. Click here for answers to many of your questions about Christmas and all the winter holidays

Home baked gluten free bread!!!!! What a wonderful holiday gift for people who live gluten free. Since baking gluten free is significantly different from baking wheat based bread, it is important to have the right kind of of machine — one optimized for gluten free bread but capable of doing “regular” baking.

The Gluten Free Pantry recommends the Zojirushi Model 959067. Click here for more information and/or to order the machine from them.

Books on gluten free baking are a welcome “accent” for this gift. Click on the icons below to see some of what Amazon.com has to offer. The first two books give specifics about the use of bread machines for gluten free baking and the third is a more general book by Betty Hagman, one of the principle “inventors” of gluten free cooking.

{{This is one of dozens (maybe hundreds) of articles designed to assist you with your Christmas plans. For a complete summary, visit my power page“Gluten Free Christmas}}