Since being diagnosed with celiac and going gluten free just a few short weeks ago, I have only been to the store twice, just to grab a few things (milk, potatoes, and other things I knew to be "safe").
Yesterday was the first trip out for a full fledged, stock the fridge, freezer, and pantry, adventure. I budgeted extra money, and made sure I wasn't on any time constraints so there would be no need to rush, giving me ample time to read ingredient lists. I armed myself with my phone (loaded with tons of GF bookmarks and pdfs just in case), and a list of things I knew for certain I needed (milk, eggs, bananas, the usual household fare), before setting out for the day.
I had forgotten that it was Easter weekend so it was majorly busy around town, nonetheless I was determined to go shopping!
Atlantic Superstore
First I hit the Atlantic Superstore to check out their selection. I was quite pleased with what they had to offer, and it was mostly packed into one area which was nice. I picked up quite a few things that I needed, finding everything but xanthan gum (they carry it but were sold out). I was pleased to see a wide variety of gluten free breads in the freezer section, but didn't buy any as someone gifted me a box of GF bread mix a few days ago that I am planning on making later today. I did buy a loaf of the President's Choice gluten free banana loaf cake, which I plan on tryng with a cup of tea later this morning for breakfast. I purchased;
*President's Choice gluten free banana loaf cake
* CheeCha sea salt and spiced pepper gluten free puffs
* 2 GF snack bars (KIND Plus Nutrition Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants and Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein)
* Bob's Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour
* 2 boxes of gluten free Rice Krispies
* San J gluten free light tamari soy sauce
* Fleischman's gluten free baking powder (and yeast)
* President's Choice organic gluten free brown rice spaghetti
* Schneider's gluten free Country Naturals uncured baked ham (sliced sandwich meat)
*President's Choice spicey dill pickle popped chips (as far as I can tell contain no gluten)
* and some other items we needed - bananas, carrots, english cucumber, lean ground pork, eye of round steak, lean ground beef, 2 tubs no name strawberry yogurt, PC asian blend frozen vegetables, Palmolive dish liquid, Mio mango peach, Kraft peanut butter, Heinz ketchup, and Cracker Barrel jalapeno cheddar cheese
Totaling $88.37 at Atlantic Superstore.
Bulk Barn
Next we went to the Bulk Barn, I really did just go in to browse and check out their gluten free options. I was legitimately surprised to find a vast selection of items! Everything from packaged goods (chips and crackers to baking mixes) to bulk flours and mixes. Best of all it was all in it's own section and the scoops are marked with yellow cable ties to designate they are for gluten free bins. People would actually have to go out of their way to cross-contaminate with other scoops as they would have to walk from one side of the store to the other. All in all, I was pleased with the variety. I went in to look for xanthan gum (again all sold out!) but left with;
* Mary's organic gluten free crackers Herb flavor (they were on for 50% off!)
Totaling $2.80 at Bulk Barn.
Sobey's
Our last stop was Sobey's, again I mainly went in for xanthan gum but I don't believe they carry it, I couldn't find it anywhere, and there were no empty spots where it may have been. But, I digress, we only bought a few things there;
* 2 Paco gluten free tortilla wraps
* Olymel gluten free smoked shaved chicken sandwich meat
* goBIO organic gluten free vegetable bouillon cubes
* and 4L of Farmer's homogenized milk (I cook with it and use it in tea, mostly), Heinz mustard, extra virgin olive oil and lean ground beef
Totaling $24.92 at Sobey's.
In total we spent $116.09, I was anticipating closer to $130-150 to be honest. I was pleased with what I was able to find!
When we got home, the mister and I put away the groceries and bagged up everything still in the house containing gluten and took it down the road to my grandparents who I hope will get use out of it.
I can't wait to start reviewing the gluten free finds for the blog.
¡Happy Easter everyone!
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