Whether you’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease, have a gluten sensitivity or simply avoid gluten because it’s #trendy, you know the struggles of finding gluten free food. While grocery stores have improved their selection of gf foods over the years, it can still be tricky to find affordable and yummy choices. Here’s a list of my fave gluten free finds from local stores!
Breakfast
Buckwheat Wildberry Frozen Waffles
I’m not going to lie, I avoided buying these waffles for so long because I saw the word “wheat” in it. (Can you blame me?) I didn’t realize that buckwheat is different than regular wheat/gluten so that means buckwheat is completely gluten free. SCORE! I sometimes eat these plain because the berries give it so much flavor, otherwise spreading almond butter on a warm waffle is always the way to go.
Where to buy: Target, Whole Foods, Mississippi Market
Trader Joe’s Gluten and Dairy Free Homestyle Pancakes
The first time I tried these pancakes, I had to double check the box to make sure that they were gluten free. They don’t have the cardboard texture and taste like many other gluten free foods, so it’s a nice surprise to eat something that tastes like the real thing! My favorite toppings for these pancakes are maple syrup, coconut oil or fresh fruit.
Where to buy: Trader Joe’s
Udi’s Blueberry Muffins
What better way to start your day out than with a blueberry muffin and coffee? These muffins are the bomb.com because they’re very moist unlike other wannabe gluten free muffins. I love popping them in the microwave for a few seconds to get it all warm and toasty. Udi’s also has double chocolate and lemon streusel muffins if you want to be adventurous!
Where to buy: Walmart, Target, Mississippi Market
Lunch
Brown Rice Tortillas
Tortillas are a complete game changer. Gluten free bread is definitely not my first choice because the bread slices are typically way too small, but brown rice tortillas have forever changed my lunch game. I load mine up with Daiya cheese (s/o to all my dairy free homies), meat, lettuce, avocados and tomatoes. Be sure to warm the tortillas up in the microwave for 30 seconds before preparing!
Where to buy: Cub, Whole Foods, Mississippi Market
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets could really fit anywhere on this list because I’ve for sure had them for every single meal. It’s pretty crappy that us gluten free folks can’t run to McDonalds when we need a chicken nugget fix, but these nuggets hit the spot every time (and I like to think they’re healthier than the nuggets at Mickey D’s).
Where to buy: Target
Dinner
Amy’s Gluten Free Food
I don’t know who Amy is, but that lady is a life saver. Her frozen meals never disappoint and take under 5 minutes to prepare. This brand has so many different options to choose from so you can always mix it up. Some of my faves are the Pad Thai, Black Bean and Quinoa Burrito, and the dairy free Mac and Cheese. It’s nice to stock up on these bad boys during midterms and finals so you don’t even have to worry about cooking.
Where to buy: Whole Foods, Target, Lunds
Brown Rice Noodles
MAJOR KEY ALERT. These brown rice noodles are fan-freaking-tastic. Whenever my momma makes her bomb pasta salad for family events, our relatives are all amazed by these noodles and think they’re better than wheat-infested ones! They don’t get goopy and gross like most other g-free pastas and they’re super easy to cook. Bring them to your next event if you want your noodles to be a stealing the show.
Where to buy: Target, Mississippi Market
Snacks
Pretzels
Catch me thinking about these Synder’s gluten free pretzels 99% of the day. They taste like legit pretzels and are super affordable compared to the other gluten free pretzels who think it’s okay to charge $5 per bag. They even have diversity in their pretzels: you can buy sticks, regular pretzels, hot buffalo wing flavored and honey mustard and onion flavored.
Where to buy: Target, Cub, Walmart
Larabar
Eating a Larabar is usually one of the highlights of my day. And I always feel good eating these bars because they’re made with minimal ingredients aka they’re healthy AF. It’s a great snack to carry around and eat in between classes to hold you over until the next meal. My go-to bars are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cashew Cookie and Apple Pie Pro tip: If you’re feeling like Martha Stewart, it’s super easy to make these bars as well with recipes from Pinterest!
Where to buy: Target, Lunds, Mississippi Market
Dessert
Kinnikinnick Donut
Feeling left out whenever you see a Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser? Me too. Instead of having Krispy Kremes, I can go crazy over Kinnikinnick donuts because they are proof that gluten free foods can still be amazing. Their cinnamon sugar donuts have my heart, but vanilla, maple, chocolate and pumpkin spice are all ones to look out for.
Where to buy: Mississippi Market, Cub, Seward Community Co-op
Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies
The gluten free version of Oreos! I literally put these on my birthday wish list every single year because they’re so freaking awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to eat just one cookie so plan to be 4-5 cookies deep every time you open the package. They’re perfect for dipping in milk (or almond/coconut milk) so you’ll get the same experience as someone who can have glutened Oreos.
Where to buy: Target, Walmart, Lunds
Down in the Valley Products
I love love love shopping from vendors from the beautiful state of Minnesota. We Minnesotans have to stick together. Every single item I’ve had from this company has been such a pleasure to consume. My top picks are their vanilla cupcakes, lemon tart and pumpkin pie.
Where to buy: Seward Community Co-op, Mississippi Market, Whole Foods, Lunds
Have fun treating yo’self to all of these gluten free goodies!