Gluten-Free Goodies Near You

My husband, Mick, and I attended a fundraiser benefitting the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) (www.foodallergy.org).  The host of the benefit, Erica Rotondo, participates in FAAN's annual walk, and the benefit helped her raise pledge money, and gave us and our friends, John and Lauren Sciarratta, an excuse to go out and have fun.  It was a two-fer!

The highlight of the evening, after enjoying Lauren and John's company of course, was a gift basket filled with gluten free goodies!  I thought I'd share a few of them with you, so you can keep an eye out for them on your next trip to the grocery store.

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Mix: This was a big hit in our house over the weekend, as Ruthie's favorite breakfast food is pancakes.  This recipe was a little different than most in that it called for club soda, which made for fluffier, lighter pancakes.  I have served these to unsuspecting people in the past, and NO ONE HAS KNOWN they were gluten-free.  Tres yum!

Enjoy Life Snickerdoodle Cookies: We have enjoyed chocolate cookies by Enjoy Life before but the snickerdoodles were new to us.  Two thumbs up from all of us for their moistness and flavor (not always found in GF products).

Cherrybrook Kitchen's Chocolate Chip Cookies: Cherrybrook Kitchen is a well-known brand in the allergy community as they make a wide variety of baking products that cater to gluten, nuts, soy, and dairy allergies.  This particular box is not gluten-free, but we have enjoyed many gluten free cookies from Cherrybrook, as well as cakes and frostings. 

Sunbutter Sunflower Seed Spread: Sunbutter is a familiar product to many families, as it has become the go-to substitute for peanut butter in day cares and schools.  Ruthie and Zoe love Sunbutter, and I have to say, I like it better than peanut butter.  The trial sizes are perfect for tossing in lunch boxes or in your minivan's "afterschool survival kit" and the little totes that were handed out at the FAAN event are going to make great beach totes for the summer.

In terms of where to find these products, the knee-jerk response tends to be "Whole Foods." However, I have found many of these products at Trader Joe's, Market Basket (the one in Chelsea is Gluten Free Mecca to me, and deserves a blog post all its own), as well as Shaw's and Stop & Shop, proving my point that gluten-living is becoming more mainstream than exotic.

Stay tuned for my next post, which features products that have ALWAYS been gluten free.  I am sure you will be surprised!