Ever since I’ve found out I can no longer eat gluten, I’ve been struggling. Â It’s gotten better as I learn more about gluten and what foods to watch out for, but it seems like I’m always looking for “new” things that I haven’t had for a while because I haven’t been able to find a gluten free option. Â Like I said, it’s gotten lots better as people needing gluten free food increases and more food companies and restaurants are expanding their menus to include gluten free options, but in the middle of nowhere, there are still usually just one or two (at most) options.
Yesterday, I needed to make a grocery run as I haven’t really bought much as far as groceries go since we moved. Â I knew that I was going to need to get lots of things and needed to go to a couple different stores (certain ones have better tasting or cheaper items). Â I decided to head out east about a half an hour or so which is not where I normally go. Â I really wanted to go to an Aldi’s but needed to go to Walmart too, but Aldi’s was my first priority.
One of the reasons that I like Aldi’s so much is that their prices are extremely reasonable. Â Also, they carry their own line of gluten free products that actually tastes pretty good for being gluten free and their produce seems to last twice as long as any other stores and usually it’s half the price too!
While I was strolling through the aisles, I was grabbing some beans as chili is on the list of things to make for supper in the next week or two. Â Usually, chili beans is something that I struggle with. Â You wouldn’t guess it, but many times the beans have tomato paste in them which commonly uses flour as a thickener. Â Although it doesn’t say that it contains wheat, if it doesn’t say gluten free, I won’t touch it (I’ve been burned on “chancing” it a few times). Â On a whim, I flipped the can over and…
You guessed it! Â GLUTEN FREE! Â Wahoooo! Â I was pretty excited!
The other thing that stinks about not being able to eat gluten is that you usually can’t try anything new or fun. Â Very rarely do I get a choice as far as what kind of oreos to buy. Â The Red Velvet ones? Â Forget it! Â Not here! Â I was so excited that I could get these, that I ended up checking out a few other things in the store and found out that their spaghetti sauce is also gluten free as well as their butternut squash sauce which is supposed to be similar to spaghetti sauce. Â Believe it or not, all of the items below are gluten free. Â And the best part is that I didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for them either.
So if you are ever looking for anything gluten free, I highly recommend finding your nearest Aldi’s store.  They don’t  have the name brand things, but if you are okay with an off brand at an amazing price, you will be set!  And their produce is AMAZING too….and that doesn’t have gluten either!
I love shopping at Aldi’s! I can really stretch my budget there. And there lunch meat freezes well also. :)
I love Aldi’s!
Take care.
Emily
I love Aldi. Their produce is great and so are the prices.
I don’t need gluten free but I do know they have a great variety of gluten free products. My dd said their gluten free brownie mix is good. I am glad you could find what you needed.
Have you by chance tried the gluten free rice spaghetti? I almost bought some today but I didn’t know how it would be.
I also had a severe problem with gluten and ate nothing with gluten in it for 2 years. Then I heard about a neurological chiropractor in my home town who could heal me. He adjusted me for the gluten problem and told me not to eat anything with gluten in it for two days. I did that. I was so scared to eat anything with gluten in it after the two days passed, that I only ate a saltine cracker to try it out. I had no problem with the gluten, and could eat anything with gluten and had no problems.
Kelli, check out the blog A Year of Slow Cooking. Her daughter can’t have gluten and the whole family went gluten-free in solidarity. Everything on the blog is either gluten free or can be made so. I think she may also have some mail order sources.
Kelli, the Aldi Happy Harvest brand tomato paste is gluten free! I just checked the cans in my pantry which are labeled “Naturally gluten-free.” I’ve been using it since going GF in 2006 and never had any problem (and I’m very sensitive to gluten). I love Aldi and shop there every week. There are a lot of things we can eat from there!
Thanks Kelli and everyone who wrote in today—It is so hard to figure out the gluten free thing…..I haven’t been to an Aldi’s but will find one now….I bought some of the new gluten free things at WalMart and will try those too….I love making my own things the most but to find the gluten free ingredients…..Expensive, but I got a Udi’s gluten free pizza–I wanted pizza so badly…..and it was good–you could chew it…..but I wish I had a decent recipe to make my own….Thanks so much for talking about your gluten free journey….I am walking it with you….