Finding Gluten-Free Foods In The Grocery Store
There was once a time in our not-so-distant past when finding specialized food items, such as organic or gluten-free, required a trip to a store that carried such products, usually at a health or natural food stores. If you were lucky, there was one close to where you lived, but often you had to travel quite a ways before you found one.
Today, though, it's another story. Our retail grocery store chains are carrying a nice, if limited, selection of products once only found in health food stores. This is good news for anyone who is on a gluten-free diet, because you won't have to travel far to find the foods you need to maintain your health.
Finding these specialized foods, though, can be tricky. They aren't usually placed with their gluten-filled cousins. Instead, they are usually given their own section, which is usually pretty small. If you don't know this, you might spend a lot of time looking from shelf to shelf, trying to find gluten-free alternatives for common foods, such as cereals.
Don't hesitate to ask a grocery employee where they keep the gluten-free foods as soon as you get to your grocery store. Doing so will save you a lot of time and frustration.
If you are lucky enough to have a natural or health food store near you, then you are probably going to have a better selection of foods to choose from that do not contain gluten. The placement of gluten-free foods is usually different here than in mainstream grocery stores.
In these stores, the foods you seek are usually placed together, but grouped by specialized type. I.E. Pasta will be in one part of the store, and will be broken down by wheat-free pasta, gluten-free pasta, etc. Same with the cereals, and so on.
The first few times you shop for foods that do not have gluten may be frustrating, but each time will get easier. Eventually, you will know exactly where to go and you will get your shopping done as quickly as you did before you shopped for specialized foods.