Andrew eating his gluten-free brownie cake.

In an ideal world, I would prefer not to eat any processed food.  I know that it is not always easy or possible to make everything from scratch.  So, I am sharing my favorite wheat-free products that you can find relatively easily in most grocery stores.  At least I can find them even though I live about 45 minutes from a good grocery store.

Tinkyada Pasta
This is excellent gluten-free pasta.  It is made from brown rice.  I heat my water with a little extra virgin olive oil.  When the water is boiling, I add the pasta and stir to help prevent it sticking to each other.  Then let it boil for 2 minutes.  I cover the pot with a lid and turn off the stove.  Occasionally I stir the pasta.  After 18-20 minutes it is ready to drain.  Use as any other pasta at this point.  It comes in all different shapes.  My kids love macaroni and cheese as well as spaghetti.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Mix
I once made a batch of these brownies and a batch of regular wheat brownies to take to a family get-together.  I could not keep people out of the gluten-free batch.  They are really delicious.  My kids request this as their birthday cake.  We add semi-sweet chocolate chips to the mix and spread frosting when it cools down.  You could add nuts or anything that sounds good to your family.
Ener-G Pretzels
These are NOT the Wyler kind.  My family does not like those.  These are the traditionally-shaped pretzels.  These gluten-free pretzels make an excellent snack.  Isaac, my two-year old, likes to dip them in almond butter.  I also use them in a wheat-free snack mix that I make occasionally.
Sunbelt Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bars
On days when you are on the run, I throw a box of these granola bars for a snack.  My children and I love them.  They are sweet and crunchy and wheat-free.  They have oats which are not certified gluten-free.  Make sure that you purchase the crunchy ones, the chewy granola bars have wheat.
Cascadian Farm Organic Granola
My husband is not big on boxed cereals, but he loves to eat a bowl of this wheat-free granola once a week.  I usually buy the Oat & Honey kind.  My children say they don’t like raisins so my husband bought the Cinnamon and Raisin Organic Granola box to keep them out of it and to ensure he got a bowl for breakfast.  The next morning Jake, our son, was munching down on a bowl.  My husband said, “Jake, I thought you did not like raisins.”
Jake replied, “They taste good in this cereal!”
Gluten-Free Pantry French Bread & Pizza Mix
This mix makes two pizza crusts or one loaf of bread.  It is excellent either way.  On Isaac’s birthday last year, I made four pizzas for our guests who were quite skeptical about a gluten-free dinner.  Everyone was surprised at how delicious the crust was on the pizza.  They raved and ate it all.  For Thanksgiving, I made dressing.  I used my gluten-free cornbread recipe minus the mexicorn and this french bread mix.  Again, everyone loved it and could not believe the dressing was gluten-free.

Even if you do not have a wheat issue, you can purchase these products to have on hand when your wheat-allergic friend comes over or simply enjoy them yourself.  Most of the following is gluten-free, but a few products are just wheat-free.  Always read the ingredient label as companies can change their recipe from time to time.

Tags: gluten-free eating, wheat-free products

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 8:17 am and is filed under Food Allergies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.