Painfully lacking selection of GF items in grocery store?

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celshade
celshade Posts: 131 Member
Hey GFers :)

Story time! And maybe helpful?

My mom lives way (way) out in the country and tells me constantly that she can't find any sort of GF foods besides raw foods. Seems like a common complaint.

Where do you get your specialty stuff? Like coconut flour? And how much?

I have been using that vine.com site up until now but it seems expensive. After the coupon (I keep putting "GETHEALTHY" in at checkout, seems to never expire) it knocks 20% off and gives me free shipping BUT the coconut flour is still 5 bucks for the bob's brand.

Are we seriously paying 5 bucks for flour? Do any of you have any secret places where I can get this stuff down to a reasonable price? Or a better coupon for vine?

My mom's fibromyalgia has only gotten worse over time and the doc just recommended GF, so it would be nice to find somewhere that's not going to break the bank since this is going to be long term.

Replies

  • Spartan_Guy
    Spartan_Guy Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm actually lucky in that my local store has a ton of affordable gf options, so I haven't ordered from these sites in awhile. I can't speak to the prices, but I seem to remember them being fairly reasonable:

    Kinnikinnick.com - they used to have a flat-rate $10 shipping fee, no matter how much your order, so I would get boxes of stuff.

    Ener-g Foods - they were the gold standard back in the 80s when I was about 7 years old and nobody knew what the hell celiac disease was. Their stuff hasn't seemed to keep up with the times, but might be worth a look.

    Dietary Specialties - same deal, they've been around for a long time, but I think have done a better job than Ener-g at updating products to keep them tasty.

    Or, Whole Foods? Though I'm sure they're pretty pricey.

    Good luck!
  • celshade
    celshade Posts: 131 Member
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    I love the $10 flat-rate shipping idea and ordering a ton of stuff! I'll check it out!
  • joyfulteach
    joyfulteach Posts: 419 Member
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    Red bob mills sells on amazon too.
  • Veronicav61
    Veronicav61 Posts: 2 Member
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    Try nuts.com. They have a GF tab. I have also asked my local grocery store to order specific products. They have been very accomodating with that.
  • FitnessPalWorks
    FitnessPalWorks Posts: 1,128 Member
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    Vons aka Safeway - believe it or not - has been VERY good at adding lots of GF foods as of late....
  • mooglysmom
    mooglysmom Posts: 319 Member
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    I order almost everything on Amazon. I order so often I get a discout with the subscribe and save feature. I get Bob's Red Mill through there.
    She can also specifically go to the store with a list of items that she'd like to see there. I've done this before (and actually got quite friendly with the girl who did the ordering for that part of the store), and they almost always were able to find the item I was looking for. Dairy free whipped topping? Sure! ;)
    We've been really lucky since we moved to MN, the stores seem to carry a lot more GF products.
  • ThereOnceWasAUnionMaid
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    I order mine from Bobs Red Mill or from Amazon. Amazon has some great deals where if you sign up to have certain products delivered every few months (you can choose how often) you get a discount. Also, Amazon Prime often has free or cheaper shipping if you're ordering things online pretty often. I get Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour delivered to me every 3 months and it ends up being pretty reasonably priced. Lots of times Amazon has sale on GF stuff as well. Best of luck to you and your mom!
  • macybean
    macybean Posts: 258 Member
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    http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/

    This is my go-to website for all my GF needs as I don't like most store-bought items. Her most recent post is about finding the various flours needed and where to get them. Looks like, as others have said, for online purchases amazon or Bob's Red Mill website. Amazon Prime may be a good investment if she needs to order online.

    By the way, her recipes are awesome! I haven't had a failure with any of them yet. Although I don't recommend the brownies if you have no self control:)
  • hdlb
    hdlb Posts: 333 Member
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    Hey GFers :)

    Story time! And maybe helpful?

    My mom lives way (way) out in the country and tells me constantly that she can't find any sort of GF foods besides raw foods. Seems like a common complaint.

    Where do you get your specialty stuff? Like coconut flour? And how much?

    I have been using that vine.com site up until now but it seems expensive. After the coupon (I keep putting "GETHEALTHY" in at checkout, seems to never expire) it knocks 20% off and gives me free shipping BUT the coconut flour is still 5 bucks for the bob's brand.

    Are we seriously paying 5 bucks for flour? Do any of you have any secret places where I can get this stuff down to a reasonable price? Or a better coupon for vine?

    My mom's fibromyalgia has only gotten worse over time and the doc just recommended GF, so it would be nice to find somewhere that's not going to break the bank since this is going to be long term.


    I WISH I could pay $5 for coconut flour. I pay $12/bag, which has maybe 3 cups of flour in it. $12.00. The only place to find it in our town is our privately owned health food store.
  • SHELLY91011
    SHELLY91011 Posts: 5 Member
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    I was checking out some online places to order stuff and shipping was insane especially if you order frozen items. I asked around and found out from someone at work about a health food store here in town. So, you might call around in your area and see what you can find. I went to the health store yesterday and they had several things that I couldn't find at the store I work at or at wal mart. It's worth a try, helped me so I figured I would suggest it.
  • jbonow1231
    jbonow1231 Posts: 75 Member
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    One forgotten source of gluten free flours can be ethnic grocery stores or import shops - particularly Indian import/grocery stores, as they often carry things like rice, garbanzo, and various pea and bean flours, as well as tapioca starch and flour for very reasonable prices. I've found coconut there before, however, finely shredded, coconut flour seems to be a very particular niche. You can also find unadulterated spices for a good price, and some interesting frozen products and fresh produce. Also some cooking items like ghee and coconut oil.

    Similarly, Asian import stores carry various gluten free noodles - rice, but also sweet potato, and those refrigerated kunjac noodles. You can also find some gluten free flours here - rice flour, rice starch, tapioca flour, tapioca starch, sweet potato starch. You can also find fresh seafood here for a good price, as well as fresh produce of the more exotic variety. Obviously, be wise here - don't buy the "regular" soy sauce (look for tamari from a known brand like Kikkoman), but if you want Siriacha in huge bottles, here's the place to find it. ;)

    Granted, if you leave in a small rural area without a more diverse population, it could indeed be difficult - so, like the others I'd highly recommend looking online. Vitacost also sells coconut flour - a few different brands for about $5 a pound.

    Don't forget to go through Ebates.com for your Amazon and Vitacost shopping (check for other retailers!) and you'll also earn Cash Back. :D
  • jbonow1231
    jbonow1231 Posts: 75 Member
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    Here's some specific websites to try:

    http://www.glutenfree.us/ShopOnline/index.html

    http://yourglutenfreesource.elsstore.com/

    http://www.celiac.com/glutenfreemall/


    Gluten Free Saver is a bit like Groupon for GF stuff, they have daily deals for various things.

    http://www.glutenfreesaver.com/