Gluten Free Favorites

Until recently going gluten free, I had no idea what gluten was or why it had become such a buzz word. Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, rye, and barely and for some people their body has difficulty digesting it. When I made the decision to go gluten free, I had a bit of a panic attack thinking I'd never be able to enjoy food again! Boy was I wrong.

My friend Joanna got the gluten free ball rolling for me. She stopped by Whole Foods and picked up a huge bag full of GF goodies. I was amazed at all of the options, but still a bit skeptical about the actual taste. I was truly surprised at how delicious all these goodies were! I'm going to list some of Joanna's favorites and some favorites I've since found on my own. Whether you're gluten free or not, you will love everything!

Two Moms in the Raw GF Blueberry and Apple Granola. I'm obsessed with this granola! It's comprised of millet, buckwheat, coconut, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pecans, almonds, pepitas, apples, agave, cinnamon, sea salt, and blueberries. It's a bit pricey at $9.99 a bag, but so worth it. A bag will last at least a week, so that's about $1.50 a day! Totally doable. Available at Whole Foods.

Udi's Gluten Free Frozen Pizza Crust. We just made this last night for dinner and it was amazing! Thin crust, very light and crunchy and it tasted as good as "real" pizza crust. We topped ours with cheese and olives, and then baked it for 15 minutes, voila gluten free pizza. Being gluten free, I thought I'd never have pizza again. Luckily, Udi's came to the rescue. Look for this in the organic section of your local grocery store. I found it at our local Hy-Vee store. $4.99 for two 8" frozen crusts.

Mary's Gone Crackers. Born and raised in Wisconsin, you can only begin to imagine how much I love cheese. I felt a bit hopeless about giving up cheese and crackers, one of my favorite snacks. My husband stopped at our local co-op, Willy Street, and found these amazing gluten free crackers! They're made with organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic flax seeds and organic sesame seeds. Crunchy and flavorful, they come in 5 flavors: Original, Caraway, Herb, Black Pepper, and Onion. Delicious! Available at organic grocery stores and Whole Foods for around $4.00 a box.

Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta. This is where I truly had some reservations. I purchased the "pasta" thinking it will probably be $3.85 down the drain, but I WANT PASTA and I'm willing to try anything! To our incredible surprise, my husband and I both LOVED it! There's truly no difference in taste or texture to the flour based pasta we've ate for years. We've topped it with traditional red sauce, which was delicious and have also tried it with pesto which was also fantastic. This rice pasta is available at all grocery stores, in the organic section.

Lundberg Rice Chips. Available in so many different flavors, its truly hard to choose! Crisp and flavorful, great for dipping or just eating straight out of the bag. My favorite flavor is the sea salt, which I love dipped in hummus. Your non-gluten free friends won't even know what they're missing! Again, find these yummy chips at Whole Foods or your local co-op. Around $3.00 a bag.

I seriously can't take any more of this food talk, I'm starving! I'm off to the grocery store to stock up on all my favorites. I'll keep you posted on any new finds! If you have any GF favorites to share, comment here or send me an email.

Jennifer