Brands to Trust for Gluten-Free Food
Snacking Wheat-Free can be Easy with these Great Companies
Dec 12, 2008
Those who are used to living with a gluten-free diet know to read the ingredients on every package they see - checking for sneaky wheat in ingredients like "HVP" (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) and "TVP" (texturized vegetable protein".
They are accustomed to grocery shopping taking a long while, and having to bounce from the grocery store to the natural foods store to the farmer's market to gather all of the ingredients necessary to eat well.
These savvy shoppers are used to baking wheat-free from scratch. But what they are not accustomed to is knowing which brands they can trust to be truly gluten-free.
Always Gluten-Free
- Enjoy Life Foods - With a tagline "Eat Freely", Enjoy Life delivers food that is "free of the 8 common allergies". Chocolate without soy lecithin, melt-in-your-mouth gluten-free cookies, a variety of dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free in addition to gluten-free food.
- Glutino - This brand makes gluten free cookies, snacks, frozen pizza, bagels, and breads, even frozen dinners! The frozen "personal-sized" pizza is by far the most palatable on the market, with four varieties to choose from. The sandwich cookies are rather dry, but the chocolate covered wafers are incredible, and even the staunchest wheat-eaters will enjoy them.
- KinniKinnick - The company's tagline is "Gluten-free has never tasted so good"... and it's true. The sandwich bread is so-so, but the frozen cinnamon rolls are a treat worth indulging in for that Mother's day breakfast in bed.
- Ener-G - "Ener-G Foods, Inc. is a wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut free, tree-nut free and kosher certified facility." Given that most Gluten-free breads are a little dry, dense and crumbly, the Ener-G brown rice sliced sandwich bread is the best in texture, flavor and has longest shelf-life.
Always Read Labels and Verify Ingredients!
Many of these brands do create healthy, wholesome foods that are gluten-free, but not everything in their product line is guaranteed. Some preference is given here to the brands name that clearly and consistently mark gluten-free products.
- Amy's Kitchen Organic - Amy's canned soups come in at least a dozen tasty, healthy varieties that are clearly marked "This product is Gluten-Free" just to the right of the ingredients list. Amy's also offers a few frozen meals (including a softer-dough rice crust pizza). Great brand to watch for to pack quick lunches and easy dinners.
- Van’s Wheat-Free Waffles- Though Van's also produces waffles with wheat, the wheat free are available in plain and blueberry varieties which are clearly marked. These frozen waffles taste just like "the real thing". Great for kids!
Mixes Worth the Time
Though not particularly "quick and easy" some baking mixes are better than others. With the growing number of brands out there, it's not always cost-effective to taste-test each of them for yourself. Here are some tried and true favorites from a group of gluten-free, wheat-free and wheat-eating testers:
- Cherrybrook Kitchen - Cherrybrook Kitchen ensures that all of their mixes are peanut-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free, but they also make a few gluten-free options as well. For Gluten-free bakers out there, this requires only two words: chocolate cake. The Gluten-free chocolate cake mix tastes like the real thing - moist, rich and perfect. Look for the frosting mix as well, and you have a birthday worth celebrating!
- Pamela’s Products - The hands-down winner for best bread-machine mix. Pamela's provides great mixes made on dedicated gluten-free facilities. Also check out their website for recipes and creative ways to use their mixes in cookies and more.
- Bob’s Red Mill - Second place ribbon for the wheat-free, gluten-free bread-machine mix. Bob's sells a variety of flours and mixes, useful for baking from scratch, including an all-purpose baking flour that is suitable for just about any recipe. By far their best pre-made mix is the pancake mix!
- Namaste Foods - is another trustworthy brand in the mix category. Their brownies are fantastic. Somewhat harder to find, depending on your local retailers, but worth the effort.
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