Posting here so I can save/share. I'll add favorite recipes soon. If you want to follow my Pinterest, all recipes pinned are Gluten Free or easily converted.
https://www.pinterest.com/jenned/_saved/
A lot of people don't understand what Gluten Free is and even seeing the words "Gluten Free" on a package of corn tortillas will turn them off. *Hint: 'real food' does not contain added wheat to make food stretch farther. Paleo does not contain wheat, or any grains. You just need to read labels which wasn't an issue for me since I have a few serious allergies and I've always done that. There are apps, Facebook Groups, and some websites that are pretty accurate. But just because one thing is okay for one Celiac/Gluten Sensitive person, does not mean it's okay for someone else. I find my favorite recipes and convert them, or replace them with something else. Instead of chocolate chip cookies, I have fallen in love with Macarons.
Gluten Free Restaurants
Local(Mesa, AZ):
Twisted Sugar - Dangerous find. They have regular cookies plus they make fresh GF Sugar Cookies and you tell them what kind of topping your want. Smores, Pink w/Sprinkles, Salted Caramel, Snickerdoodle, Swizzle Sugar, Lemon, etc…
Surf City - Power & Ray, All made in house, fresh chips, GF bread(they even toasted it right), or you can have any of their sandwiches turned into a salad. Green Hornet Salad and Figs Pig are my favorites. Just ask and they have great suggestions.
Oregano’s - I’ve only ever tried their Big Rig Pasta with chicken added. Oh my!
BabbO Italian Eatery - Also make great GF pastas, and mushroom entree that is to die for!
Barrio Queen - Mexican food has lots of options. Their Tamale Trio is AMAZING!
Fudge Shoppe - In Florence. Cory is super sweet and they will get you what you need! Their salads are huge!
Bella’s - Ellsworth & Guadalupe - I just get the sandwiches lettuce wrapped, and their Antipasto Salad is fantastic!
Arriba’s - The manager suggested their enchilada made with a corn tortilla and queso sauce because their green and red sauce is made with a wheat roux. Great suggestion, it was really good!
Chains:
Costa Vida - They are great with GF, change their gloves, know their menu. (Cafe Rio which is similar was rude to me and the manager waved her hands in the air and told me I couldn’t eat anything, it was in the air, as they were making their homemade tortillas. Haven’t been back, don’t care to).
Thai Chili to Go - Most items on their menu are GF including some new chicken breast pieces that are batter fried. Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Pad Siew are my favorites.
Red Robin has GF buns or you can do lettuce wrap, so do Culvers, In n Out. Bun Free options that are safe can also be found at Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr.
Salad & Go - Salads, and their Chicken Dumpling soup is surprisingly GF, yum!
Chick Fil A - Just don’t get battered items or the wraps, I’m pretty sure most other items are safe or easily tweaked with modifications. Waffle Fries are cooked in a designated GF fryer. I sought out their GF bun supplier! They taste like a sweeter whole wheat roll, but super soft and SO good! I would consider going in with someone to buy a stash of them for my freezer!
Denny’s - I can’t say for all locations but Queen Creek has GF English Muffins, and has several options.
Los Favoritos - I don’t have issues with their nachos or tacos, unsure about rolled tacos.
GF Pizza: Domino’s, Mod, Barrio’s, all good options. Hint, reheat leftovers in a non-stick frying pan to crisp up the crust. GF crust can get cardboardy and tough, but toasting it up in the bottom of a pan with a little non-stick spray or butter can crisp it up and actually make it taste better than when it was fresh.
Taco Bell - limited here, but it’s not really Mexican food anyways. But their crunchy tacos are fine and power bowls.
Panda Express is a no go. The only safe(and I question that) is white rice and steamed vegetables. Although I didn’t have a reaction to their teriyaki grilled chicken.
Shopping:
Sprouts - Lots of GF options, more than TJ’s imo. They carry GF cupcakes(their seasonal strawberry cupcakes are my favorite), they carry GF bread, tortillas, pie crusts, breaded fish fillets, sausage, frozen meals, frozen donuts, meringue cookies, pretzels, snacks, pasta, graham crackers, animal cookies, licorice, etc…. And they label almost every aisle item that is GF as such on the price tag. Of course produce is GF. Sprouts also makes GF Fried Onions(like French’s in Green Bean Casserole). These are AMAZING!!!!
Home Goods & TJ Maxx always have snacks, pastas, misc. Items that are fun to try.
Amazon and Thrive Market: Favorite place to get Gluten Free Items.
Kitchen Items to Stock:
GF Crackers: Nabisco Good Thin GF varieties, corn and the vegetable are my favorite, Hu brand, Diamond Almond Crackers, Snack Factory Pretzel Chips, Lay’s chips(I believe all Lay’s chips are GF, Fritos, Cheetos, Poppables, Tostitos, Stackables, etc… Kettle Chips, Veggie Stix, Miss Vickie’s Chips, Ruffles
Canned Tuna, Chicken Breast, Deviled Ham, Hummus, Cream Cheese, etc… Dippable items instead of sandwiches.
Chex Rice and Corn varieties and Cheerios.
GF Frozen Waffles(Vans are my favorite), they can also be used in place of buns and bread for sandwiches and burgers. I love to do this, turkey, cranberry sauce, pesto, swiss cheese, Best Foods Mayo. The waffle holds the condiments in from making a mess.
GF Oreos! Although I prefer Glutinos or Walmart’s brand. Nabisco was late to the party with their GF Oreos and they’re gummy. :(
Delimex Taquitos - They have a few varieties that contain gluten, I just get their plain beef or plain chicken taquitos. They don’t say GF, but they don’t list wheat as an allergen.
Sourdough is not Gluten Free, but some people who can’t eat wheat seem to do fine. I tried San Luis Sourdough my daughter brought me from a road trip from California. I used to work across the street so I know how they make it. I would stay away from big companies like Orowheat or Pepperidge Farm since they are mass produced, they may not let the yeast ferment enough.
Bread - The only ones I eat are Canyon House and believe it or not, Sam’s Choice found at Walmart. This might even be better than Canyon House. Don’t let bad GF bread go to waste though. I recently made homemade GF Croutons and they were so good the hubby polished ‘em off and said he could eat them all day. I don’t like Schar brand breads at all except their Ciabatta Rolls toasted.
Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Flour. I’ve tried all kinds of “special” flours, Bob’s has been the most available, best price, and had most success with.
Cake Mixes: Krusteaz, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury make good GF mixes & muffins, everything else is overpriced and I’ve had a lot less success. You can add dry pudding mix to make it richer.
Red Lobster GF Biscuits - Yum!!!!!
Corn Tortillas or Gluten Free Mission Tortillas. I use Mission GF Tortillas in my enchiladas. Just make sure the enchilada sauce is also GF, some are, some aren’t.
Candy: Skittles, Gummy Bears, Runts, Dots, Tootsie Rolls, Lifesavers, Peppermint Patties, and surprisingly Hershey’s Cookies n Cream Drops(only the “Drops”).
Stay away from licorice, Werther’s, seasonal versions of Reese’s and other candies(they outsource to factories that cannot guarantee GF production).
We have an air fryer and that has been the best way to cook GF burritos, chicken tenders, meatballs, etc…. No added oil, but GF bread and breaded items need to be cooked again. I make my toast in the air fryer by just adding a little bit of butter to the top before instead of after. GF bread does not soak up liquids.
Thai Kitchen Foods make a rice noodle type Ramen packet, healthier, but not enough noodles and twice the price.
Glass Noodles are made from yam and are GF, they are great!
OreIda makes almost all of their potato products GF, including their tater tots.
Immaculate Baking GF Cookie Dough
Things I keep on Hand: Nuts, GF Granola, a few frozen meals, fruits and veggies, lunch meats and cheese to make roll-ups, jerky, popcorn, dry cereal, soups, GF Ramen Cups
We also try to meal prep on the weekend, cook proteins up and store in zip bags to throw a quick meal together.
Sunbasket Meal Plans: We subscribed for a while, mostly just to get the hang of cooking strictly Paleo and get out of a rut, they came in bags with the ingredients you need and you pick your proteins. Saved us money even though it was a bit expensive because we were too tired to cook each night or plan to cook so groceries went to waste.
GF to Stay Away from:
Cauliflower Pizza - it’s just disgusting.
“Real Good” brand products. Everything I’ve tried has the weirdest texture and gave me a bathroom problem, and tastes very processed.
Daiya GF/DF products, nasty fake flavors
Pillsbury GF Cookie Dough-weird texture and doesn’t taste right.
