Another word of caution is that not all brands are completely dedicated to allergy friendly foods. While Amy’s and Annie’s do have foods that are both gluten and dairy free, they also produce foods that contain these allergens. For example, Amy’s has a dairy free pizza with gluten, and a gluten free pizza with cheese. Annie’s has gluten free mac and cheese and vegan mac and cheese with gluten. Unfortunately, there have been times I have returned home only to find I picked the wrong products. However, most brands state allergen information on their packages or website, along with whether there is risk of potential cross contamination.
On the flip side, some companies make the mistake of NOT listing their allergens. I recently discovered Whole Food’s 365 Gluten Free Dinner Rolls. I looked at the ingredient list and did not see any dairy ingredients. The only allergen listed was eggs. However, when I looked at their website, the rolls were listed as gluten free, dairy free, low fat and vegetarian. I wish companies would list all their allergens on packages the way that Enjoy Life does. According to WebMD, almost one-third of people with a food allergy have reactions to more than one type of food. Companies should list all their allergens because chances are that people have multiple food allergies and might miss a great product if they don’t read the label or look for nutritional information on websites.
Because I gave bad news first, I want to end with good news, hidden treasures. You can find gluten and dairy free foods at places you would never expect. Here’s a hint, they’re not always grocery stores. It used to be that if you wanted allergy friendly foods, your only option was Whole Foods. While Whole Foods has a huge selection of allergy free foods, especially vegan cheeses, shopping at one store is limiting. Luckily, many grocery stores, and even Target and Walmart, are starting to carry allergy friendly foods. Some even have aisles and frozen sections dedicated to these foods. Here is a link to Whole Food’s list of gluten free foods that they carry https://assets.wholefoodsmarket.com/specialdiets/FLG_Gluten_Free.pdf.
Of course, I have to mention Amazon, which owns Whole Foods. They have a huge selection of allergy friendly foods and even deliver the perishable ones in a cold, insulated package. While the above-mentioned stores may have a small selection, Amazon will often have all the flavors. For example, they carry most of the Kinnikinnick and Katz donut flavors, not just the handful you find at grocery stores. Searching for gluten and dairy free foods will yield a variety of results. Also, Vegan Essentials sells hard to find dairy free foods not found at most stores. They also ship out packages with cold packs. And they won the 2020 Veggie Awards for best online vegan grocers.
And then there are hidden treasures like Marshalls, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods (owned by TJX). I have discovered wonderful gluten and dairy free foods in these stores by accident. Their food sections are really worth checking out.
Finally, my favorite place to discover allergy friendly foods is the Nourished Festival. It is a gluten free, allergy & specialty diet expo. Enjoy Life is their sponsor. If you’ve ever enjoyed an Enjoy Life product, you know that they are free from most of the top common allergens. I can’t think of a better sponsor for the expo.
The expo tours various cities and for a low price, you get a large bag to fill with samples from a ton of vendors. Some samples are trial sized packages, some in cups to eat, and others cooked on the spot. Many vendors give out brochures and coupons for their products and are happy to answer questions. They even have live cooking demonstrations. I have discovered many great gluten and dairy free brands here. This year the expo will be online for free on September 24-26. For more information, check out their home page https://nourishedfestival.com/exhibitors.
In closing, I am thrilled that living gluten and dairy free has become mainstream, and there are many places to find these foods. Places like grocery stores, expos, online, and even stores that sell clothes 😊.
According to Forbes, 3.1 million people in the United States follow a gluten free diet. 72 percent of them are classified as “PWAGs” – people without celiac disease avoiding gluten.
“To be a gluten free vegan is, like, the most difficult thing you can possibly be.” Zooey Deschanel (actress and singer)
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