Going grocery shopping is something most of us adults do on auto-pilot… <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walk in…grab a cart, and begin to snake your way through the store…past each product you want\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…then check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once in a while, there\u2019s that one special ingredient you want and then you have to break out of the usual trance and actually search around to find it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is called a pattern interrupt. It causes our brain to have to shift out of auto-pilot mode and actually engage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, after you discover that your child must eat gluten-free, suddenly grocery shopping feels like everything on the list is hard to find…like you have to search for it…and it takes forever…and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It suddenly seems like everything has gluten in it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a huge pattern interrupt and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s take a deep breath. Everything is going to be alright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we are going to do is walk a new path through the grocery together. And after you\u2019ve done this a few times, well, you\u2019re brain will already be settling into a new \u2018auto-pilot\u2019 mode…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the good news is, there are a lot of gluten-free foods in the grocery…and even better news: they are not all in the (usually overpriced) \u2018Natural Foods\u2019 aisle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One last thing I want to mention before we start shopping…grocery stores have a planned layout. Maybe you already knew that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, we can use this planned layout to our advantage as you\u2019ll see in a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Near the entrance to almost every grocery is the produce section. Let\u2019s walk through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LOTS of gluten-free in the produce section. Almost everything is GF. Stock up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notice that the produce section usually connects to the deli and bakery areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the deli area, we can grab some pre-packaged lunch meats. (Let\u2019s talk about how to safely ask for and order from the deli counter in another post)…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll just walk by the bakery stuff. If we\u2019re trying to shop GF, then there\u2019s not much (if anything) for us here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep walking and as we approach the back of the store, we\u2019ll get to the meat section and eventually the meat counter. Again, lots of GF here – just stick with the plain pre-packaged non-marinated meats for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, we haven\u2019t even had to walk down an aisle\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which brings me to another point about the layout of a grocery…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The perimeter of the grocery store is where you can \/ should find most of your food (according to some health experts). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think about that – you\u2019ve got these types of foods and sections around the grocery store edges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway…let\u2019s keep going along the back of the store. Next, we\u2019ll get to the dairy section. Grab cheese, milk, yogurt, eggs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you\u2019re avoiding dairy, this is where you\u2019ll find many of the dairy substitutes. Grab what you need and let\u2019s keep going to the <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, we\u2019ll get to the frozen foods and now we make our first turn down an aisle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First off, I want to point out that the \u2018natural foods\u2019 section of a frozen aisle is likely where you will find GF bread. This will be one of the shocking moments when you realize that those little loafs of GF bread cost $6.00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Quick hint: buy the frozen GF bread. It seems like GF bread goes bad \/ moldy at room temperature exceptionally fast. So we buy it frozen and then put it in the fridge once we are ready to eat it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grab some bread and then look for GF waffles, pizza (or pizza crusts), etc. This is also where you\u2019ll find Oreida brand french fries and tater tots – both GF (but always double check the bag to be sure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s time to snake up and down the aisles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
GF pasta options will be with the regular pastas. Peanut butter like JIF brand is GF. Corn tortillas are GF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re looking for gluten-free flour or cake mix (like Betty Crocker), it will likely be with the other flours and cake mixes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gluten-free crackers like Nut Thins will be with the rest of the crackers. GF cereals will be with the rest of the cereals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, gluten-free goodies like cookies and cupcakes are usually in the \u2018natural foods\u2019 aisle or section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, we\u2019ve walked through the store in what may be a new pattern…but the important thing is that the grocery is full of gluten-free food options. The outside edges of the grocery have tons of gluten-free options from produce to meats and dairy products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the foods we need – like bread, pizza, or GF cookies – are in special sections of the store. But otherwise, many of the staples like pasta, cereal, and flour are next to the gluten options. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What we are going to do is walk a new path through the grocery together. And after you\u2019ve done this a few times, well, you\u2019re brain will already be settling into a new \u2018auto-pilot\u2019 mode…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[41],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n