Gluten-Free Grocery Shopping

Preparing for family meals is no small task for anyone. However when you factor in a dietary restriction or two it makes it more challenging. To make this challenging task easier, I have picked up some tricks along the way.

Gluten-free iPhone App

I never go shopping with a working cell phone. You never know when you will have to call a company. I tend to shop after most companies are closed for the evening, so that doesn't always work best for me. Shortly after I found out a had to be on a gluten-free diet, I got a smart phone. It makes shopping easier because I can search company's websites, which are up around the clock. I also downloaded a smartphone app called Is that Gluten-free? I know it is available for an iPhone, but not certain other smartphone compatibility. This app lets you search for products that are confirmed to be gluten-free. It also has a spot of where it was confirmed by the company and the date of that confirmation. That part of the app also has a place where it has the company's phone number for you to call, and a spot for you to type your own notes. You can look up products by brand name, categories and ingredients within a product. I use the app often when shopping.
Make friends with the person who is buyer of products for the store. Introduce yourself and explain dietary constraints only after complimenting them on some of their selection. This person may help find foods that you are missing or stock foods within the store that you have found at another location. The assistant store manager knew that I was looking for a better gluten-free, yeast-free pizza crust. He couldn't get in what I was looking for, but found a frozen gluten-free, yeast-free pizza. (See blog post for April 12th.)
Always look down your gluten-free aisle even if you are going on a short trip. You can check for sales on your favorites or staples and stock up.

Stack of cookbooks

Prepare a shopping list ahead of time. I have a typed list of family staples that I print out and put on the fridge. I highlight things as we run out of them. The list is set up in the order of the grocery store. That way I don't waste time going from one side of the store to the other. Then before shopping, I sit down with cookbooks and look for recipes that I want to try or recipes of favorites. I write down all the ingredients that I will need for the recipe so that I don't have to go back multiple times in the week. This cuts down on impulse buys. This also helps me stick to my budget. As I shop, I scratch off items. This way, I don't forget anything for a recipe. When you shop at multiple grocery stores, lists make these trips go as fast and as smooth as possible.

Working shopping list

Coupons are another way that I cut costs and help me plan my meals. I buy things on sale or the things that I need to buy with a coupon.
I hope these tips help. ;)