Gluten Free at Trader Joe's

Anyone who eats gluten free because of celiac disease, a wheat intolerance, or other medical condition knows how expensive it can be. Since my own diagnosis with celiac disease two years ago I've seen my own grocery bills triple because of the cost of gluten free items. Until recently, I've done most of my gluten free shopping at Whole Foods, which is known as "Whole Paycheck" for a reason and small health food stores that can't provide significant discounts on gluten free products because they don't have the clout of a big retailer.

While Trader Joe's has always been accommodating to those who need to eat gluten free, providing a list of gluten free products in the store that can be picked up from the manager's station, Trader Joe's has never had a huge selection of the prepared foods I'm often looking for, for my on the go life. This seems to have changed suddenly, and I'm delighted, as it seems like I'm suddenly paying normal prices on groceries, even gluten-free ones again.

Shopping at Trader Joe's can be difficult because of the constantly rotating product selection and the crowds that can make it hard to stop and check the labels on products to make sure they are gluten free. I still highly recommend getting the gluten free list from the manager's station, but in case you don't want to wade through all that Trader Joe's chaos, here is what I would recommend from their prepared foods.

Gone are the days you can't find any gluten free desserts at Trader Joe's other than ice cream. They now have frozen peanut butter cookie dough that's gluten free as well as a shelf-stable gluten free brownie mix. Both are great. Additionally Trader Joe's make great gluten free meringues in several flavors and has a large gluten-free candy selection.

In the bread section at Trader Joe's you can now find gluten-free English muffins, and their frozen Mexican foods area has some of the best gluten free selection including gluten free chicken and beef mini tacos (there's about four meals in each $3.99 gluten free box) and microwaveable chicken enchiladas.