Where Can I Purchase Gluten-Free Foods Online?

Many areas in the U.S. don’t have large gluten-free populations and therefore, they don’t have much to offer in terms of gluten-free replacement foods at health food or grocery stores. Things like bagels, pretzels and even pasta are hard – and even impossible – to find at stores in some areas. Celiac disease and gluten intolerance do not discriminate – both conditions affect people in cities or rural areas – basically anywhere there are gluten eaters.

There are good and bad things about shopping online. The most negative thing for me is paying to ship food. Amazon.com is excellent as long as you know what you like. They sell most of their gluten-free items by the case and most people are not interested in purchasing a case of something they haven’t even tasted yet. One of the nice things about online shopping is that it takes a whole lot less time than driving across town or to another one altogether just to buy food.

I’ll drive about 20 miles to shop and after that it becomes a question what is most convenient – spending time and burning gas, plus putting wear and tear on a car or paying a few bucks for shipping. Since I know what products I like, ordering from Amazon.com is extremely convenient for me. I don’t ever order under $25 so I avoid paying any shipping charges. Considering Atlanta traffic ranks up there with New York and L.A., a twenty minute ride and turn into a nightmare on a dime in bad weather or heavy traffic. I know people that will drive an hour out of their way so they never have to drive near Atlanta – our reputation for having horrid traffic is well deserved.

Many people are not aware that you don’t have to buy $25 worth of food to get free shipping on Amazon.com. You can buy a CD and some food – or a book and some food. Well, you get the picture. You do have to order things that ship from Amazon.com and not from a third party seller in order to quality for FREE shipping for $25 (or more) orders.

Thank goodness for the internet! I’m not sure what people did before online shopping was available but my guess is that many of them went without gluten-free replacement foods. Of course, I’ve heard that some of the best products on the market have only been around for 10 years or less anyway, so they might not have been missing too much. In Europe some companies have been producing gluten-free “replacement” foods for over 50 years but that is not the case in this country.

In large metro areas like NYC, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, DC, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Boston and Atlanta, gluten-free food choices in stores abound. In fact, most people find it overwhelming when faced with six gluten-free pastas to choose from. It’s kind of odd that we have almost as many choices as gluten eaters do, in many food categories. In some cases we seem to have even more.

For those that live in an area where gluten-free offerings are limited, or even non-existent, check out these online companies that offer pretty much anything you can think of, in terms of gluten-free replacement foods.

• Amazon.com – FREE shipping on orders of $25 or more
• Allergy Free Foods – frozen shipping method required

Maybe you just want to order some doughnuts or bagels. Below are some excellent 100% gluten-free bakeries that will ship many of their products nationwide.

• Everybody Eats
• The Grainless Baker
• Island GF Bakery
• Joans GF Greatbakes
• Sunny Valley Wheat Free *completely gluten-free, regardless of the name.

Consider ordering with a gluten-free friend in order to save money on shipping. Please know that sometimes all it takes to get your local stores to bring in gluten-free products is asking them to do so. Be prepared with the company website/phone number of the products you’re requesting that they order for you.

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)