Sending a food-related gift for someone that is gluten-free is tough. There are many non-gluten-free options – Cookie Bouquets, Cheryl’s Cookies, Harry & David, Hickory Farms, etc. It is always tough when we get a gift from one of the aforementioned places & Jon can’t have any of the treats. While there may be a piece of fruit from Harry & David or cheese from Hickory Farms, the gluten-free options just aren’t as plentiful.
There are some gluten-free options out there. Edible Arrangements are a great option for gluten-free gifts. The main ingredient is fruit and the fruit, if not dipped, is gluten-free.
Mariposa Bakery has gift sets you can order. I did a review of Mariposa’s products which can be seen here. All of the gift baskets are under $40 and would make an excellent gift. Some of the options include several varieties of brownies, coconut lemon squares, coffee cakes, biscotti & more. There is a dairy-free gift set as well. Other fun options are the brownie-of-the-month club, biscotti-of-the-month club & a gluten-free sampler club.
Illinois Nut & Candy has many gluten-free gift ideas. Some of the wonderful options include shaped chocolate bars & lollipops, popcorn balls & shaped sprinkles. I love all of the holiday options for Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and more.
Live gluten-freely has a wonderful new option. For $24.99 plus shipping LGF will include a gluten-free, full-size assortment of General Mills gluten-free products. This would be perfect for the newly diagnosed or for saying thank you or congratulations. The box includes:
- Betty Crocker® gluten-free Brownie Mix
- Betty Crocker® gluten-free Yellow Cake Mix
- Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- Honey Nut Chex® Cereal
- Betty Crocker® Create-A-Bug® Fruit Flavored Snacks
- Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Snacks Variety Pack – Fruit Roll-Ups®, Fruit Gushers®, Fruit by the Foot®
- Peanut Butter Cookie Lärabar® Snack Bar
- Betty Crocker® Potato Buds® Mashed Potatoes
- Betty Crocker® Red Serving Spoon
- Coupons and More!
GlutenFreeMall.com has gift vouchers that can be purchased from their site in as low as $25 increments. You can get a $25 gluten-free Mall Gift Voucher here. This allows the person you are shopping for to choose from the hundreds of items that are sold at the gluten-free Mall.
Last but not least, gift certificates to one of the many restaurants that are now offering gluten-free menus. If there is a local restaurant, placing a phone call is a great way to see if gift certificates can be purchased. If the person is newly gluten-free, consider sending along a set of gluten-free dining guides & cards to help ease some of the confusion about eating out gluten-free. Some of the chain restaurants that have gluten-free menus are:
- P.F. Chang’s
- Bonefish Grill
- Pei Wei Asian Diner
- Z Pizza
- Red Robin
- Cheeseburger in Paradise
- Outback Steakhouse
- Carrabba’s
- Olive Garden
- Chik-fil-a
- Chipotle
For Edible Arrangements, it was my understanding that the chocolate that the fruit was dipped in could be gluten free. Different providers use different chocolate so one must check with the provider on which chocolate was used. See post from Triumph Dining here. I’ve eaten their arrangements before with no issues.
Shirley
About two years ago after completing a three month cleanse I created a drink I eventually named Jin-Ja. It contains a large amount of fresh ginger, cayenne, mint tea, green tea and sugar. I gave it to friends and family as gifts and eventually began selling it locally in Philly and in gift boxes online at http://www.jinjadrink.com
The reason I am writing this is because a clerk at one of the stores that sells Jin-Ja thanked me for putting it on the market because it was gluten-free. Her husband has Celiac Disease and drank Jin-Ja to soothe his stomach. When I hear stories like this I am extremely grateful that I took the steps to make it available to people.
The reason I am on this site is to share what I consider a very tasty and healthy drink that has brought relief to someone who suffers from Celiac Disease.
Sincerely,
Reuben Canada
Creator of Jin-Ja
My Fiance just recently called Edible Arrangements and they said that they CANNOT guarantee anything to be gluten free, she was very rude even after he requested that they not cross contaminate.
Erika,
I am sorry that your fiance had a bad experience with Edible Arrangements. Since this post was written in 2010, I can only assume that things may have changed within their company and/or suppliers.
Kim