My avid readers are aware that my family is now on Day 6 of a gluten free diet. The elimination diet was prompted by my review of the long list of symptoms of gluten intolerance… matched against my 7 year olds, long list of complaints. AND so, the quest for palatable gluten free food commenced.
I’ve picked up many things at the Super Stop ‘n Shop, nothing at Pathmark and I haven’t tried Shoprite yet. Trader Joes, while an excellent experience, was a gluten free disappointment. Yesterday my kids and I went to a tiny whole in the wall The Health Shoppe, in my town and it was a veritable Gluten Free Bonanza!
However, I walked out of the store with three small grocery bags, and a bill of over $100.00!
But I go too fast…. Here’s the run down:
The Appearance: The store was in a strip mall, next to a Large Petco and Pathmark. I have been to this strip mall literally hundreds of times, there is a McDonalds, a Dollar Store, and a Stone Cold Creamery place… but I never noticed The Health Shoppe. In fact, I had to call and ask where they were located and was pleasantly surprised they were so close and convenient.
The inside of the store resembled a standard vitamin shop. Nothing fancy. Again, it was small, and I thought I would be disappointed… again.
The Products This small store was laid out in theory like a large store. Everything in its own place and similar items together. Here’s where this store excelled. In each product group there was one or more items specifically labeled “Gluten Free”. I picked up pasta sauce and very light brown rice spaghetti noodles. I picked up some chicklet like candies. I found… frozen pizza with whole milk mozzarella, I found fudgesicles, I found cookies, more pretzels, chocolate bars with rice crispies, and chocolate bar with almonds. I found a frozen Mac N Cheese dinner.
Honestly, this tiny store was packed with great food, but the amazing and more monumental discovery, was the frozen pizza. TINY 6 inch pie… that tasted GREAT! The kids loved it. AND I was hoping they would since it was $8.00 a pie!
The Employee There was a single waif like 30 something man behind the counter. He offered no help. He offered no comment. In fact, he was less than helpful when my 4 year old announced she had to go potty and I asked about facilities, he sent me over to Pathmark. OH yeah, I forgot…. When I was checking out, he actually “harrumphed” his disapproval of my purchase of the soy chocolate pudding treats and candy bars (at first I thought he had Tourette’s, but I checked him out… no twitching). Fortunately the store is small enough to never have to ask the attendant to step down from his elevated cashiers position.
The Patron Just us. One 43 year old mom, with a 4, 5, and 7 year old in tow. We spent a bit of time there, (as we had to walk to pathmark for the potty) and not even any walk by traffic.
The Prices This store was HUGELY expensive. It seemed like nothing was under $5.00! It was the only place, so far, that I have found the frozen pizza, so I may just use this store for Pizza Fridays! Everything else, I have found in a combination of all the other stores I visit. Trader Joes has a great gluten free spaghetti sauce, and Super Stop N Shop has everything else.
Overall Impression I was originally overjoyed to find so many gluten free items in one spot, until I got to the register and had to pay. The Store, The Employee, The Prices all make me feel like I don’t want to go back. But go back I will… because they are the only ones that carry the frozen pizza. I can’t help but think that a little makeover might bring some more customers… From the outside it looks like a 5 and Dime or a vitamin shop, not a little mini grocery store.
I’ve been informed that there is a larger The Health Shoppe in a neighboring town. I may stop in to see if there is a huge difference, or… if they have a larger variety of gluten free pizza.
I hope you are enjoying my quest for the perfect gluten free shopping experience!
Showing posts with label gluten free shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten free shopping. Show all posts
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Me and Trader Joes - A Gluten Free Shopping Review
Recently I started my family on a Gluten Free Diet. My 7 year old has several health issues that may be attributed to an intolerance to gluten, so to determine whether that is the case, I have implemented a 3 week elimination diet. That's 3 weeks gluten free.
But I digress, ... so, my usual grocery stomping grounds consist of ShopRite, Pathmark & Super Stop N Shop. I suppose I should say this right up front. I'm not a lover of food... I'm an eater of food. I enjoy a good meal, but I could eat pizza every day of the week and be happy. My kids have a couple of favorites and only the older 2 are even willing to eat something new... and only the oldest will eat a new green item without a battle. (My kids are 4, 5, & 7)
In my quest for easy to prepare clearly labeled Gluten Free items.... I headed over to our local Trader Joes.
Now, most of you know... if I don't have to go into the office... I'm not getting into the shower. On a good day, that's nothing a clean pair of cut-offs and NY Yankees cap can't fix. Today was no different. I was sans children as I picked the day their father had visitation for my first foray, to aisles of TJ's (as it is known to the locals).
The Appearance: My first impression was good. It was clean and well laid out. It had a wood floor, while I don't know it if was recycled wood, it certainly looks like it was salvaged from an old barn or ship. The products appeared to ALL have hand drawn labels. Like a high school art major gone wild with markers! Circling, swirling, lots of colors... big handwritten easy to read letters. (My 43 year old lazy brain thought, "I wonder if I can get that font for my computer")
The Products: At a glance, EVERYTHING appears to be organic. I only found the following items specifically labeled gluten free: 5 cheese spaghetti sauce, brown rice spaghetti noodles, 1 loaf of really hard bread, (this I didn't buy), granola, Many Many Chips and Snacky things.
The one thing I wanted. pizza. not there.
The Employees: Very very nice. The check out counter is also wood. The check out person is nice and chatty. AND when I say chatty, I don't mean chatting with the person bagging about the party they went to, or about getting their 4 inch long nails done... they chatted with me. They looked me in the eye. They smiled. The check out was a real human experience. nice.
The Patrons: Now, first let me say, I looked like I totally fit in. I supposed if someone had looked closer they would have noticed that I was wearing the Walmart version of crocs and that I had cut-off my own jeans and the distressed look was authentic, in that I had distressed my jeans over the course of the 10 years I had owned them! AND, I got the impression that the people with children were on a game show called, "Look what a good parent I am" Each contestant was challenged to elevate their preschoolers vocabulary to college level in 10 minutes. (ok, that was a little harsh, but you know what I mean) for all that, the people were
nice.
The Prices: I purchased about 4 bags of chips, spaghetti sauce and noodles, 3 boxes of frozen waffles, granola, (I think that's it) and it came to $28.00. Not too bad. All of the items were organic and gluten-free. I later found that the pricing for the items is around the same as the Super Stop N Shop (although I couldn't find gluten free spaghetti sauce at the stop n shop)
Overall Impression: I like the store, but I didn't find much I needed. I was disappointed by the lack of gluten free items. There were a few... but not many. (I later found that almost all of the items I found at Trader Joe's were also available at my Super Stop N Shop)
AND, Although the employees certainly didn't make me feel strange, the other patrons all seemed to be in the same "club". Perhaps it was my insecurities... my own love for the prepackaged meal... but I felt like an impostor.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a great selection of wholesome, organic food and intelligent and friendly service... Trader Joe's is an great and pretty inexpensive solution.
If you are looking for gluten free, not so much.
But I digress, ... so, my usual grocery stomping grounds consist of ShopRite, Pathmark & Super Stop N Shop. I suppose I should say this right up front. I'm not a lover of food... I'm an eater of food. I enjoy a good meal, but I could eat pizza every day of the week and be happy. My kids have a couple of favorites and only the older 2 are even willing to eat something new... and only the oldest will eat a new green item without a battle. (My kids are 4, 5, & 7)
In my quest for easy to prepare clearly labeled Gluten Free items.... I headed over to our local Trader Joes.
Now, most of you know... if I don't have to go into the office... I'm not getting into the shower. On a good day, that's nothing a clean pair of cut-offs and NY Yankees cap can't fix. Today was no different. I was sans children as I picked the day their father had visitation for my first foray, to aisles of TJ's (as it is known to the locals).
The Appearance: My first impression was good. It was clean and well laid out. It had a wood floor, while I don't know it if was recycled wood, it certainly looks like it was salvaged from an old barn or ship. The products appeared to ALL have hand drawn labels. Like a high school art major gone wild with markers! Circling, swirling, lots of colors... big handwritten easy to read letters. (My 43 year old lazy brain thought, "I wonder if I can get that font for my computer")
The Products: At a glance, EVERYTHING appears to be organic. I only found the following items specifically labeled gluten free: 5 cheese spaghetti sauce, brown rice spaghetti noodles, 1 loaf of really hard bread, (this I didn't buy), granola, Many Many Chips and Snacky things.
The one thing I wanted. pizza. not there.
The Employees: Very very nice. The check out counter is also wood. The check out person is nice and chatty. AND when I say chatty, I don't mean chatting with the person bagging about the party they went to, or about getting their 4 inch long nails done... they chatted with me. They looked me in the eye. They smiled. The check out was a real human experience. nice.
The Patrons: Now, first let me say, I looked like I totally fit in. I supposed if someone had looked closer they would have noticed that I was wearing the Walmart version of crocs and that I had cut-off my own jeans and the distressed look was authentic, in that I had distressed my jeans over the course of the 10 years I had owned them! AND, I got the impression that the people with children were on a game show called, "Look what a good parent I am" Each contestant was challenged to elevate their preschoolers vocabulary to college level in 10 minutes. (ok, that was a little harsh, but you know what I mean) for all that, the people were
nice.
The Prices: I purchased about 4 bags of chips, spaghetti sauce and noodles, 3 boxes of frozen waffles, granola, (I think that's it) and it came to $28.00. Not too bad. All of the items were organic and gluten-free. I later found that the pricing for the items is around the same as the Super Stop N Shop (although I couldn't find gluten free spaghetti sauce at the stop n shop)
Overall Impression: I like the store, but I didn't find much I needed. I was disappointed by the lack of gluten free items. There were a few... but not many. (I later found that almost all of the items I found at Trader Joe's were also available at my Super Stop N Shop)
AND, Although the employees certainly didn't make me feel strange, the other patrons all seemed to be in the same "club". Perhaps it was my insecurities... my own love for the prepackaged meal... but I felt like an impostor.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a great selection of wholesome, organic food and intelligent and friendly service... Trader Joe's is an great and pretty inexpensive solution.
If you are looking for gluten free, not so much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
How to Start a Freelance Career
Work at Home and Earn an Excellent Income
Imagine being able to work from your own home, doing a job you love, and
getting paid handsomely for doing it. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, the good news is that this is not just a fantasy. It is a prospect that is
well within your reach. Today, millions of people worldwide have established
highly-successful careers as freelance professionals. Writers, designers,
programmers and many other home-based consultants have discovered that
freelancing offers the perfect combination of freedom, creativity, flexibility
and profitability.
So do you need years of experience and fantastic qualifications to join these
lucky people? Not at all. You just need a skill that you can offer to potential
clients, and the willingness to learn how to run a home-based business.
Of course, the biggest challenge for new freelancers is finding enough work to
justify giving up a day job. How can you be sure that you will keep yourself
busy with lucrative work? This used to be a concern, but thanks to the advent of
the Internet, things are now much easier.
Now there are a number of job sites dedicated to helping freelancers find work
and stay busy. Freelance Work Exchange, for example, brings you hundreds of
fresh freelance jobs like these:
Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week, plus bonus
A writer is needed for an ongoing writing project. You will need to write copy
to stimulate others into joining the discussion board. The writer needs to
actively encourage regular and meaningful debate on the relevant discussion
board, with some moderating of the content. You must have solid writing skills
and good ideas.
Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month
A successful e-commerce venture is seeking a part-time virtual assistant to act
as a home-based office manager. You will deal with email correspondence, update
site content and deal with general admin issues. You should have your own
computer and Internet access.
Transcribe Author's Notes: $80 per hour, flexible working
A publishing company is seeking a freelance with an eye for detail to
transcribe authors' notes and recordings for a range of ongoing projects. You
must have a good grasp of English, be able to edit content into readable form,
and be able to submit work from home by email.
You can sign up for a trial subscription for just $2.95, and get instant
access to all the projects in the jobs database. So if you would like to get
started on the road to freelance success right now, click here to sign up
today.
