A Few of My Favorite Things...

While staying safe at home for the last 3+ weeks, I’ve come to really appreciate some of my favorite brands. Mind you, this is not an ad or a sponsored post. I truly want to share with you some food that makes my life a little better!

A sampling of my current Quarantine Pantry

I’ve been gluten and dairy free for almost a decade now and let’s just say I have some opinions. These opinions lie with what brands make the best “fake stuff” taste real. Now, there isn’t really anything as “fake” food, unless you’re talking the plastic or wooden food we all played with as kids, but when you grow up eating wheat-y, dairy filled breads, pizzas, cheeses, and desserts, you become a little biased.

Over the last (almost) decade, I have mostly adjusted to not eating gluten or dairy. On the rare occasion that I taste something gluten-y or dairy-filled spending a brief moment in heaven, I then remember what the post-credits will be and resume my restricted life. Thankfully, gluten and dairy free options have gotten immensely better. They don’t taste overly processed, gritty, grainy, or bland anymore. They actually taste delicious! Most of that has to do with the rise of every type of “flour” known to man.

So listed below are some of my favorite gluten and dairy free foods and brands. This is MY OPINION only. Mind you, I have never had a ton of money to spend on the more expensive brands, so these brands mostly can be classified as “affordable.” That being said, gluten and dairy free items are always more expensive than their counterparts. Also, not all of these grocery items even have gluten or dairy in them normally, I just wanted to share other faves as well!

Dairy Free Chocolate Chips: Enjoy Life Food’s - I love the Dark Morsels the most, but these are hand’s down my favorite chocolate chip option when baking (or snacking).

Gluten Free Oats & Flours: Bob’s Red Mill - Bob’s is truly a king of flours, oats, mixes, and all things alternative and not-so-alternative as well.

Lactose Free Cheese: Cabot Cheese - If you are only lactose free, Cabot is a great option. I’m fully dairy free, but Cabot doesn’t bother me at all! It’s my #1 go to for sure. Depending on your region may be hard to find at the store. Top Choice: Cabot Alpine Cheddar, but all the styles are delicious.

Dairy Free Cheese: Daiya or Chao Cheese - Daiya is a polarizing choice, but I love it! By the slice, the cube, in a grilled cheese, or their pizzas and mac n’ cheese! Chao Cheese by Field Roast is another good one, the Tomato Cayenne is delish.

Dairy Free Cream Cheese: Daiya

Gluten Free Frozen Waffles & Pancakes: Van’s Foods - these are great for a quick breakfast!

Crackers: Van’s Foods - especially the Fire Roasted Veggie ones!

This is not everything on the list as I don’t have all my faves in my pantry currently, but it’s a lot of top choices!

Dark Chocolate: Taza Chocolate, Endangered Species Chocolate, TJ’s 85% Dark Chocolate - Y’all know I LOVE my dark chocolate, the darker the better. Not all dark chocolate is made the same though! Some even has dairy in it. These are probably my top three choices or the ones I go to most often. Taza is local to me, which I love! I’ve even been to their factory. ES Chocolate is a great company to support and has delicious chocolate to boot. And when all else fails and you find yourself at Trader Joe’s, their 85% dark is such a winner.

Condiments: Sir Kensington’s - While not really a gluten/dairy free grocery item, I couldn’t leave them off this list. I swear by their mayos and ketchup! The chipotle mayo is the best of the best.

Bread: Rudi’s, Canyon Bakehouse, TJ’s GF Bread - Again, gluten free bread can be a personal preference and very polarizing. But I love these brands. The bread may be small due to the lack of rising with gluten free flours, but the taste is large!

Wraps: TJ’s Brown Rice Wraps - Finding a good gluten free wrap is basically impossible, cause no matter what they always split and fall apart, but with these the key is to microwave for 30 sec after running under faucet and shaking off excess water. It holds together fairly well with this direction and tastes quite good!

Snack Foods: Bobo’s bites, TJ’s GF Pretzels, Emmys Organics, TJ’s ABC Bars - I could go on and on, but these are some great top options!

Dairy Free Ice Cream: Haagan-Dasz Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle, Cado Ice Cream, TJ’s chocolate coconut milk ice cream, DF Halo Top, Coconut Bliss - There are A LOT of dairy free ice creams out there. Many others are good as well! But these are some top choices.

Vegan Protein powder: Orgain and MRM Veggie Elite - personal preference comes into play here, but these are good, less grainy options!

Pasta: Banza, TJs Brown Rice Pasta - If chickpeas don’t bother your gut, Banza is awesome! And the Trader Joe’s brand brown rice pasta is an affordable classic option.

Meats & Sausages: Aidell’s and Applegate Naturals - These are delicious natural meat options!

Cereal: Rice Krispies, Rice & Corn Chex, Puffins, Envirokid’s - Cereal is a big one! The plain rice and corn options are classics, I being a lover of simple cereals. But Puffin’s and EnviroKidz are options that have a little more flair and flavor!

Rice Cakes: Lundberg’s - Rice Cakes should be crispy and flavorful, these are the best of the best. No other brand I’ve had (and I’ve had a lot) comes close. The “Thin Stackers” are my personal favorite.

Box cake: King Arthur Flour chocolate cake, Simple Mills chocolate cake - Gluten Free cakes are going to be denser than a regular cake, for that reason I love these two. It’s like eating a fudge cake. So. GOOD. King Arthur is probably my top choice - less crumbly.

So there you have it! Feel free to comment below and leave your preferences. I will continue to update this list as I taste test more and more.