I got my latest Trader Joe's "Fearless Flyer" in the mail today. There are four - count them - FOUR gluten free items featured throughout the pages!

1. Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
2. Homestyle Pancakes (also dairy-free!)
3. Gluten Free Brownie Mix
4. Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

All describe how yummy they are and flaunt that they are gluten-free!

Take THAT, wheat-obsessed world!

The pancakes are very good - I used to eat them before I went soy & egg free.
My daughter adores them, which is good since she'll probably being going gluten free soon.

I tried the brownie mix last weekend, using Ener-G egg replacer too. The flavor was great, but after
they cooled they were SO hard to chew. And I think the recipe calls for too much oil too, as they
were very oily on the bottoms & tops. But, the chocolate flavor was GREAT!

Hooray for Trader Joe's!

I saw this and figured you guys were in CA.................Boo Hoo............The east coast just doesn't get the great products you do.......... but happy for you.....
Judy in Philly

We have been eating the Peanut Butter Cookies for months --- they are AWESOME. Better right out of the oven than saved but since they are 12 separate cookies... it is easy just to bake what you want.

Anyone tried the walnut cookies? what section are they in?

Judy
I am glad you said this because I constantly go into Trader Joe's and feel like I am missing the aisle which has these products....I thought it was me this whole time. It must be that our TJ's do not stock the gluten-free merchandise (I'm in NJ).

Deb

Okay where were the cookies located????

I cooked the brownie mix last night. For only $2.99 it was great! I added ground flax seed, gluten-free oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, peanut butter chips, applesauce instead of oil and threw in a little coconut. Very good and I like the multi-grain texture. This way I can convince myself they are almost health food.

HI DEB
I'm glad you wrote too.
If you pull up the gluten-free TJ's east and west coast lists on line it's amazing the difference
When i first stated gluten-free over 2 1/2 years ago..........i couldn't have done it with out my chiro and TJ telling me what to buy

I've seen our local managers keep changing and less and less gluten-free products on the shelf and less knowledge of training of employees. Some don't know gluten-free at all now. They were saying it's not big sellers. AMAZING................ i DON'T go as much as i used to. Do you go to whole foods?
i haven't been there yet but go to Wegmanns on occasion.
there is one health food store that is trying to bring in foods for me. The other HF store..has allot of gluten free foods but the mark up in price is just obscene.

The Tj's in Pittsburgh has a fairly nice gluten-free list. Judy I would have thought Philly would be better but i guess not.......

we dont have any near Harrisburg.

I wondered if I should have put Philly b/c I really live in a suburb Media and we have a little tiny TJ's there may be a big one in Philly itself. sorry i miss lead you.
When i went to CA around Long Beach somewhere........we went to a huge one with so many gluten-free products.........wow the difference.

I just think my area is left in the cold....

Did you happen to notice the "Tortilla Chips with an Identity Crisis?"

One part potato, one part corn, one part brown rice, and all parts flavorful

They're also gluten free and low in sodium.

I haven't tried them, but they sound "interesting"

I've had the Tortilla Chips with an Identity Crisis. Like them a lot! They seem to have a hint of sweetness for my taste, but my brother who can eat any thing said they "taste like normal chips".

I actually just ate one. They are really good! You can find them in the baked good section right next to the gluteny cookies.

The chocolate walnut cookies are great..I also use them for pie crusts

Good idea!!!

The walnut cookies are REALLY good, in my opinion. They'd be even better with no eggs though, lol.

ah! The Whole Foods nearest me is actually gearing up to relocate about a mile closer to me to a bigger facility. But this is making it so that there's less stock to choose from. They keep rotating the gluten-free with normal gluten products. Then I'll go back months later after I found somwhere else to buy it from, and "poof" they have it again...I can't count on them for consistency. I still do too much internet buying of my dry goods. WF barely have any gluten-free frozen foods - like Amy's stuff & other newer stuff. The next Whole Foods to me is a 40 minute drive. I'd go, but my husband shakes his head "no." Wegman's is a 40 minute drive in the opposite direction. Trader Joe's is a joke unless you want wine and gluteny bread and cheese and frozen gluteny Hors' oderves for 100 people.

I am in area of state that has no new construction (unless it's for a hardware store - you know what I mean ) No new stores like Kohl's or even some of those restauants with gluten free food.
I think there's two dynamics going on here: 1) We are too close to NYC so land outside of the inner city area is too expensive and no one wants to invest that kind of money in a store if it isn't a sure thing, and 2) I am too close to 2 inner cities and crime is another issue. Whole Foods isn't taking a gamble because they have a built-up clientele and that small store is always crowded. But WF has no competition in our area...I'd love Wild Oats to open shop in northern Union County and give WF a run for their money...

Look for the Trader Joe's brand Gluten Free Granolas too. They have 3, Cranberry Maple Nut, Loaded Fruit & Nut, and a Tropical Fruit and Nut. I like the maple best, the others have some coconut that I am not as fond of as a flavor. These are also dairy free. I was shocked when I wandered through the cereals aisle and found these.

Well, I guess I am about as east coast as you can get here on Long Island and I am very disappointed in Trader Joe's. The gluten free items are very few and far apart here in our stores. I am not sure how many stores there are on the island, I have been to 2 different one's, on ein Commack and one in the Smithtown area, over that way anyways. The Commack store is nicer, but I am not thrilled with either. I never like when they mix the gluten free food in with the non gluten free food and I find that often too. I asked about ricecakes there, pathetic!

I have not been to Whole Foods yet. I think there is a new one in Stony Brook, if it has opened.

I am in the same boat as you, location wise. The new stores they are building are Targets or things like that. We just got a Wegmans in the fall. Thankfully I had been to other ones. But the nearest Whole Foods or Trader Joes is near Philly which is almost 2 hours from me depending. I have been to Whole Foods in Baltimore before, the parking was horrible and the in store experience was worse.....two many shoppers not enough room and no one was very polite. It was very overwhelming for a new person. I really enjoyed their gluten Free Bake House products but with gas being sky-high it is not worth the drive.

Don't hold your breath, Whole Foods bought out Wild Oats. Last time I was in our Wild Oats, I noticed new signage that had both names.


I'm in the midwest . . . I've heard people raving about TJ's on this sight. The one that is closest to me (about a 25 minute drive) is very disappointing. I can't find anything. Last time I was there, I only bought four things. It wasn't worth the drive . . . so apparently we're hanging with the east coast crowd as far as selection/variety goes.

The TJs in Devon has a pretty good selection. At least they did. Haven't been there in awhile. You might try there.

Kimberton Whole Foods (not the same as Whole Foods) has a really good selection of gluten-free products and they're very gluten knowledgable. They even color-code the price tags on the shelves to indicate whether a product contains gluten or not.

Whole Foods is ok. Only been to the one down on Lancaster Ave in Devon/Wayne. Overcrowded and hate having to hunt for my products. Its fun if you want to combine bumper cars with a scavenger hunt. Want to check out the one in Montgomeryville to see if its any better.

The bumper car analogy pretty much sums up how I felt at the Baltimore Whole Foods. I guess I had the wrong idea going into the store. I expected it to be like health food stores around me or like Wegmans in the sense it would have its own little gluten free area....and that was not the case. So when I couldn't find anything and people were pretty rude that I was in the way...clearly I was lost!

Slllluuurrrrrrp! Those pancakes are GREAT! They are my new bestest favouritest food. Here comes the sugar wagon! I quit eating pancakes years ago when I found out I was hypoglycemic but I picked up TJ's frozen pancakes and they sat in my freezer and I finally tried them lately and now I'm out and going to get more before our snowstorm (Chicago) moves in full blast today. And I nuke them,not a toaster. Well, lots of sugar with the cakes and syrup but hey, they've got 5 (count them!)
grams of protein per serving. Our TJ's in Batavia,Il didn't have the choc/walnut cookies last time I checked. They keep the gluten-free ginger cookies (which I love) on the shelf above the fridge and freezer sections, not in a special cooky section. I am enthused that TJ's seems to be picking up again on the gluten-free stuff, after putting all of their disclaimers on other stuff.....I'm not willing to chance eating items that are made on the same equip as wheat items. Okay, I'm done! Yall have a great day! Angel

TJ has stock that comes and goes. Some of it is seasonal, some is just part of their normal business cycle. I always try to stock up when I find something I really, really like.

BTW: On the W. Coast they have a flyer listing all their gluten free products located on a display. Those of you on the E. Coast might want to look for that flyer. They do mix all their gluten free stuff in with the gluten stuff so it can be hard to spot.

I'll have to ask for that flyer next time I am in there....I've been in there several times and poured through each aisle - literally stood there and scanned the shelves to the point like I appeared to be a distributor searching for a place to put their products....if gluten-free foods are in there they are in hiding. But the wine dept. is huge!

Someone wrote that there was no TJs in PHilly. And I think another person responded, but here is a PA list:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&...mp;om=1&z=7

Also, the Florham Park NJ TJs is awesome. TJ brand soups are wonderful and gluten free. There are so gluten-free taquitos at this TJ, and a wonderful Cheesecake like frozen
dessert. Just ask them to print out a sheet of gluten-free products for there store. Ours has about 6-7 pages of products.

The Trader Joe's in Plainview has a decent selection of gluten-free stuff. However, if you're going to drive all the way out to Plainview (it sounds like you're in Suffolk County?) you may just want to head to Fairway- they have an awesome collection of gluten-free products! I do most of my shopping there, but for the few items TJ's carries, it's cheaper than Fairway.

Here's what I get at Trader Joe's:

almond meal
assorted nuts for snacking on
ginger snaps (not always in my budget, but always on the shelf)
rice cakes (used to buy them at Fairway but I just saw them at TJ's today for less than I've been spending)
milk, eggs, butter, cheeses, some fresh veggies
coconut milk
tuna
rice pasta
tomato sauce
baking yeast
mayo
(they carry the gluten-free brownie mix but that's not in my budget)

At Fairway, I get xanthan gum and rice flour,(plus kosher meats, kosher grape juice, fresh produce, frozen lemon juice, assorted junk for my kids....) but there are TONS of prepared foods and mixes available- but I keep it simple and less expensive by buying just the basics.

I also get baking powder, corn starch, sugar, etc. at whatever store I'm in when I realize I'm running low.

Hi Jerseygrl
I think I said i didn't live in philly but thought there was one there.
thanks so much for the map. it will help alot of folks. that was kind of you
I think the BIG PROBLEM for me in Media is that this store is small.........most of the gluten-free foods have soy which i can't have and the gluten-free products that are there are very slim from what they used to carry and ...........most say 'processed in a plant that bla bla bla. These just aren't safe for me.
My store used to carry the print outs.
Now they do not.
The people who were so helpful have been transfered out to Devon etc.
They have stated that gluten-free just isn't in demand there............

well since they have the best prices, i'm forced to shop at the health food stores and pay the big $$.

I've taken in the web site lists and they aren't in the store. I've pleaded to please add more gluten-free free but the management just isn't interested and I'm tired of calling corporate.

So I've given it a good shot and just not willing to keep knocking my head against the wall till they get a new manager.
thanks again for the post.
might try some other stores with a bigger stock.
The 'disclaimer' on the products is a big problem for me, i must say again.
judy

Just saw gluten-free brownie mix for first time in CT Trader Joe's (very tasty, subbed butter for oil & whole milk for water, yum).

Westport CT store seems to be gradually adding or at least highlighting gluten-free items. In general their allergy labeling is pretty comprehensive, usually mentions what the plant processes & what else is processed on the same equipment.

Our local grocery store now has a gluten-free section within its recently expanded natural foods aisle - WholeFoods is building a new store nearby, guess they're getting ready? Our independent local health food store, Mrs. Green's, has the widest selection of gluten-free (especially if measured relatively to size of store!)

Also at Trader Joe's several (but not all) of the Indian pre-cooked side dishes seem to be gluten-free -- no wheat/barley/rye ingredients, not made in a plant that processes wheat, no reaction from me after eating

Trader Joe's always has the best snacks... filled with Gluten or not! LOL

[quote name='Judyin Philly' date='Feb 22 2008, 12:05 AM' post='400935']
I saw this and figured you guys were in CA.................Boo Hoo............The east coast just doesn't get the great products you do.......... but happy for you.....
Judy in Philly
[/quote

I live on the east coast as well. I emailed trader joes about 2 months ago, looking for their brown rice flour tortillas, they first said they would forward the email on to the buyer in mass, then i called and was told i need to call my local tj's and keep requesting it. tuesday's they put in their request from shoppers for stuff added to the store. i just received the tj's flyer for winter 2008 and they added the gluten free brownie mix. in my area,it's a start. today i was told by the store manager we need alot of people on the east coast requesting certain items and they will purchase them. i am asking my friends and family to nag my local tj's. i have two in my area. so maybe if everyone on the east coast wants the same goods as the gals in the CA we have to keep calling. good luck.

I go to the WF in Montgomeryville--it's very nice