Friday, March, 08, 2013
On a recent ski trip, we spent just enough time in Denver for me to snag a few of my favorite cookies, have an amazing breakfast and visit a store I had heard great things about on-line but had not visited in person, Nooch.
Did you know I really dig nutritional yeast? It’s my favorite popcorn topping. When I reduced the amount of dairy in my diet, nutritional yeast became even more important than a popcorn topping, although those are pretty important here. It’s wonderful in anything that needs a cheesy flavor and contains the elusive B12 for those of us who consume few or no animal products. We might as well buy 50 gallon barrels of the stuff. Yes, we call it Nooch. I can’t think of a more clever name for a vegan market than Nooch, the slang term for nutritional yeast.
Nooch is a deceptively tiny corner store near downtown. I say deceptively because the store is packed to the gills with so many wonderful products!
Not even far enough inside for the door to close us, I had already spotted Bearded Brothers bars. On the same shelf were some terrific dairy-free candy bars that I had not tried before. Also, Primal Strips and some goodies from Hail Merry!
I also scored raw nut cheese from Punk Rawk Labs. I hear chatter of this cheese often but had never tried it before. I’m writing a separate post about it soon. All you really need to know is it is AMAZING.
My favorite find at Nooch was Kolat nut butters. The Espresso Hazelnut is divine and appealed to the fella, who is chocolate hazelnut fan and rabid consumer of all that is coffee. If you like some variation of Nutella and a cup of joe, try this. While it doesn’t contain chocolate, it hits the same flavor notes and is a healthier option than most chocolate hazelnut spreads.
Between me and my favorite fella, we loaded up our basket, (warning: profanity in photo below) with enough snacks to last a couple of days. I was able to find lots of gluten-free goodies I was familiar with as well as many I had never seen before. It was also nice to know everything was dairy-free, one less red light for me to look for while shopping.
I got a fun new shopping bag (just in case someone asks me where I get my protein…since that never happens!) and had a nice chat with the folks working there. Really terrific people and a great little store full of lots of yummy goodness.
As we were leaving, the Waffleganger food trailer was parking out front. I hear the folks at Nooch often save a space for a vegan food truck. You might check their Facebook page before visiting to see if there’s a food truck visit planned! While most of them don’t fit my dietary challenges, had we been an hour later, the fella would have indulged in some Waffleganger goodness.
Nooch is located at 3360 Larimer Street in Denver, Colorado. 720-328-5324
Shop with: confidence. Read labels as you always would. (I bought a candy bar that contained no gluten but was manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, use the same caution as in any store.) That said, I found the staff here very knowledgeable and friendly so ask away if you want to know more about a product or need help locating something.
Wednesday, February, 27, 2013
I occasionally share “I Ate Here” posts of restaurants where I have dined. By request, I am adding more to this series, as well as “I Shopped Here” and “I Drank here” posts to help y’all have an even more fabulous time living a healthy, gluten-free life!
When I am teaching cooking classes, my students often say, “Trader Joe’s should sponsor you!” in response to my frequent plugs for their products. I do buy quite a few items from Trader Joe’s and was a customer before there were stores in Kansas City. I would pack an extra suitcase if I was traveling to a city with Trader Joe’s and on a few occasions, made trips to St. Louis to re-stock the pantry. Once I even saw Elvis shopping at Trader Joe’s in Las Vegas.
Folks who haven’t shopped at Trader Joe’s ask me why, what’s the big deal? For me, the big deal is primarily cost. I can buy dried fruit and nuts for a fraction of the price at the supermarket. Organic produce is often priced similarly to conventional produce elsewhere. Ingredients are a big deal to me, I never have to worry about artificial colors or HFCS in products at Trader Joe’s.
There are a fair number of gluten-free products in the store and many products are labeled g+, which means no gluten ingredients used. As with any store, please read the labels carefully! Although many of these products do not contain gluten ingredients, they are manufactured in a shared facility that does use wheat. You know your body well, buy only those products you feel safe consuming.
Below is a list of the products I most frequently buy at Trader Joe’s. I’ve created the list aisle-by-aisle to help you easily locate the items. If you have a healthy, gluten-free product you buy at Trader Joe’s that isn’t on the list, please leave a comment below. Let’s help each other shop!
Produce
- Organic Romaine Hearts
- Organic Carrots
- Butternut Squash, cut into cubes
- Organic Blueberries
- Medjool Dates (almost hidden on the top shelf, half the price of most stores!)
- Super Firm Organic Tofu
- Organic Fruit is often very affordable, take a look to see what looks good!
Frozen Foods
- Organic Brown Rice Packets (I can cook rice quickly, but sometimes don’t plan well. Lifesaver for me!)
- Gluten-Free Pizza (read my review here)
- Gluten-Free Toaster Waffles (I don’t eat these often, but they are the best I have tried. And only $2!)
- Organic Frozen Veggies, offerings vary. In the Winter, I buy frozen Brussels sprouts here.
Bread Area
- Udi’s bread, buns and bagels
- PLEASE NOTE: I do not buy the brown rice tortillas at Trader Joe’s. See Gluten Free Watchdog reports for why.
Canned Foods Aisles
- Organic Diced Tomatoes
- Organic Crushed Tomatoes
- Organic Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Chiles
- Organic Black Beans
- Organic Tomato Paste
- Crushed Garlic in a jar (works great in a pinch if out of fresh garlic!)
- Roasted Red Peppers in a jar
- Pickle Relish (no HFCS!)
- Organic Marinara Sauce (only a few cents more than conventional, great price!)
- Pizza Sauce in a jar
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt in a grinder
- Cold Pressed Olive Oil
- Coconut Oil (To me, the Trader Joe’s brand has a distinct coconut flavor. If you don’t like coconut, buy a different brand.)
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Organic Coffee, many varieties!
- Raw Almond Butter
- Vegetable Broth in a box (regular and low-sodium varieties available)
- Applesauce Cups, unsweetened (each cup is 1/2 cup, which is great when a recipe calls for a small quantity.)
- Organic Pumpkin Puree (seasonal, stock up when you spot it!)
Pasta
- Brown Rice Fusili
- Brown Rice Penne
- Brown Rice Spaghetti
- Corn Penne
- Corn Spaghetti
Pantry Staples
- Gluten-Free Oats
- Almond Milk (Almond Breeze, same as supermarket, just a great price!)
- Chia Seeds (little purple bag, around $5)
- Raw Agave Nectar (I only recommend buying raw agave)
- Coarse Almond Meal (I don’t recommend this for fine crumb baking, like cakes, but this is wonderful for a rustic pizza crust.)
- Maple Syrup, Grade A and B are priced similarly and there is a Vermont-only bottle available.
Dried Fruits and Nuts
- Raw Sunflower Seeds
- Raw Pepitas/Pumpkin Seeds
- Pine Nuts (amazing price!)
- Raw Almonds
- Raw Cashews
- Raw Walnuts
- Macadamias
- Just Mango (dried, unsweetened mango slices)
- Nothing But Banana (I call this Flat Banana, dried banana leather)
- Dried Cherries, unsweetened (two varieties, Montmorency and Dark Sweet)
- Dried Peaches, unsweetened
- Dried Apple Rings, unsweetened
- Dried Apricots, (two varieties, standard and Turkish)
- Raisin medley (three pretty colors of plump raisins)
- Dried Baby Pineapple, unsweetened
- Sundried Tomatoes, NOT in oil, in a baggie (these are sometimes with dried fruit, sometimes with canned tomatoes)
Trader Joe’s has a No Gluten Ingredients Used list on their website. My list is not intended to provide a comprehensive list of all gluten-free products in the store, just the ones I use most. I hope this is a good resource for those of you cooking the recipes I share here on my blog and also those who attend my classes. When I first made dietary modifications, knowing where to get the goods was really helpful to me and I hope this helps you! Shop on, happy eaters…
