Trish M

Does anybody know of any in Auckland?

I don't know if any Manc ex-pats know of a shop in Chorlton called Unicorn? I go about once a month & stock up on gluten-free grains (so I can make my porridge), eco washing stuff & organic toiletries. I actually used to go with Zara's Aunty before she went back to NZ. I'm just wondering if there's anything like that in Auckland?

scrubbedexpat094

Found this by googling

www.glutenfreegrocer.co.nz/categories. Don't know if it's any good.

Most of the supermarkets have a fairly good range of gluten free staples.

barnsleymat

Our local Pak n Save (Lincoln Rd) has a Gluten Free section next to the British section.

waikatoguy

I'm gluten free myself but live in Hamilton. There's a shop here called Village Organics (in Frankton) which sells all types of gluten free and organic stuff. Also, as BarnsleyMat said, most supermarkets have a gluten free section now. There's also a bread out on the market now, a line of the Vogels brand, which is made at their dedicated gluten free factory, which actually tastes and feels like real bread (rather than cardboard). You can also buy gluten free muesli, rice flakes (which is what I eat for breakfast over some pears) and stuff too. And you can get rice and corn pasta, gluten free sauces etc etc ..... The only problem is that gluten free stuff ends up costing more because of the size of the market. But the market for it is growing all the time.

P.S. For washing powder I use the eco-store brand, which can be found at most supermarkets.

Trish M

I try to avoid the glutenfree sections of supermarkets as I think they just charge extra to put 'glutenfree' on items! (I checked the countdown website!)
I make my porridge from rice, millet & quinoa flakes,it would probably cost me double if I bought the ready made stuff (which doesn't contain quinoa).
I also buy buckwheat flakes and puffed rice which are naturally glutenfree and do not contain any sugar or other crap that they put in breakfast cereals nowadays.
Oh well, I'll just accept that it's going to cost me a whole lot more for my stuff when I do come over.

waikatoguy

I know what you mean. Luckily I'm not a celiac and just choose to be free of gluten because it makes me feel better for some reason. So I'm not reliant on everything being totally gluten free.
I sometimes buy Hubbard's rice flakes, which have quinoa in them and according to the packet are sweetened with fruit juice.

Try these websites Trish.
http://www.organicexplorer.co.nz/sho...ail+Store.html

Some Auckland shops there.

jmh

I agree Trish. I react to gluten and wheat so try to avoid the stuff. Pretty easy once you get over the need to eat bread. I make pikelets from buckwheat flour which I get from New World.

I have eaten some supposedly gluten/wheat free products in the past and still had a reaction, so not sure what is happening there. However I've tried a couple of the expensive loaves in the supermarket and they have not been too bad. Sometimes it's nice to have a slice occasionally but you have to be careful that it's not packed full of other nasties. I saw the vogels gf in Countdown and saw that they had soy in them - another nasty that people need to avoid if they value their thyroid function.

Trish, my experience where I live is that there is a pretty good selection of the items you mention - New World seems better stocked than Countdown in this regard.

I get flouride free toothpaste from New World, organic additive free shampoo from Countdown and as Waikato guy says Eco washing stuff is available at both.

derab

Bisto traditional gravy is GF (the instant stuff in the tubs) but not the onion or chicken varieties. Countdown own brand Beans are GF, the Heinz / Watties / SPC ones are not. but on the whole, once you get used to reading the labels, its fairly easy to shop GF in NZ. sometimes the packet stuff is a bit dearer ($2 approx for chicken gravy, single serve sachet for example) but on the whole, the GF scene is much more mainstream here than it is in the west island (OZ).
and with the number of farmers markets there seem to be all over the place (at least in ChCh) the organic option is also pretty achievable.