Trader Joe's

I can not say enough good things about this store! In the past, I had gone down to Illinois to pick up some Two Buck Chuck and a few other items, but I didn't pay much attention to their food selection. Then, a couple of years ago, we finally got a Trader Joe's in Milwaukee. But, it's on the north side of town and I don't get up there all that often, either. When I went gluten-free, I was trying to taste a lot of different foods that were out there, to get an idea of what I liked. One of my coworkers suggested I check out Trader Joe's and I went on their website to see if they commented on a gluten-free selection. Not only did they comment on it, but they have a 7 page list of everything in their store that is gluten-free.

So, I made a trip up to the store to check out the products. See, while they had a lot of options for me, I was concerned a what they would cost. Gluten-free items at a regular grocery store seem to be obscenely priced, so I wasn't getting my hopes up until I saw some prices. I was very excited when I got there and found things reasonable as well. I was able to get a large bag of rotini-shaped rice pasta for a couple of bucks. Then I saw the holy grail- Gluten-free Mac N Cheese. It looks just like the Kraft- powder cheese and everything, but with rice pasta. Again only a couple of bucks for a box, so pretty good. I did make a couple of adjustments from the instructions- they don't call for any butter, but I added a little margarine, and I tossed on a little of the cheese powder that you can use on popcorn- with my tweaks, I would definitely say it is a rival to the Kraft, and I would know because I used to consider myself a connoisseur of macaroni and cheese. Anyway, I am a huge fan of Trader Joe's now. I'm taking a trip up there this weekend again to stock up on stuff, can't wait!