Birmingham’s Best Eats: Going gluten-free in Birmingham

Organic Harvest in Hoover has the best selection
of gluten-free groceries in the Birmingham area.
Photos by Sean Kelley.

By Sean Kelley

Finding gluten-free alternatives to breads and pastas hasn’t always been easy for Birmingham residents with celiac disease or wheat allergies. When our son was diagnosed in 2008 with a wheat allergy, we struggled to find gluten-free options, making most of his baked goods from scratch.

But going gluten-free in the Magic City is finally becoming easier.

Area supermarkets carry some gluten-free packaged and frozen foods as well as gluten-free flours and baking mixes from Bob’s Red Mill and Pamela’s Products. Often, we buy our pancake and bread mixes at Publix and rice noodles from Walmart.

For a better selection, we visit Whole Foods in Mountain Brook, which has its own selection under its Gluten-Free Bakehouse label. We also shop at two locally owned stores: Golden Temple in Five Points South and Hoover, for rice bread in the freezer and baking mixes on the shelves; and Organic Harvest in Hoover, with the most extensive line of products, including cereals, cookies and breads.

Gluten-free mixes for baked goods fill the shelves
at Organic Harvest.

Organic Harvest also offers gluten-free wraps in its cafe, one of a few restaurants with true alternatives. Several chains in town do offer gluten-free menus, such as Firebirds, Mellow Mushroom and P.F. Chang’s.

Mellow Mushroom offers a gluten-free crust on its menu.

We took our son to Mellow Mushroom’s Southside location recently for a Hawaiian pizza. The restaurant began offering a gluten-free crust this year.

“We’re all eating the same pizza,” he remarked.

For a kid who often doesn’t get to eat the same food as everyone else, having another option was quite a treat.

Have a gluten-free favorite in the Birmingham area? Share it in the comments below.

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Also:

• Birmingham Celiac Disease Support Group
• Urbanspoon’s list of gluten-free restaurants in Birmingham.

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Sean Kelley (@seankelley) is a Birmingham health writer and food lover as well as writer, editor and online content manager for Everwell.

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Hungry for more? Check out the menu of Birmingham’s Best Eats!

Posted: Monday, August 16, 2010, 12:05 am, in B'ham, Food, Hoover.
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