Things we love to buy

Get the Heritage loaves. Most gluten-free bread comes in tiny slices, and these are wider, so you can make a real sandwich that still holds together at noon.

This is our everyday loaf. It's soft enough that a kid doesn't notice it's different, and that's most of the battle.

Good if you tolerate oats. Make sure you're buying the certified gluten-free line, because ordinary oats get contaminated at the mill.

Warm one and it actually opens into a pocket instead of shattering. Almost no gluten-free pita does that. The wraps roll up without cracking too.

They're thin enough to toast properly and they hold cream cheese without collapsing. They're vegan too, if you need that on top of gluten free.

The texture and flavor are good, especially lightly toasted. The ciabatta rolls take heavy fillings that would destroy a weaker bread.

Most people treat this as the gold standard. It's an Italian corn and rice blend that stays al dente, and you'd struggle to tell it from wheat pasta.

It's 100% brown rice, made in a dedicated facility. It keeps its chew and doesn't go gritty or mushy in the fridge, so it's the one we use for cold pasta salads. The farfalle and fusilli hold dressing better than the long shapes.

This is the affordable everyday backup, and almost every grocery store has it. Stir it a bit more than you would wheat pasta so it doesn't clump.

Plenty of households prefer these to the wheat version. They're extra crunchy and they never taste dusty.

These were built for schools. They're certified gluten free using purity protocol oats and free from the top allergens, so they're safe to send into a classroom.

These are the closest thing to a Ritz. They're buttery and they don't shatter, so they work for a homemade lunchable with meat and cheese.

They've got real crunch and flavor, especially the sea salt. They hold up to a heavy dip instead of snapping in half.

This is the flavor that gets eaten without any negotiation. It's the same allergen-friendly line as the Minis, so it clears most school rules.

Good for an adult box, or an older kid who needs lunch to hold them until the afternoon. It tastes like a candy bar, and that's the point.

These are store-brand and cheap, and that matters when gluten-free treats usually cost triple. They fill the sweet slot in a lunchbox.

This is the single most useful swap in the pantry. Regular soy sauce is brewed with wheat, so one bottle of this gets you sushi, rice bowls, noodles and marinades back. The reduced sodium version behaves the same in cooking.

Seaweed is naturally gluten free. With full sheets in the pantry, hand rolls and onigiri become a weeknight lunch instead of a project.

It's the base for chicken salad, tuna, egg salad and potato salad, and that covers a lot of the batch-cook lunches. Read the label every time, even once it is the jar you always buy.

People assume ketchup is fine, and it usually is, but brands vary. Pick one bottle you've checked, and still read it when you buy it again.

Plain rice is the safest base in the kitchen. Cook a big pot and it carries bowls, onigiri and fried rice through the week.

They nailed these. They taste the same as the original, and that's a bigger deal than it sounds if you're a kid who just wants a normal cookie.

It's certified gluten free and dairy free, and you can eat it raw from the fridge or bake it. We always keep some in.

They're known for frozen donuts, toaster pastries and soft cakes. Keep them in the freezer, then microwave for a few seconds to bring the bakery texture back.

This is what we buy for the savory cravings. The potstickers, egg rolls and mozzarella sticks are all certified gluten free and made in certified facilities.