Gluten-free find of the week / 10-20-10

Over the past couple of years, I've been able to try a couple - possibly three - gluten-free beef jerkys. Most mainstream brands of these items contain regular soy sauce which contains wheat. I forgot to write down the brands I tried in the past, but do know I didn't care for any of them enough to buy twice. Shelton's makes some gluten-free jerky but I've not tried any from that line before.

It helps me avoid making the same mistake twice if I write down items I like - and don't - so I can keep track of it all. Nothing is more aggravating that coming home with something I forgot I already tried and didn't like. When I taste it again, the previous taste test comes back to me clearly. Ugh...I don't want to think about how much money I've wasted doing that.

While shopping at my fave store Natural Foods Warehouse (Duluth) recently, I was already checking out when I turned around and noticed a display of jerky. Just for the heck of it, I went over to read the ingredients and was tickled to find the words "gluten free" right on the front of the bag. Luckily, the check out person  had not completed ringing my stuff up yet so I threw a bag of jerky on the counter. I don't always like having to count on something like tuna or peanut butter for protein when I get caught in a jam when traveling. A good tasting gluten-free jerky would give me another option for such times.

The Golden Valley Natural website has two different types of gluten-free beef jerky listed and each is available in several flavors. There doesn't seem to be a gluten-free product list anywhere on the site, but I could be missing it. In the photo above, the text on the left top says gluten-free, though you can't make it out to well from this website shot. At the store, I bought the Organic Teriyaki Beef and I think it was around $6.50 (the receipt has gone missing). This jerky is hands down the best gluten-free jerky I've tried to date. This will be a staple in my travel foods section in the pantry - no doubt!

Since it's not a liquid, the jerky should get a pass for carry-ons bags at airline security, though I won't get to test that theory until some time next year. In addition to being gluten-free, the jerky is free of a few other things I like to avoid as well:  (I don't even know what erythorbate is, but it sounds like something I should avoid!)  


Certified ORGANIC Beef Jerky /Beef Raised Without Added Hormones or Antibiotics / Gluten-Free / No Preservatives No Added MSG / NO Nitrite / NO Erythorbate / NO Artificial Ingredients / Only Minimally Processed (excerpt from the Golden Natural Valley website)


My husband was running low on lunch stuff last week and took some of my jerky to supplement his meal. He returned home and reported that he really liked it. In fact, I let him finish off the bag over the weekend because he liked it so much!

p.s. My other find of the week was at Publix yesterday. All Progresso soups were 4 for $5 or $1.25 each. That's over a $1 off per can so I bought 10 cans of my favorites including, Chicken and Corn Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Chicken with Vegetables, Lentil, and Chicken & Cheese Enchilada. For a complete list of the gluten-free options in the line, check out the Live Gluten Freely website. This sale will end soon (if it hasn't already).