<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hello listmates,

Last week, just before a trip to Costco, I put out a call for advice from
experienced shoppers as to what to buy there that is GF. I got 16 responses,
pretty great for a last minute request, thank you all so much! Two people
who wrote asked me to summarize, so here goes:

For anyone who doesn't know, Costco is a massive warehouse kind of store
with everything from clothes, electronics, car tires, toys, books and
cleaning supplies to our favorite topic: food! They sell food in mostly huge
quantities, but not in bulk. There is a big section of fresh meat, fish and
fowl, as well as a fresh produce section and a deli. The store sells a lot
of name brand things and has its own, Kirkland, brand, too. You have to be a
paying member or go with a member to shop there.

Of course, there are the obvious choices for many of us: fresh fruits and
veggies, meats, fish, cheeses, frozen veggies in huge bags and big packages
of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and other nuts. (One of the best deals I
saw was a three-pound bag of almonds for $5)

But listmates wrote with their own favorites:

Many people recommended the store brand vitamins, calcium, etc. and several
noted that the store sells Balance protein bars, some of which they said are
GF.

Others said Kirkland hams (removing the glaze packet), the take-out BBQ
chicken and spareribs and rotisserie chicken were good and GF.

Several mentioned Kozy Shack pudding, McCormick spices and Dinty Moore beef
stew.

Other recommendations: their 4 bean salad in a large glass jar,
TGIFridays foods in the freezer (stuffed potato), frozen shrimp and
salmon, refrigerated ham slices, breakfast sausage and other sausages,
Hunt's pudding cups, chocolate covered raisins, delimex taquitos, smoked
salmon, peeled garlic in the refrig dept, Colombian coffee beans,
Chicken of the Sea albacore tuna and salmon, Tropicana oj, olive oil,
dates, Snickers, Butterfinger and Hershey bars, M&M candies (crunch
variety not gf), maple syrup, Heinz ketchup, Tony Roma's barbecue sauce,
Del Monte canned tomato products, Kirkland automatic dishwasher
detergent, Kirkland laundry detergent, original flavor only of the beef
jerky, Classico or Paul Newman's spaghetti sauce, tiger milk bars and
the Kirkland fruit and nut mix. One person said they saw a box for Van's
Waffles but couldn't find them in the freezer.

One writer from Canada said the Vidalia onion salad dressing is "incredible"
but usually only available in season, from May-June, and that person also
recommended the Grimm's European wieners, chicken, turkey sausages, noting
that they said GF on the label.

One thing I did notice was that on the Kirkland snack items that I looked
at, they showed an ingredients list and also a list alerting people with
allergies to possible problem ingredients, like peanuts or wheat. I thought
that was great (they were trying, at least) and when I saw "wheat" I knew it
was out for me, but it doesn't really cover our whole situation, considering
I've seen a lot of things that say "wheat free" but contain barley or other
problem grains.

Anyway, now for the mystery:  Many people who wrote talked about the great
GF crackers that Costco carries. Some said they couldn't remember the name,
others called them CrunchMaster. One said they were corn-based, others
described them as rice crackers, the best ever. One writer said this: "They
are the best rice crackers I've had and I have only found them at Costco.
They are $4.99 for a 4 pack - 2 sesame and 2 cheese."

You can believe I went looking for them. I scoured the store, but these
tasty morsels eluded me. I found the big jars of dried fruits and nuts, a
sort of granola without the oats. They looked fine; I read the label. It did
not have a wheat allergy flag and appeared to be safe. But I didn't think it
was a big bargain and opted not to get them. Next to them was a similar mix,
but it had tiny rice crackers in it. This mix was a Kirkland brand. I
wondered if this was the same rice cracker that listmates had raved about. I
read the label and it said the mix contained WHEAT. So........I knew that
couldn't be what these listmates were talking about, so I went to the
cashier, who directed me to the member services counter. I asked about
CrunchMaster rice crackers. The woman there did a computer search and found
nothing with CrunchMaster and no rice crackers at all. She said the only
reference was with the fruit and nut mixes, which I had already seen. Still
not satisfied, I went looking for someone stocking shelves. I found a worker
who had helped me find something else earlier in my trip and seemed to have
a clue about where things were and asked him about CrunchMaster or any sort
of rice cracker. He said they had no such product, absolutely nothing like
that.

At that point, I gave up, disappointed. Maybe this particular store, in
Waterbury, Conn., doesn't carry them. I'd love to hear from anyone whose
luck is different, especially nearby.

As for me, I had fun with my friend and I went home with 12 pounds of
almonds, six pounds of walnuts, two and a half pounds of peants, almost four
pounds of Nestle chocolate chips (a good deal at about $8), four pounds of
shredded cheese and six pounds of butter (another great buy, three pounds
for $5.29). I spent $80 on all that fat! Guess you know it'll be a tasty
winter at my house! I didn't have freezer space for frozen veggies or meat
and I ran out of money anyway, but I will go back.

Thanks again to everyone who wrote with ideas. I hope this helps someone
else!

Jackie