Gluten-Free Fall Items From Trader Joe’s That Will Change Your Life
By Noah Etoka
For people who are gluten-free like me, it can be tough to find items that meet our dietary needs year-round. By the time the fall season rolls around, the store shelves are filled with seasonal items that we can’t eat, and we’re left out of the fun. Thankfully, Trader Joe’s has been hard at work to make sure both you and me can enjoy the sweeter, spice filled side of autumn, at no cost to our digestive systems.
I’m here to give you the inside scoop on a seasonal gluten-free product I’ve found that has changed my life, for the better. Now, I am not exactly qualified to give food reviews. I’m not proud of it, but I am not one to cook. Like at all. I can fry an egg, make pasta, follow a relatively easy recipe, but that’s about it. Being gluten-free doesn’t help with this problem, either, as I’m really limited in what I can eat.
Still, I can’t survive on a diet that solely consists of gluten-free dinosaur nuggets (courtesy of Ralph’s). That’s why a couple of weeks ago I found myself searching the aisles at Trader Joe’s in the USC Village. I like to think that similar to my ancestors, I’m a hunter-gatherer—it’s just that I’m hunting for a pre-made frozen meal and gathering with a shopping cart. It’s the same, but different. I especially find joy in hunting down all the shiny new things they’ve come up with at headquarters. It makes a shopping trip just a little bit more enjoyable, as I consider wandering through the aisles to be a form of enrichment.
On this particular day while I made my rounds through the store, something caught my attention. It was a box of gluten-free pumpkin pancake mix. I had specifically been looking for items to get myself into the fall spirit. Shoppers with no dietary restrictions had already been presented with a mass of pumpkin spice themed products- they all looked incredible, and it was starting to feel unfair. You see, there’s only so many Trader Joe’s gluten-free pumpkin streusel muffins you can eat in a season. Those are delectable, large, moist, and everything a muffin should be. I could go on and on about them, but if you trust my judgment, try out any of the gluten-free muffin types they offer, like blueberry or cinnamon coffee cake. However, like any good thing, the enjoyment of those muffins had come to an end. Eventually you start to crave something else.
That craving was temporarily sated by the existence of Trader Joe’s gluten-free pumpkin bread & muffin baking mix. I’d used it for a Thanksgiving meal a while back and the quality had surprised me and even others who weren’t part of the gluten-free life. Definitely worth a try, but since I was already familiar with it, this year was time to move on.
At that point in my search, anything vaguely fall related that catered to my diet would have worked for me. So when my eyes landed on the box, I was overjoyed. This mix was different. It was new!
As I mentioned before, I am not great in the kitchen, so I tend to gravitate towards meals with simple recipes. I’m also naturally drawn to any item that says gluten-free, because there’s not much out there for us. This item checks both of those boxes.
The gluten-free pumpkin pancake mix is easy. And it tastes great! Clearly I am not one to wake up in the morning and cook a full Disney Channel breakfast. But these pancakes have been so good that I’ve woken up early multiple times to make them. For me it’s about a 30 minute process from box to plate. The pancake mix does have milk in it, so keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to dairy. The recipe is printed on the box and includes one egg, butter/oil, water, and of course, the mix. If you’re looking for simple breakfast ideas and can’t consume gluten, I highly recommend the gluten-free pumpkin pancake mix from Trader Joe’s (not a sponsor). Other items I’d recommend are their pumpkin butter and gluten-free pumpkin spice bagels. Both of these are very versatile, taste great, and fit within the gluten-free diet.
Although finding this gem was pure luck (and clever marketing), this wasn’t the first time I’d found an autumnal item that spoke to me. Two years ago, around the same time of year, I walked into Trader Joe’s and discovered the now discontinued gluten-free pumpkin bread. I was obsessed with pumpkin bread. I ate it with everything. I told my family and friends about it. I even bought an insane amount of extra loaves to keep in my freezer so that I could eat them through the winter…that pumpkin bread was my baby.
To this day, I think about my pumpkin bread. But it’s gone.
To make up for my loss, I like to think that the pancake mix is the perfect medium between baking the previously mentioned bread & muffin mix and getting my precious loaves back. It’s just enough work to feel satisfied at the end, and the reward is a stack of pancakes!
These are only a few of the treats that Trader Joe’s has to offer, and I have a feeling there are many more to be discovered. As more people learn about their dietary restrictions, it’s important to show stores the specific products we need. I can’t wait to see what the fall season in the next year brings to the pumpkin spice and gluten-free departments. Maybe I’ll even get back my precious pumpkin bread.
