GFTogether

Tips for eating gluten free in Vancouver/ Canada

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I have now been living here for 4 months and I have learnt a LOT about navigating a gluten free diet here already. One thing I would say is, I took the UK for granted when it came to supermarkets and gluten free food. I definitely am missing the UK's supermarkets and way of doing gluten free!

I thought I would put together some tips as to how to navigate being gluten free in Canada as I wish someone had told me the differences and where to be extra precautious. So, whether you're just visiting for a holiday, moving here on a visa, or moving here permanently here is some advice.

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Gluten Free/Free From Isles do not exist! You will find the gluten free alternative in the isle of that product with all of the gluten containing items/normal items. This makes sense as it could be easier to find things. But, when I am so used to going to one place to grab all my gluten free essentials it takes a while to get used to this. Furthermore, I find that it increases the risks/chances of picking up the wrong item! And it can be harder to find things, as you don't know the brands or what is gluten free and if it isn't labelled clearly on the front as gluten free you will miss items. It took me a while to discover gluten free Oreos over here, which were with the other Oreos!
Labelling, in the UK we are great for clear labelling! Here, I have realised that they don't tend to put ingredients in BOLD, like the UK does. So, when reading labels I have messed up and missed out on the words wheat and barley as I am so used to seeing them in bold. I also look at the may contain too and I managed to eat crisps which weren't a may contain gluten because they did contain it but my eyes completely missed this and I ate them and then suffered the consequences. So, it taught me to READ and READ AGAIN the labels.
Bread, in the UK you don't tend to find gluten free bread in the frozen isles unless its garlic bread. Over here, you will often find bread to be in the freezer section rather than with the bread. This can be seen as a good and bad thing, I suppose it makes it last longer. They do have a lot of the Schar and Promise brand over here, some items the UK does not yet have too. But it all depends on the shop so you have to check both the bread section and the freezer section to find out where the bread is. Also, I haven't found any gluten free garlic bread here so I am missing that big time!
Gluten free pizza bases, I didn't realise that the gluten free bases can be made of cauliflower. Something you wouldn't get in the UK. So when ordering a pizza or purchasing a frozen pizza check to see if it is a cauliflower base!
Meal deals, these just don't exist over here. You will not find a pre-made gluten free sandwich in a supermarket. They do other pre-made meals but I haven't tried any or really looked to see how many are gluten free. I have had a gluten free salad though from Real Canadian Superstore which was nice, but of course its a salad so!
Check the labels of sweets, a lot of candy/sweet contains wheat over here so double check the labels for this!
There is the Celiac Approved certification on some products, which give you more trust in a product as they are manufactured in a gluten free safe facility.
Burgers, a lot of restaurants cater here which is great! But, I have found that the majority of them offer a gluten free burger as an option and their fries are not always safe. But a lot of them are aware of coeliac disease so that is great!
Join the gluten free facebook groups/pages. Just like the UK facebook groups/pages are big over here and SUPER helpful. Everyone is willing to give you suggestions of places to go.
Flu Jab, you can get a flu jab here. Use this link, a local provided me this link which has a phone number for Non-residents to call to register to get a flu jab. Over here they are big on flu jabs, and unlike the UK anyone can get one. I am yet to get mine due to just not scheduling but I will be sharing my experience and whether or not I need to claim on my insurance for this etc!

Overall, my experience so far has been great and I am enjoying living here but there are things that will take me time to get used to! I have also been using my translation cards when eating out to make sure that I am fully understood and there is no miscommunication to eliminate the chances of cross contamination.

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