Last week I received a great tour of Return to Eden from their Gluten Free Product Manager, Jennifer Harris.  I was amazed by the collection and selection of gluten-free products they have at their store as well as the breadth of knowledge that Jennifer has about the many items.

Return to Eden has clearly made a commitment to their gluten-free customers by hiring Jennifer to be in charge of their gluten-free product ordering.  Jennifer has been diagnosed with celiac for over 12 years and is passionate about finding quality gluten-free products as well as connecting with the companies and people that make those products.  Jennifer has embraced her celiac and works to help others find good food that meets their individual tastes and needs.

Return to Eden is not a large store, but it has the largest selection of gluten-free products that I’ve ever found in one store.  Not only is there an abundance of gluten-free items throughout the store, but they are clearly marked with labels throughout the store as gluten free.  Jennifer is always aware of what they have in the store at that time and she’s constantly investigating new products.

I thought I’d tell you about what I put in my shopping cart to help you see just how much variety and gluten-free selection they have at Return to Eden.  I had to really hold myself back because I wanted to buy much more!

-       Lara Bars…Return to Eden had a huge selection of Lara Bars and even has the newest flavors, Peanut Butter & Jelly and German Chocolate Cake.  (I purchased PB & J, Ginger Snap, Cinnamon Roll, and Apple Pie).  These are one of my favorite gluten-free protein bars because they’ve got simple natural ingredients and good fiber.  They’re also not 500 calories like a lot of protein bars.  I always carry one with me and I was particularly glad I had one in my purse last night at the U2 concert at the Georgia Dome.

-       Breads from Anna Pumpkin Bread Mix.  I made it this weekend for my whole family and it was delicious!  I added chocolate chips to it (surprise, surprise!) and it was a hit and perfect for brunch on a cool, fall morning.  I’ve been eating leftovers all week and I just froze the last bit of it today to save.

I could not believe how many brands of bread mixes and other baking mixes Return to Eden has on its shelves.  I even found Authentic Foods flour, which I’ve never seen in an Atlanta store before.  Before I went to Return to Eden, I thought you could only order it online.

-       JO-SEF Graham Crackers: These are also egg and dairy free which will be a great dessert for when I’m cooking for others with food allergies.  You can enjoy them as a cookie, crumbled over ice cream or make a pie crust with them.

-       Golden raisins: Yes, I know this is random and obviously gluten-free, but I have multiple recipes that call for golden raisins and I haven’t been able to find them anywhere.  I also bought them to add to sauteed spinach.

I mention the golden raisins because Return to Eden has great bulk containers that have things like raisins, nuts, and even a GF baking mix!  (That’s where I found the golden raisins.)

-       Simply Asia Pad Thai sauce and rice noodles: Chicken Pad Thai is one of my favorite easy weeknight meals and this Pad Thai sauce can be difficult to find.  Just add chicken (or tofu), a scrambled egg, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts and lime juice and you’ve got yourself a delicious (and cheap!) Thai dinner.  It only takes about 20 minutes to make this meal and it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.

My purchases don’t even begin to tell you just how many gluten-free products Return to Eden has in stock.  An abundance of frozen breads and dinner rolls of all varieties, I’ll definitely be doing a lot of my holiday shopping here.  I was also impressed by all of the ice creams and frozen dessert that were dairy free and gluten free.  Other highlights included pizzas, cinnamon rolls, tortillas and even fish sticks!

Everyone should check it out for themselves, even those without celiac.  I love supporting local places and venues that go out of their way to find good, gluten-free food.  As I mentioned before, Jennifer is extremely helpful and thoughtful and puts a lot of energy and enthusiasm into making Return to Eden a ‘Gluten Free Friendly’ store.  She also gives gluten-free tours for shoppers to help them learn about the different products available.  Return to Eden does gluten-free cooking demonstrations in the store as well.  I’ll post the dates and times for both of these.

Return to Eden Organics

2335 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30324-3725

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 3:46 pm and is filed under Atlanta, GF product, local food, Thai, Uncategorized, vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.