Passover -- a shopping bonanza for those on a gf/cf diet. Passover is a Jewish holiday that starts (this year) at sunset on April 8th and lasts for 7 days. The very strict observers of the faith follow the special dietary restrictions for this time period. They are not to eat any grains and therefore a lot of foods are specially prepared as "kosher for passover" meaning they will be gluten free. You have to travel to a big city kosher food market such as the Seven Mile Market in Baltimore to get these foods. Since the market has exploded with new cf/gf foods that are readily available, this isn't quite the "find of the year" it used to be, yet still good.

Some very important things to keep in mind:

• You need to be good at reading labels as some of the foods may still contain dairy and artificial colors/flavors
• Matzo flour or any of it's derivatives is NOT gluten free, even if it is specially blessed wheat flour (they can't bless the gluten out of it!)
• Most of the items you might find in the local grocery stores that are kosher for passover are not gf, most have matzo in them. BUT they do get more gf/cf items every year at Passover, so it's worth a look.
• Non gerbots means gluten free
• Some of the items that are good to get at this time (and mostly cheaper!) are: marshmallows, chicken nuggets, ice cream (made from sugar and coconut oil and is delicious), ice cream cones, dark chocolates in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and all kinds of baked goods--prepared and boxed
• Best time to shop is 2-3 weeks before Passover starts
• Don't expect anyone at the market to be able to answer any gf/cf questions.
*Sylvia adds that Giant’s Passover display is now up and even includes a pudding mix that is also soy-free.