Whether you’re new to gluten free eating, new to gluten free eating in Luxembourg or new to both, you’re probably trying to figure out how in the world to do this whole new eating thing. I’ve been there and it can be overwhelming.

I want to start sharing some of the very basics about finding gluten free replacement food items. Accessibility and availability have improved greatly over the years since first arriving and learning about my new gluten free diet and lifestyle in our little corner of the world. I hope to remove some of the scary aspects and help you gain confidence with grocery shopping by sharing what some of these products and packaging look like and how to find them.

The most notable improvement in the Grand Duchy is the quantity of choices now available as well as the much larger “square footage” the products take up on the shelves which makes it so much easier to find. I really like that there is a variety to choose from now. There are several large stores so I will present them individually, in their own articles, with detailed photos.

This article I am starting with Cora. I live near City Concorde which makes this particular location comfortably accessible. There is a second Cora hypermarché in Foetz which may have better access for others. They have grown their selection of gluten free foods making it more convenient when I need to accomplish my complete shopping list versus running around town like when I first arrived.A plus side to many of the gluten free products is that they often are suitable for other food allergies like lactose, eggs and wheat. Some of them are nut free but when nuts are included, it is listed in the ingredients. Be sure to look carefully if you have other food allergies.There are several different brands which is helpful if you have a picky connoisseur at your table. The most recognizable brand and possibly the one to pop out at you first is Schär in the bright yellow packages. They offer a wide variety of presliced breads, rolls, baguette and even croissant. There are also several different cookies and sweet treats. They have a few prepared baking mixes too. The Schär pizza base and high fiber flake cereal are the two favorites in our house. They also have their products in dark blue packages as well which I believe is their specialty “Italian” style line.Damhert is the second largest brand available here. They are a huge distributor for a wide range of allergy-free products which can be found on their website if you are interested. They have the light green packages. They also offer a variety of bread products and sweet treats. The pasta selection has the largest variety of pasta types like penne, spirelli and spaghetti to name a few. Damhert also sells prepared baking mixes for bread, crepes and muffins so you can have the fresh baked aspect on your table if you like. The brown bread mix is our preference for fresh baked bread in our bread machine. You can also make it without a bread machine.There are a couple others smaller brands like Gerblé and Too Good available but with much less variety. I have not tried either of these so I can’t offer a recommendation of any one thing. There is a Wasa brand cracker that is gluten free but noton this aisle. It is found with the regular crackers but make sure you pick up the ones indicating gluten free (gluten-och).

Cora has a rather large gluten free frozen section too. I was just there the other day taking pictures and noticed they have increased the frozen selections quite a bit recently.

For my English, expat friends Amy’s Kitchen is now available! For those unfamiliar, this is a very popular brand in the US. Amy’s was also my first taste and experience of gluten free back in the States after my Celiac diagnosis and feels a bit like an old, familiar friend. A new find I am very excited about is the gluten free, lactose free ice cream which I will be “testing” very soon! We’ve had the frozen pizzas and puff pastry which are decent though not very big. The frozen croissants were ok and need to be baked but they aren’t anything close to the real thing.

One last notable item available in this aisle is the gluten free, bio, blonde beer by Grisette. It’s certainly no Guinness but for those craving a cold brew, this could be just the thing. We keep a few in the house for those hot, barbecuing days and spicy meals.