Shopping Andy's IGA in Edmonton for Gluten Free and Passover

Gluten free matzah
kosher for Passover
Makes a great cracker

IGA comes from the same family of grocers as Sobey's, except that Sobey's is corporate owned, and IGA is franchised so they are individually owned instead of corporate owned.  This means that IGA stores can be more customized to the community than Sobey's can.  A bit better buying power when trying to get more variety or a custom order of products.

Andy's IGA in Edmonton's west end is not only known for Edmonton's best place to shop for kosher food for the Jewish community, but they have the best selection when it comes to kosher for Passover.  Strolling around Andy's IGA, we noticed a lot of gluten free foods.  Because they are part of the Sobey's family of grocers, they have the same signage with a nicely indicated gluten free section with a purple sign.

Gluten free kosher for Passover hot cereal

The main dietary restriction for kosher for Passover is that you are not allowed to eat leavened bread.  Traditionally everything is made from Matzah, which is just unleavened bread.  Everything made from matzah is just really heavy and makes everyone sick, Celiac or not :-)

Lately, manufacturers have been becoming creative with their kosher for Passover foods.  I think it's inspiration from gluten free foods.  You can now find more Passover gluten free foods that are great, not only for gluten free Passover cooking but for gluten free cooking in general, and Andy's is carrying a lot of these products.  Instead of using crushed up matzah (matzah meal), more creativity is happening with potato starch, ground almonds and other gluten free ingredients.  You won't find rice flour used during Passover, because that is also a grain that most of the Jewish population are not allowed during this time.

Left: gluten free kosher corn dogs
Right: gluten free kosher chicken wings.
(I really should have opened up the freezer door)

A while back I talked about Yehuda's Gluten Free Matzah that you can order online.  To my surprise, IGA not only had this matzah in stock, but it was cheaper and they had it in onion flavour.  Even though Passover hasn't started yet, I couldn't wait to try the gluten free matzah and it tastes great.  It's also a total bonus that it is not as heavy and hard on the stomach as matzah.

Gluten free kosher for Passover thin noodles

Other gluten free foods and kosher for Passover foods we saw at Andy's IGA is gluten free corn dogs! Yum!  We didn't buy them but certainly were tempted along with the gluten free chicken wings they had.  Considering they were kosher and gluten free, they were actually priced pretty well.

Amanda also picked up some gluten free Passover noodles for soup.  They were on sale for 2 for $5!  She is so excited about having noodles for her soup.  The noodles were made by Gefen who often make gluten free kosher foods.  They also had a Gefen breakfast cereal in the style of cream of wheat (obviously without the wheat).  The Gefen products that are labelled gluten free often have a certification on it by the Celiac Disease Foundation and the Certified Gluten Free certification (GF) as well.

Gluten free kosher for Passover pie crust

Another great gluten free kosher for Passover buy from Andy's IGA was a gluten free pie crust made by the popular kosher brand Manishewitz.  The package is not labelled gluten free, but does not have any gluten ingriedients because it is made from coconut.  Like I said before, kosher for Passover is trying to move away from crushed matzah to make everything and move towards more creative ingredients.

Andy's IGA

9106 142 Street Northwest, Edmonton,
AB T5R 0M7
Phone (780) 483-1525
(780) 483-6538 (Fax) ‎


Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta