This complete list for clever vegan gluten-free (GF) shopping in Gqeberha 101 has been put together to ease your journey in this new lifestyle.
When starting out, it can be overwhelming where to go shop and what to buy. I hope that you will find this list resourceful and helpful.
We have found that Checkers stores in Gqeberha stock a variety of vegan and gluten free items at most cost-effective prices. They have a Simple Truth range and many of these items are vegan. Things for me that I used to think that I would not be able to eat again: pizza and cheese. They stock a vegan and GF pizza base.
They stock Nature and Moi cheeses as well as Violife at times – cheddar, mozzarella and gouda.
Unfortunately, not all stores keep these vegan cheeses and sometimes, it is the pot of luck. A suggestion would be to tell your family and friends to keep a look out for you when they are out shopping. Especially if they stay in a different area and let’s say they shop at Checkers 6th Avenue Walmer and you shop at Checkers Newton Park. I often take pictures of what I am looking for and share them on my Facebook (FB) page and ask my friends to look out for me as I am not prepared to drive around to look for them at the different stores.
I would not recommend their gluten-free pasta though.
They often stock GF options in terms of pasta and snacks. I have had a lot of luck finding some nice items at the Walmer Park and Baywest branches.
They stock their own range of PnP Live Well range.
Newton Park and Walmer Spars are very food with vegan and GF items.
The Walmer Spar near the police station in Main Road, Walmer has a lot of choices. If you go right at the back of the store where the freezer is, before the freezer section, there is a health aisle. They have a lot of choices there! Different pastas and snacks. I am not a great fan of Happy Earth pasta – I think that it is an acquired taste. But I enjoy their range of snacks and chocolates. A girl needs her chocolates 🙂 If you go by their wrap aisle – which is next to the freezer, and look around there, you will see that there is a gluten free wrap and it is vegan as well (Mexican Brand). These wraps are very convenient and make nice lunches and even a quick supper.
Walmer spar also stocks a whole lot of vegan frozen meals which is great. I have never bought any of them as many of those meals are vegan but are not gluten free.
The Waterfront Spar in Humewood stocks a vegan ice cream by Skinny Scoop . You will find the ice cream right at the back of the store. It is a small black tub labelled ” Vegan Frozen Dessert: Dark Chocolate & Maca”. Sometimes, one has to scratch around the freezer as the stock is mixed up. I have sometimes spotted those ice creams at the Walmer Spar as well.
By far, I have found the best pasta from them. They are made from corn and they make a good mac and cheese. They also stock a range of milk alternatives and I have also found vegan cheese from them. They also keep the B-well sandwich spread.
They also keep coconut creams and coconut milks.
Dischem Cape Road and Walmer Park have a good range of products as well.
They have a variety of milk alternatives – soy milk, oats milk and rice milks.
They also sell a variety of pastas which I enjoy – the pulse pasta is nice and filling. It comes as pasta and spaghetti. And they often have specials on their items – which is a bonus especially with these “fast movers” pantry items.
They also keep coconut milks and creams which I use for desserts and for smoothies.
Dischem Cape Road used to sell vegan GF bread for a while but then there was stock issues and I stopped buying from them. But it’s worth asking the people in the health aisle.
At both stores, in their health aisles, they have fridges / freezers where they keep frozen vegan items such as cheeses and meat alternatives , pestos. I have tried a few of them but find that they are quite pricey. Their meat alternatives often contain wheat/gluten so be aware of that!
Nature’s Own Pharmacy can be found at the Perridgevale Centre. I have found that they are the most cost effective in buying gluten free flour – 5kg. They have to especially order it for you but it is worth the wait. I used to buy smaller packs of GF flour but it ended up being more expensive. I have been using that flour for many years now. You can ask at the till to order as they do not keep in the store. I use it for all my baking and cooking etc. I found the other flours more expensive and tricky to use.
They stock a variety of vegan items but not all are gluten free. They sell vegetarian foods as well. So always double check with them regarding what is vegan.
They are situated at 155 Main Road, Walmer. You can ask Kim to add you to their broadcast list (WhatsApp number: 082 904 1013) so that you can see what all she is stocking. She usually sends out daily messages of what food she has for the day or if she is running a special. I support them by buying tofu from time to time from them – they are a bit out of my way so I really only shop there if I am in the area.
They stock lovely cashew cheeses which remind me of cream cheeses.
This is a coffee shop / deli shop on the corner of Westbourne Road and Dickens Rod in Central. Here is their number: 076 745 0631 – please ask Christine to add you to their broadcast list. She sends messages weekly on a monday with their menu for the week and the specials that they are running. They also do meal deliveries which are at a reasonable cost. They also sell the best cheeses – which is the Knot Foods cheese. I have been really enjoying that range of cheeses – cheddar and mozzarella. They also stock a variety of milks and have shelf space with lots of vegan goodies for home cooking etc. They also sell a variety of frozen meals – vegan meals but you will have to double check which ones are gluten free as not all are GF.
I enjoy eating their food as they have a GF bread and wrap alternatives which has been a game changer for me.
They are in Richmond Hill as well. They are a coffee shop and make a variety of vegan meals. But only a few of their items are gluten free. They do breakfasts and lunches during the week and on Saturdays. They make lovely platters for events, on order.
065 978 6326 – they also do meal deliveries.
This is an ecommerce with vegan products and is based in Port Elizabeth.
They are situated in the beautiful Sherwood Garden Centre. They sell vegan items / snacks as well as other health items.
079 384 0134
Chef Georgina is amazing with her frozen meals. She also sends out her menu weekly for orders. Her food is really tasty and she is nice too 🙂 She does meals deliveries or you can collect. She is my back up if I need frozen meals for the house!
Here are her details: 072 868 0764 – please ask her to add you to her broadcast list. She also does a range of freshly baked items, meals and cakes.
Charlotte makes lovely vegan and gluten-free cupcakes and cakes on order. She also makes hummus and some other speciality items. Here is her number: 081 583 6747
I have recently discovered that they have vegan meals on their menu. Sadly, none are gluten free. They also stock vegan ice cream. You will see that there is a small freezer outside their cake display – many of those items are vegan.
They are the only ones that stock a variety of coconut yoghurts – plain and flavoured. They also stock soy yoghurts.
They also sell their own vegan cheeses as well.
I have found that it is less frustrating to just go to that main store to buy vegan yoghurts because the other stores do not keep the range of vegan and GF items.
Hope that you find all of the above useful information.
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