Searching for a healthier diet? Chanda Knoof, owner of Vintage Farmer and Retro Market in Annandale, can help you out. Her just-opened shop on the east side of Annandale’s Main Street, a block north of Highway 55, carries an assortment of locally grown organic foods that customers can be assured are not genetically modified or loaded with corn syrup and don’t contain monosodium glutamate. In short, Vintage Farmer’s fare is healthier, Knoof said. The small but quaintly decorated store is loaded with artisan breads, sandwich loafs, pizza crusts, muffins, cookies and pies, all made by Knoof and all gluten-free. What does it mean to be gluten-free? It means Knoof’s products are not made with a wheat base. More and more people are finding out they are allergic to gluten, Knoof said. In fact she rarely meets somebody these days who isn’t gluten-free themselves or who knows someone who’s gluten-free. The problem is gluten is in so many manufactured dishes from pastas and breads to candy. Pretty much anything containing a wheat base has gluten, she said. For Knoof, gluten caused all sorts of medical problems including blisters on her feet, nausea, breakouts on her face and later a hard time concentrating. Unfortunately, most of the gluten-free products found in stores taste terrible, she said. She started selling gluten-free pasta products at Annandale’s Farmers Market and soon began getting requests for other products. "They wanted bread that is not as hard as brick or tastes like cardboard," she said. So she started experimenting. One of her big motivators was her own children, two of whom she knows are allergic to gluten. She wanted them to be able to eat the same kinds of foods their friends eat, and enjoy them. Today, nothing makes it to her store shelves without the entire family’s approval. But it’s not just her kids who enjoy her baking. "A lot of people tell me that my bread is a lot better than other gluten-free bread," she said. "A lot of people who are not gluten-free buy it because they like it." It was her recipe for banana- chocolate-chocolate chip muffins that won her an account with nationally known Dunn Bros. Coffee recently. The popular chain store had been looking for a gluten-free product but was skeptical after several bad experiences until its representatives tasted Knoof’s muffins. But her foods aren’t just for people who are gluten-free. They’re for people who want to eat a little healthier version of their favorite foods. She uses only quality products, the majority of which are organic and grown right here in Minnesota, Knoof said. She doesn’t even use processed sugar in her desserts, instead using healthier evaporated sugar cane juice. Besides her baked goods, Knoof also carries homemade canned salsas, fruit, soups and hors d’oeuvres from other Minnesota vendors. But the small shop is only the beginning for the Vintage Farmer and Retro Market. Knoof has plans for a deli that would cater to people with food allergies. She wants to open a bakery in the store and sell fresh-made donuts, bagels and cakes, all gluten-free. She also hopes to open a take-and-bake service for gluten-free pizzas. The Vintage Farmer and Retro Market is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
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