About Us

The Gluten Free Basket Company is the brainchild of Lynda Hastings, who, one very-late night in 2011, found herself restless, unable to sleep once again, and watching a paid commercial on TV.

She sees a well-dressed man talking into a microphone to a live audience, while pacing back and forth on an empty stage.

Glaring into the TV, she is feeling completely exhausted yet unable to sleep, but unable to turn away from the tube, intently listening to this man explain physical and mental symptoms to his audience in the form of a question; “Do you find yourself dragging your feet all day, bloated, depressed, unable to sleep…?” and he went on, naming other maladies, to which many of us can relate.

Well, he then briefly described this ‘gluten fog’ that many have, unknowingly, and unwillingly become immersed in, as though a passenger on a runaway train with our irritated gut, bloated bodies, and foggy and depressed brains.
What is this gluten, and could it be the answer to her digestive issues that she has had since childhood?

For some reason, and still unbeknownst to her to this day, what this man was saying resonated, in great clarity, with what this man was describing, to a T. After some consideration (and very little research the next day), it was decided that eliminating gluten for 3 days should yield some results as to whether there is an improvement in the gut distress. Eating only rice crackers and hummus for 3 days, that answer became not just obvious, but glaringly obvious, and a new person emerged within a few short days.

10 years ago, more of the human population was becoming enlightened that gluten is not tolerated by a lot of the people, and the Gluten Free Diet went into high gear. However, as it turned out, many people who converted to the Gluten Free diet did so because they heard it would help in weight loss, and they jumped on the bandwagon. If those persons were not truly allergic or intolerant, chances are they gave it up, because it is NOT an easy lifestyle change to “go gluten-free”.

For those that truly have an allergy to gluten, they cannot tolerate even a minute amount of gluten, and the days of fast food become nothing but a memory. (Even today, some people believe it to be a dietary choice, and don’t take you seriously.)

That was then, this is now.

Whether you cooked (or liked to, or knew how to) before you started the gluten free diet and lifestyle, you now have your food (and therefore meal) choices limited in a major way!
And if that is not a big enough change, you now HAVE to cook most of your meals, shop at different stores for your gluten free food products and, to make matters worse, you feel isolated and a ‘pain’ to those around you (as though you have a choice in the matter).

That is why the Gluten Free Basket Company was formed. With so many brands to choose from, and limited gluten free food brands and selections at your “regular” grocery store, we wanted to bring you baskets of unique, never-before-seen gluten free collections showcasing hand-picked gluten free products, curated exclusively for you.

We want you to be empowered in your gluten free lifestyle. Take control, have fun doing it, and share your real food with those you love, without guilt or isolation – feeling separate from those around you at meal time. And now, you don’t have to shop at several grocery stores to plan a gluten free meal.

A personal message from Lynda: When I first made the lifestyle change to gluten free, I went a whole year without any candy- except Tootsie Rolls. Not because I didn’t crave a variety of sweets, but I knew for certain that Tootsie Rolls are gluten free, and I didn’t expect that I would have much of a choice in candy, anyway.

Boy was I wrong! A year later I found a gluten free, safe Halloween candy list, and was delighted to find that I had so much more to choose from! Every Gluten Free Basket Company food basket is sprinkled with the same love I had for those sweet convections during the time of my conversion to a completely gluten free way of life. It’s my way of sharing my story and saying “Welcome to the Gluten Free Basket Company Community”. Let’s take this journey together.

Oh – and about the man in the commercial: To this day, I don’t even remember what he was selling, but what I do know is that what I learned in his few short sentences about gluten, changed my life.