Penny Pinching with Gluten Free Kiddos!

About five years ago, my son was diagnosed with a Gluten Intolerance and so my journey to find food that he could eat began. At first, one thinks, “Oh my, what am I going to feed my child?” We made the trek to the gluten free section and the gluten free store and I quickly realized that there had to be another way or we were going to go BROKE!

Over the past five years I came up with a few ways to pinch pennies along the way…

-         Focus the Majority of our Diet on Fruits and Vegetables

First, going gluten free is not as scary as it sounds…I view it as more of an adventure and a learning opportunity. I realized that we were probably eating too many carbs and processed foods to begin with so the first thing we did was focus our diet around fruits and vegetables. YES, buying fruits and vegetables is cheaper than shopping in the prepared/packaged gluten free section. We also shop at the local produce stand – check your area for one near you!

-         Shop in Bulk

I buy as many flours in bulk as I can either from our local co-op or from Amazon. I tend to like Pamela’s Baking Mix as a quick back up so I buy this in a 40 lb. bag from our co-op.

-         Shop in all the Grocery Aisles

Gluten free was not as wide spread five years ago so I started looking everywhere for anything that was gluten free. I found Chex Cereals and fruit snacks to begin with and I quickly learned how to scan the ingredients list and was not embarrassed to look at every item I purchased.

-         Bake in Advance

I have always been someone who likes a challenge so I like to bake for my family as much as I can. So I go through my phases of trying to make different foods and other times I stick to the good ole, “I know what works items.” When I find a good cookie or cupcake recipe, I tend to freeze half of the batch so I have it on hand in those must need situations. Like a birthday party that I forgot to make a cupcake for…as I walk out the door I grab a cupcake from the freezer and hopefully it is thawed by the time the rest of the kiddos do cake and ice cream. (It might be frozen in the middle at times, but hey, mommy tries.)

Go-To Favorites

There are few items that I have found to be reasonable at certain stores and now they are my go tos…

Unless I stock up at a great sale somewhere we usually buy

Rice Crackers @ Costco

Noodles, Waffles, Mac and Cheese and Bread @ Trader Joes

Bulk Flours @ Co-op or in Bulk Packages on Amazon

Having to change our eating habits was a bit of a blessing in disguise it has definitely helped motivate me to be more aware of what we are eating and where it is coming from. I sometimes joke that it was God’s way of reaching down and saying, “Dear, you need to pay a little more attention to what is going on around you!” So if for whatever the reason is that you are on a gluten free adventure I hope these tips help a little.

(Please note that my boys are both diagnosed gluten intolerant which means that their systems do not tolerate it very well. So they do come in contact with gluten at different times.

I have talked with others who watch for gluten in toothpaste, skincare, and really anything they come in contact with. One day, I might look at doing this as well. But for now we are picking our battles and doing the best we can…my boys understand how gluten makes them feel and when given the choice, they choose to do without the gluten items.

Good Luck and Happy Shopping!