Penny-wise and Gluten Free too

Before you read any further you must know that it really irks me when people claim they CAN'T do something. Lately my annoyance has been with other families who have a gluten free child at home.

Their children are constantly being accidentally 'glutened' because the entire house is not gluten free. I find that unacceptable because gluten (in my mind) is a slow poison and could eventually kill a person with Celiac Disease! There is no excuse for blatant cross contamination in the home (This means things like using the same butter, peanut butter, or even the same toaster!) I know even those of us make mistakes, assuming one product is gluten free and it has changed... that happens and those kind of mistakes are just a part of life... I'm talking about the mistakes that could have and should have been avoided!

There are basically 2 reasons why an entire household as not gone gluten free:
1. Someone or the rest of the family doesn't like the taste of gluten free foods.
2. It's too expensive for my entire family to be gluten free.

I say BAH to both! Lets take the first excuse:

Who cares if the rest of the family doesn't like it right away?? I didn't like diet coke for a long time either but now I'm used to it and prefer it over regular. When my husband and I found out my daughter had Celiac disease we knew instantly we'd have to all be gluten free (inside the home). She's a toddler and like to eat what I eat... and I simply am not going to be making 2 different breakfasts, 2 different lunches, and 2 different dinners for the rest of my life. My time is more valuable than that. To those people who won't go gluten free even after their child has been 'glutened' multiple times in their own home I say You are a parent now... do what right for your child! End of story!

The second excuse is the most popular and I am not as annoyed with people who use it. And some people have a valid argument especially if their child has other food allergies/intolerances.. that can make it hard. For the rest of us who are just gluten free (no other food allergies/intolerances) I'm here to tell you that you can be gluten free without breaking the bank! I know I've done it! It took some time and organization on my part but its been a $$ saver and a time saver at the grocery store.

Here is how to do it:

1. Make a list of all of your favorite foods (entire family) gluten free or not. I did breakfast and dinner because we usually eat leftovers for lunch. (You need about 27 dinners)
   
2. Highlight all the meals that are already gluten free
3. Put a question mark next to the ones that could be gluten free but you are not sure about
4. Leave all that are full of gluten blank
5. Look up your "?" and find out if they have gluten in them... change on your list accordingly
6. Look up all that are full of gluten and see if you can find a GF recipe for that meal (I found gf recipes for all my meals that had gluten in them)
7. Print out a monthly calender and start writing down meals on each day. On the back make 4 columns labeled (week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4)
8. Write out all the ingredients you need for each week in the column
9. Now you have a basic shopping list for a month! (for me its my basic shopping list each month because I rotate these meals.
   

For variety I added a 'left over' day to each week, a eat out day 1 time a month, and a "special" day once a month where we can pick any random thing to eat (at the beginning of the week)

How does this list save me $$ ??

With the list I am able to purchase most of my meat at Costco (same type of store as Sam's club) Other items I get there... frozen veggies, cheeses, canned foods, pasta sauce, rice, and spices.
We go once a month and each month I have to buy less and less because the meat is in bulk so it can feed us for 2-3 months.

Then my weekly list is cut down by a lot... I typically buy fruits, veggies, milk, and the occasional meat that I couldn't find at Costco.

Anyhow my costco bill now is anywhere between $100-$250 a month (depending on if we need dog food or some other random thing my husband thinks of) and my weekly grocery bill is anywhere from $55-80 a week.

If you do the math: I range from $320 a month for groceries to $570 (This is really high because I don't ever spend $80 all 4 weeks in one month)

For those of you who want the weekly range: its $80 - $142.50 (Again I think the only time it would be this high is if we had company or it was a holiday)

So taking the averages: We are looking at a little over $100 a week for a family of 3 (one big eater) and a dog. All of whom are gluten free except for the dog (His food is in a room not accessible by my daughter.

So for all of you who are struggling with the cost of gluten free food my top 10 tips for being frugal are:

1. By name brand companies that label their products well... like Kraft and Hershey's
   
2. Make at leas a weekly menu (monthly is better because you can rotate it)
3. Call companies for their list of gluten free foods (They send you coupons with the list)
4. Veggies, Meat, rice, and fruit always gluten free!
   
5. Compare products that say gluten free to regular brands (Call if you have to) my only 'special' products are cereal, pasta, flower, and cake mixes.
6. Find a friend for mail order. Buying in bulk is cheaper but who needs all that food? split the cost of the food and shipping if you can!
7. Stock up your pantry with gluten free essentials.
8. Make a list to go shopping and don't stray from it (this eliminates impulse purchases)
9. Find and take a gluten free cooking class or baking class (it helps to make you a more confidant shopper as well as chef)
10. Check out stores other than health food stores. I am able to do 99.9% of my shopping at a regular chain grocery store. I rarely have to journey to Whole foods anymore.

I know I was harsh at the beginning of the post. But to all the "can't doers" out there STOP IT!! You can do it you just have to take the time to try!