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!

MRSA strikes again

I woke up this morning and was blessed with "polka-dots" much like my daughters. We had planned on visiting the Austin Children's Museum but instead spent that time waiting at the Dr. after hours clinic. I too have contracted the staff infection, thank god for antibiotics! I only have about 11 spots but they are sore when touched.

While we were out we decided to stop by Wild Wood Art Cafe and grab lunch. I've been there before because nearly everything on their menu is gluten free. My husband had a hot pastrami sandwich, and my daughter and I split a pork enchilada. We were all happy with our lunch choices but today I decided to take advantage of their baked goods section. My daughter had a gluten free ding-dong and loved it! My husband had the richest chocolate cake (also gluten free), and I tried the Italian creme cake! They were just amazing I really have no words for them. I'm hoping that someday they will offer gluten free baking classes I would love to get a few tips from them!

On a side note:
Play Dough has been my biggest issue lately. I really would like my daughter to start playing with it. I've made it myself but I'm lazy and really just want something that comes out of a tub like the real thing. I've found it! Like most gluten free products it is a bit more expensive but to me its worth the extra price Colorations Gluten Free Dough. If you are interested in the GF homemade recipe here is the one I've had the best luck with: (From the Celiac Sprue Association's Website)

½ cup rice flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cooking oil
Food coloring, if desired

Directions:

Mix ingredients. Cook and stir on low heat for 3 minutes or until it forms a ball. Cool completely before storing in a sealable plastic bag.

Compounding Pharmacies my new best friend

My daughter has had some strange looking bumps develop and spread over the past few days. I really thought they were the chicken pox (even though she's had the vaccine) Today we headed to the Pediatrician to check them out. We were immediately put into a quarantined room because at first glance they too thought "Chicken Pox" However after further examination it has been determined that she has MRSA (staff infection). Controlled by antibiotics.

I reminded her pediatrician that occasionally medications did contain gluten so she added to the prescription that it needed to be gluten free. I tried Wallgreens first and reminded the pharmacist that she needed to call to confirm that the medication was gluten free. It turns out that it had quite a lot of gluten in it. She looked through several other medications that could be used and they all had gluten in them as well. She let me know (actually reminded me because I have used them before) that here in Austin we have several compounding pharmacies and suggested I try the nearest one.

Again when I got to the compounding pharmacy (Peoples) we found that all the medicines they had to treat the bacterial infection also included gluten :( Fortunately they could make a few phone calls and get the 'recipe' for a gluten free formula for this antibiotic! MY out of pocked expense will be about $50 but I will be reimbursed by my insurance company! I am VERY thankful that these pharmacies are still around!

As soon as I got home I called my insurance company (We've switched since my daughters original diagnosis) and asked them what happens when I have to go to a compounding pharmacy to get a medication that needs to be MADE gluten free. They were shockingly helpful! They sent me to their website and walked me through the steps for finding, filling out, and submitting the reimbursement form! He also is sending me several forms so that I "don't always have to print them out on my home computer!"

Being a mom I started to think about the possibilities of being on a family vacation and having to find a Compounding Pharmacy because kids like to get sick at the most inconvenient time! For all you out there an Accredited Compounding Pharmacy list at the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board.