Comments on: The Cost of a GFCF Diet

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:50:28 +0000

Being a city girl living in the country, I am so jealous I cant run out to WF and TJ! Some things I do to cut costs is to buy in bulk on Amazon.com the things I use every week, so the food comes to me and i don’t use a lot of gas to drive in the city, or try and read labels at the store with a 2 and 3 year old. Also check out angelfoodministries.com They have a new allergy free food package with breaded meats (5 lb)and dry mixes (4.5 lb) for $35 with no peanuts,soybeans,milk,eggs,fish,crustacea,tree nuts, or gluten(wheat rye, and barley) I plan on trying it soon!

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:30:05 +0000

My daughter is high functioning autistic and I’ve been going casien free since she was 3 (she’s 6 now). We do let her have some aged cheeses beause it is safer. She went from non-speaking to speaking in sentences within a month of being dairy free.

I have always enjoyed your site(s) and when I re-found you here, I was so happy to find your GFCF recipes, menu, and shopping list. It mkes it so much easier to transition, especially fo those of us on a very strict budget.

A few weeks ago I linked to your menus and shopping list from my blog to share with other parents/caregivers of children in the spectrum. I hope you don’t mind.

By: Paisley Kate

Paisley Kate — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:00:30 +0000

I buy Asian Rice Noodles, and use them instead of Tinkyrada Pasta. Have you been to the Namaste website? http://www.namastefoods.com
I noticed things were cheaper there than in my hfs. I appreciate the info about zanthan gum, I’m not going to spend $11.50 on it.
Great Reading, Love Your Site! PK

By: joylynnski

joylynnski — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:49:05 +0000

What is gluten and casein free?

By: Caron Smith

Caron Smith — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:19:53 +0000

I just discovered your sight from Dollar Stretcher. I’m always looking for ways to save money. So, I was surprised to see your articles on GFCF money woes. I went GF about 18 months ago. I had my son on GFCF diet about that time, too. If you went on the diet because of autism spectrum disorder, I found something to make life easier. My son can now take and enzyme called GlutenEase that breaks down the gluten and caseins for him. It’s a bit pricey at about $30 in the health food store, and around $22 plus shipping through Smartbomb.com. However, the website also periodically e-mails me a coupon and offers free shipping orders over a certain amount, so if I do it wisely, it’s like getting an extra bottle for free. Anyway, the enzyme works … to a certain extent. My son can have a few slices of regular pizza (complete with real cheese), but not the whole pizza. It can overwhelm the enzyme, and then he gets “aspy” again. Because it is a bit pricey, I ration it out to three capsules per day, so he can have a GFCF breakfast of puffed rice and soy milk, and then later that evening he can enjoy a bowl of real ice cream before bed. It also didn’t work at Easter, because he was sneaking the choclolates without taking the enzyme, so now we make his own GFCF Easter candy. Not very hard to do.
I’m still doing GF, because the enzyme won’t work for what I have. I have never set foot in a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods store, since they’re too expensive for me. Around here we have a number of Asian stores. They sell “rice sticks,” which are actually rice noodles. They’re only a fraction of the cost of “Gluten Free” pastas. They’re rice flours, chick pea flours, mung bean flours, potato starch, tapioca starch, etc., are also much less expensive. And they’re more finely ground, too.
Hope this advice helps you!

By: Andrea Marrapodi

Andrea Marrapodi — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:57:50 +0000

Hey ,
I live just a couple miles from a trader joes , which sells GF pasta for 1.99 a bag which makes it much more affordable too. Just a thought

By: Brandy

Brandy — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:40:19 +0000

We watched our costs skyrocket during our first months on the diet, too. Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? I have found that they are by far the cheapest provider of brown rice pasta. Rice itself is indeed cheaper, but we find TJ’s carries rice spagetti noodles for $1.09-$1.19 per pound. That’s pretty much the same as I was paying for wheat!

My other substitute has been opting for guar gum instead of xanthan gum. It’s about 1/3 less, I think. Maybe even 1/2. I agree with you, though, about just skipping it for quick breads! We often joke that we have learned to love flat bread.

I look forward to your articles on cutting costs. We are trying to work hard on cutting where we can, and any ideas I can glean from you will be appreciated!

By: Buildeth Her House

Buildeth Her House — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:09:05 +0000

I’m glad to have found your blog : ) I’ve been mostly gluten free for 4 or 5 years now. We don’t eat out much either because it’s just to difficult….I honestly don’t like to eat out anymore. I have found being a part of a food co-op has helped with GF eating. I haven’t yet figured out how to make GF bread that I like but I haven’t worked very hard at it either: ) I have found bread from Deland Bakery that is GF and when I buy it through the co-op it’s only a few dollars a loaf. I’m pleased to see more and more stores ,even Walmart carrying alot more gluten free items that were hard to find 4 or 5 years ago.

By: wendy

wendy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:32:04 +0000

Hi Maggie,

Glad you are doing well. And i agree with the bulk cooking thing so much, definitely the way to go. I see it as making yourself a “palette” to work from…always having already cooked up rice, beans etc there to use. It really makes a difference.

Peaceful Week to you : ) Wendy

By: tuimeltje

tuimeltje — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:54:28 +0000

Very nice post! I was just wondering if you had any ethnic supermarkets near you. These places are great for finding new and unusual foods, and around here at least, they’re often pretty cheap (with some expections). I’ve also found rice noodles there for very little money.