<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Also, if you go to Trader Joe's, the rice pasta is about half what it
costs at the health food stores. Where do they live? TJs is not
everywhere in the country, but they could drive to a nearby city and buy
in bulk, or get somebody to pack and ship a large box.
I highly recommend Bette Hagman's books, The Gluten Free Gourmet series.
I just substitute the Bob's flour for all of the "flours" mixed together
in her recipes, or you can use it for all your family recipes.
The other thing she might try is venturing into ethnic cooking. Thai
uses rice noodles, and she can do chinese and mexican if she makes her
own taco spices, etc. For chinese, just remember not to buy Kikkoman
sauces, they are made from wheat. Remember the rhyme: "La Choy is made
from SOY (not wheat)"
Whole foods. Buy local. Learn to cook. Buying in bulk is good. And most flours can be bought in it's whole form, and ground as needed - a little $20 coffee grinder will do. The prepared foods might taste good, but most don't have a very high nutritional value. Best for a once-in-a-while thing. There are some very good cookbooks on the market now. Might go to the library and try them out before buying, just to get the best for her money. And there are some great websites that specialize in children's recipes. I hesitate to recommend any right away, because there are usually more allergens or extenuating circumstances. But googling those key words will find plenty. =)
As far as getting the rest gf, there are times that i just give up and do the whole meal gf. My family just likes to eat. And unless it's pasta or bread (which I do separately for some meals), I just do it all the same.
She may be able to cut corners by doing her own baking from scratch, and not buying expensive readi-made baked goods. A good bread machine is worth the money. But I haven't compared the cost between homemade and Udi's or the other brands.
I don't think sugary cereals are healthy, there are a number of common dry cereals, in the regular cereal aisle, that are gf, and no more expensive than gluteny ones. They're name brands....like Chex cereals. gluten-free rice krispies. I don't know the names of the sugary, kids stuff, but I know they're out there....like maybe Cocoa Pebbles. I'm
not sure. I wouldn't let my kids eat that stuff.
Fruits, veggies, meat, chicken, fish....I cook plain, so there really isn't anything gluten or gluten-free to effect the price. I grow herbs and use them to flavor my food. When my kids were little, they just wanted plain stuff.
My family was never big on cakes and cookies, except for birthday parties. Most chips are gf, but not healthy. Peanut butter & Jelly, tuna, etc....just find a good bread recipe.
I just adapted my own recipes to make them gluten free and bought or made gluten free bread and pancake mixes for my
son. He also likes Udi bagels with peanut butter. Fruits, veggies and meats and chicken are all gf and healthy
without having to feed the rest of the family differently. Use cornstarch instead of flour if you need thickener or just
simmer things down to make tasty gravy.
Once you get in the habit of cooking gluten free it is quite easy. We do not serve bread with dinner now.
I make my own gf flour baking mix from a recipe I got here on the listserve about 13 years ago. It costs about half the amount of the premade mixes.
GF Flour mix:
2 c brown rice flour, 2 c white rice flour, 1 1/2 c sweet rice flour, 1 1/3 c tapioca starch, 2/3 c cornstarch, 1/2 c rice bran and 2 tsp xanthan gum. Sift together several times.
I usually 4x this recipe and keep extra in the freezer. Works well in all my old cookie & bar recipes - even rolled out sugar cookies.
When my middle child was diagnosed at age 3-1/2, in 1990, there were few products and little information. I was a stay-at-home mother as well. I ran a g-f household for the first 6 months because my son was young and I didn't want him to feel left out or to accidentally have a bite of something from someone else's plate when I wasn't looking.
My suggestion is to focus on whole, unprocessed foods: rice, potatoes, all vegetables and fruits, cheese, meat, poultry, and fish. Many meals are naturally gf: meat, potatoes, veg, and salad, for example. I have had the happiest results from changing my mindset so I don't try to make gf cream puffs, for example, but to create a dessert that has cream, chocolate, and crust. It's easy to make gf pizza IF you bake it in a cookie sheet and accept that the crust will be soft. My mother used to make "Texas Hash": hamburger, onions, green peppers, canned tomatoes, and rice baked in a casserole - naturally gluten-free. Also, chocolate chip cookies can be delicious made from the recipe on the package with a gf flour blend. Experiment with the amount of flour - it might take more than expected.
Don't try the fancy baking right away. Wait until you've made the other adjustments. Then, use your favorite cookbook or recipes and substitute one of the flour blends available from Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur, for example. Start with waffles, then work you way up to fancier things such as bread or cakes. I think your friend is doing a wonderful thing for her family and that they all will be more flexible for it.
Several have recommended this website and cook book:
Have you heard of the cookbook "Gluten-Free on a Shoestring"? It's by Nicole Hunn. I found it at Barnes and Noble. The description is "125 Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap." It includes recipes for bread, most of them using a cup-for-cup flour substitute, like Domata, or Bob's, which I personally find easier than buying the flours and blending my own. It also has a recipe for birthday cakes and cookies, but entrees, as well. I hope this helps a little.
I have seen the Gluten Free on a Shoestring cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Shoestring-Recipes-Eating-Cheap/dp/073821423X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338342965&sr=8-1), and the author has a blog, as well: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/
Also these:
Any of the cookbooks by Elizabeth Barbone are good resources. For gf flours -- make your own blends . Go to a store that has an Asian section or an Asian grocery -- you can buy bags of rice, tapioca, and sweet rice flour there for pennies compared to the gluten free sections or compared to whole foods stores.
I recently ordered the cookbook "Gluten Free in 5 Minutes' by Roben Ryberg. It has all sorts of recipes, for one or two servings (bagels, english muffins, pancake, cupcake ...)
that you cook in the microwave (which I wasn't thrilled about ), but my two children (5&7) say this is the best gf bread they have ever had. Because it's cooked in the microwave,there's no crust, and nice and spongy.My husband and I are not gluten free, and I babysit kids all day, and do not feed them gluten free- for that reason, it's too expensive!
This cookbook has saved me lots of time, money, and wasted ingredients!
Look for coupons from BeFreeForMe.com, a website devoted to making life easier and cheaper for those with gluten sensitivities and other food allergies.
https://www.glutenfreepalace.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=302
http://www.glutenfreepalace.com/Articles.asp?ID=155
My blog/website is gluten free easily, also called gfe. The URL is http://glutenfreeeasily.com. I also lead the King George Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Support Group in King George VA. I teach people how to live gluten free easily and inexpensively by eating real, whole food that's naturally gluten free, mainstream processed food that's naturally gluten free, and just a few gluten-free specialty foods. I have a section on my website called Getting Started with GFE/GFE Tip Sheets here: http://glutenfreeeasily.com/tip-sheets/ The sheets are printable resource sheets like: 50 Foods You Can Eat Today at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/50-gf-foods-you-can-eat-today.pdf, 50 Meals That Are GFE at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/50-meals-that-are-gfe.pdf, 50 GFE Sweet Treats at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/50-meals-that-are-gfe.pdf, and The GFE Pantry at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the-gfe-pantry.pdf. By eating this way, it costs no more than eating gluten-full because you're eating very few of the gf specialty foods, the whole family loves the food being served because it tastes no different and has the same texture, and it's healthier, because one is not eating a bunch of highly refined, low nutrition gf specialty foods. On my blog, I have tons of recipes that can be made with "normal" ingredients or a very small amount of gf specialty ingredients. Examples are Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/passion-for-peanut-butter-cookies/, Crustless Pumpkin Pie at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/crustless-gluten-free-pumpkin-pie/, and Flourless Pizza at http://glutenfreeeasily.com/flourless-gluten-free-pizza/.
*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*
*******
To unsubscribe, email: mailto:[log in to unmask]
*******
|
