How much actual special food?

[Professor]

My daughter was just diagnosed (when she got arthritis at 20 I encouraged her, but it took her 4 years to do it!) . . .

She has lived in a GF house for years (mine!), but she and her daughteer have just gotten their own place (finally!). So there really won't be too much of a learning curve for her, but her gluten-y house will now have to go GF.

She and I were talking this morning, and she was complaining that it will double her grocery bills to eat this way. I told her that I buy very little actual specialty-GF foods -- mostly I just get normal old stuff that happens to be GF. She asked for something more specific, but I wasn't very helpful apparently -- she asked me to post and ask others (must think I don't eat like most celiacs???).

Anyway, to make a long story a little bit longer (sorry!), I only buy specialty-GF foods as follows: Breakfast cereal, bread, and occasionally something like a brownie mix (GF Pantry! Mmmm!). Otherwise, I eat normal grocery stuff -- spuds, rice, meats and poultry, veggies and fruits, eggs and bacon, juices, tea and coffee . . . I do use soy instead of milk . . . love rice cakes with PB, topped with bananas . . . you get what I mean, right?

So the question is, how many items do any of you buy that are "specialty" each week? DO you spend much more than you used to?

Thanks for the answers, and I'll pass it all on to her (or better yet, tell her to log on and introduce herself, and read for herself!)

Lexi

[aklap]

Good topic Lexi, I was going to address this in the Our Gluten Free Diet Boot Camp Thread. Now I can link to this!!

There is some specialty food I get.

1) Pasta. Most fav. is Bi-Aglut - also most expensive. about 8-9.00 a bag. 2nd fav is Tinkyada. This is was I buy most of. About 3.29-3.69 per bag. I am very happy with Tinky.

2) Breads. We do get some mixes, they range from 5.00 - 8.00 per bag. Peg will also make bread from scratch. This is probably a lot cheaper. We've never really figured out the cost per loaf on the from scratch. I will go thru a loaf in maybe a month...or month and a half. Before GF, I'd go thru 1-2 loafs a bread per week!!!!!

3) Cakes. I am not a big cake eater. But I think these are between 3.00 - 6.00 per mix too.

4) Cookies. We rarely buy packaged GF cookies as Peg loves to bake and makess them from scratch.

5) Rice Milk. I get Rice Pure. It's .89 per carton. I think the carton is 1 quart. Dairy is not a GF related issue for me. I feel it helps with my PN symptoms (less pain in my feet).

6) Cereal. I get mostly EnviroKids cereal. Those are prices about the same as NGF cereal. 3.29 (on sale) to 3.69.

I think that about does it for specialty foods in the Al n Peg house (Peg is Not GF). I'm sure I'll think of more when I'm not a work . Other than the above items, we just get mainstream food that is GF.

Yes she probably will see an increase in the grocery bill. BUT there will be a decrease in the Dining Out bill. Part of the increase you see comes an actual increase in the food you eat. Gone are days I get to eat at someones house (or whereever) for "free". I usually have to take food for me. Some places I don't have to because I trust the where I am going.

I've often wondered what others grocery bills were per month. If you're not comfortable sharing that figure...no problem...but I'll share ours. We spend about 500.00 per month for Peg and myself. Of course we are in WI where the cost of living maybe less than certain parts of the country.

Yes!! Make sure she comes to visit!! It'd be great!!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[cruelshoes]

For a family of 4, I would say that our grocery bill has gome from approximately $150 up to $200 per month. We are totally GF in our house.

Here's how I do it. Once a month I take a trip to the asian grocery store for all our nifty flours. Runs about $10 or so. I bake all our cookies, cakes and breads from scratch. I spend about $30 a month at the health food store getting cereal, pasta, xanthan if we need it. I don't buy any mixes other than the occasional GFP truffle brownie mix when I feel like I deserve a treat. Then I spend whatever we have left over at the regular grocery store (winco, usually) I try to reserve out $20 or so to buy fresh produce and milk for when we run out during the month. I am truly the coupon queen, although that savings has gone down a bit since we only buy GF. We eat out once a month at the most.

I think people get wound around the axle thinking that all their food needs to come from specialty stores. Lots of what is in the regular grocery is GF. I am interested to see how everyone else does it.
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[aklap]

[Linda]

We only have one GF person in the house, although all our suppers are GF with exception of pasta and pizza. On those nights, Ty gets Tinkyada pasta and since I am never home on pizza night (I'm at work), Glenn makes Ty his own GF pizza crust. I believe he makes it once every six weeks or so, and then puts one in the oven and the rest in the freezer. Ty's only six, so a personal 6" pizza is just the right size for a meal.

I buy puffed rice (he eats it with milk and brown sugar), GF Corn Flakes (about $8.50 - $8.99 a big bag, don't know the exact quantity, but it fits in a Tupperware jumbo cereal storer nicely.) and GF Envirokids chocolate "rice krispie" squares ($4.25 for a box of 6 at the health food store and $4.99 for the same box at Safeway).

I buy potato starch at the Asian market and white & sweet rice flour and tapioca starch at the Superstore, the rest of the flours and xanthan I get at the health food store (prices vary). I have personally never purchased pre-made bread/buns, cookies, cake or pie. I have a real big problem spending $7 for 4 hamburger buns. I learned how to make my own. The recipe makes about 10 or so, and they last a long time with only one person eating them, I just pop them in the freezer...ditto for hot dog buns. I have a cake mix in case of emergency ($5), but I have a great recipe that I will probably use from now on (posted here under recipes GF Wacky Cake, I believe). My sister sent us 3 boxes of cereal, 2 kinds of cookies, a stuffing mix and a pancake mix. One of the cookies neither of the kids like and the other one is eaten sparingly, Ty'd rather have a rice krispie square. By the way, he HATED the Envirokids cereal. We ended up throwing it out.

I'd say except for the times I drop a bundle on flours at the health food store (like when Ty was first diagnosed, or I run out of everything at the same time) we're within $50 a month of where we used to be.

Linda

[GAR04]

When I first started the GF in Nov I went out and spend quite a bit buying all the different kinds of flours and several cereals, pre-packaged frozen foods. It seemed like every time one of you would mention a food item (like doughnuts etc) I'd go buy them. I think the psychological factor of GF made you think you were going to starve to death (or at least mine did) so I had to make sure I wasn't being deprived of anything.

That has eased up lots. Now I'm not so panicked I wont have something to eat. Coomon sense returned to my eating and I shop pretty much the normal healthy way....try to stay on the outside lanes of the grocery store (fruits, vegertables, chicken, fish, lean meats, cheese) and the occasional Snickers Bar.

I really tried the "make it from scratch" baking but I've only had luck with cornbread. I did try a package of brownie mix (they were yummy) and I think I have decided that any baking I want I'll try to see if there is a mix instead of starting from scratch.

So I don't see much difference in my food bill-the nice difference is in how I feel.

Gina

[csocain]

My specialty items include multiple GF flours, GF cereals, Tinkyada pasta, and Midel arrowroot animal cookies (YUM!). Then I have some IC friendly fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates that I have to get. I, like others, have tried to keep with naturally gluten free foods for the largest portion of my diet- canned beans, oils, fruits, vegetables, meats, and soymilk. When I first went gluten free, our food bill greatly increased but now I am trying to make more of of my own foods, especially for breakfast. Now our bill isn't quite as greatly increased as before. Praying that we all find good foods to eat that we can afford! Blessings of hope and peace to all!
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Carolyn

Surviving And Thriving By God's Grace

[Judy]

Holy Crap is right - I'd love to spend $200 per month. My grocery bill is at least $100 per week for two of us. My husband is the celiac and he eats meat and potatoes at every dinner meal. I cook him breakfast in the morning (eggs, bacon or sausage, homefries and toast) and he eats a big meal in the evening. Its the meat that adds so much cost to the bill. Now to get back to topic (sorry for the ramble) I only buy GF bread which is costly (especially the way hubby is eating it!), cereal now and then and SOY milk which is for his milk intolerance. Rarely - cookies (I make them) flour, etc. He's diabetic so he doesn't eat much in the way of sweets.
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Judy

[aklap]

LOL@ Judy I think I'm coming to your house for breakfast!! YUMMMM. I usually have cold cereal. Waffles, if I feel ambitous enough to bend over and fish them out of the freezer. On weekends Peg will sometimes make pancakes. This past Saturday I ate so many, I skipped lunch hehehe

I was talking to Peg about the grocery bill tonight.

Also included in our grocery bill are things we get at the store, but are not edible. Paper towel, laundry detergent once in awhile, kleenx, etc.

We also get mostly fresh veggies (not frozen). Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers are favorites...those go for 3.99 per lb. Heads of broccoli, whole tomatoes (in and out of season).
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Jeannine1]

I just cook for myself. I have the flours in the refrig & freezer. But am now only using corn meal & corn flour & almond flour. I might make cornbread or a banana bread about once a month. Maybe the GFP brownie mix twice a year. I do not eat any of the pastas, breads, or cereals. I just do not tolerate those grains even after being GF 1 & 1/2 years. For breakfast I have fruit & nuts or leftovers from the night before.

Beverages is water. that is no tea, coffee or colas. Fruit juice only diluted as a treat because of the calories.

I have no idea what I really spend on food each month - not much I think, but I do treat myself to shrimp (no beef) & crab whenever I want it. I cook my meals mostly on the weekends & freeze portions of it for later. I eat a lot of salads & fruit. I buy my nuts in bulk from the local farmers market & freeze them.

I am still not getting the exercise that I used to - so to watch the calories & because it makes me feel better - at this time I have mostly cut out all grains & also dairy. well, I have cut way back on the white rice - cannot say I have given it up completely but now I just eat it sparingly. Also no potatoes since my potato allergy has kicked in big time.

an apple a day...

[Judy]

Al, come to breakfast anytime! I cook him breakfast every morning. Occasionally, he'll have cereal, but very occasionally. Thank goodness his cholesteral is good with all the protein he eats!!
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Judy

[dkad]

I am not for sure what I spend a month. I order several times a year. When I go to the health food store I spend about $30-40 a trip. This is usually for Amy's frozen meals, pasta, flours and few mixes. I do this maybe every few months. I only use Amy's meals when I am in no mood to cook or need something quickly as they are too expensive plus too high in calories. I have to go almost 60 miles to get to the health food store. I try and use very little mixes but I do have some favorites. Just off the top of my head I probably spend $300-350 on internet orders a year. My last was for pretzels, pound cake, Chebe breads, Rice flour. I plan on keeping a better track because I think with a Drs. note I can take my GF products and use it towards my flexible spending medical plan. Does anyone know if you can do this? I just printed off a short list of things are allowed and wondered if this is an allowable expense. It looked like it could be. We always use up all the money that we take out for medical expenses but if this is an allowable expense I will take out more in future years. Why let the government get any more than they already have.
Have a great day
Donna

[Noatak]

WOW, BATMAN!!!!! I am really bad as my food bills since going GF are approx. 175.00-200.00 PER WEEK, folks! I think it's all relative though.
I live in a VERY expensive area of the States which Judy and Rebecca can attest to. I also buy mostly organics, which requires handing over your first born as payment. I have dwindled off in buying specialty foods, except for bread and cereals and a few other small items as they are terribly expensive PLUS very fattening. Once my villi started working again, I needed to adjust my eating as I started putting on weight. That's a no-no.

I eat very much like Lexi does but those organic veggies, fruit and meats cost a bundle. But I think it's money well spent as many people I know go off on the week-ends and blow a wad of cash at the mall on stuff that really isn't necessary. I can justify the expense as it's our health and we are eating as healthy as a person can nowadays. Long term benefits.

I am not a coupon person as I just don't have the time. My work day is 10 1/2 to 11 hours long, with commute, so I go to the store, buy what I need to make me happy on the food front and for now, don't worry too much about expense. I applaud those who do it much cheaper...good work!

Tell your daughter it's all about priorities. Food may not be huge with a younger person...they'd rather have the cash to go out and have fun but as a Celiac, you have to eat better than others to make up for the malnourishment you've suffered. It gets noticeable when you get into your 40's!

[Shiloh]

There's only 2 of us at home but our grocery bills run sometimes over $200 a week! One thing to remember is that as we rarely eat out, we're making 42 meals a week. That's a lot! Also, I buy lots of organic fruits and veggies and free range meats and uncured bacon and lunch meat. $$$$$$$$ As for GF I buy cookies, rice cakes, Marys Gone Crackers, Yucca crackers, corn cakes, gf pretzels, rice chips, goat cheese, hummus, cuz your special biscuit mix, Authentic Foods flours, gf bread crumbs, gf gravy mixes, gf hoison sauce, teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce, gf pastas, and lots of Lundberg rice. (they don't mill anything else besides rice). I have given up on sandwich bread. The only one I found that was good was Mr. Ritts rye bread and that's like $7 a loaf. I do get Kinninnick hamburger and hotdog buns and keep English muffins and bagels in the fridge for very rare occasions. So, yes, it is a lot more expensive but frankly, we're worth it!!
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gf since 3/27/04

[Noatak]

There are only the two of us also, in my household, Shiloh, so I'm glad to see there are others out there who spend that much on food! I thought I must be doing something really wrong but it's those organics and some of the specialty foods that bag you! But I never want to be that sick again so eating this way seems to be the only answer. If you don't have good food with this disease, it could get very depressing.