Living a gluten free diet is very expensive

SHO · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

I have a question regarding time spent cooking? I am fortunate enough that my company pays me for food. I have a weird job and have to stay on location weeks at a time so they pay me for food. The downside to this is I don't have a large amount of time to cook. Up until now (before I was starting GF diet) I ate stir fry, Liptons rice packets, salads, tv dinners, protein bars and cheese sticks. I know I need to healthin that up a bit but I maybe can get an hour if that for preparing. Are there fast foods (as in tv dinner style or microwave packets) that are healthy and dont take a while to cook?

ostrich · Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 4941 Location: Nebraska

I've tried some microwave dinners from Whole Foods that're....eh. The portions are really small (they look nothing like the box), and the nutrition value isn't that great.

What about something like crock pot meals? Dump it all in the pot before you go to work, eat when you get home. Or you can always prepare things like soup, freeze it in single serving bags, then nuke for meals.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

celiacmaine-iac · Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 1327 Location: Maine

cruelshoes · Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 3359 Location: Washington State

SHO · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

Thanks for the input .. that sounds like a good idea. We have mobile homes on the site that have all the kitchen stuff except for stuff like the crock pots and pressure cookers but I could bring them.

Thanks for the welcome Smile

ostrich · Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 4941 Location: Nebraska

Interesting side note....Apparently the average person spends $904 per month in groceries. That's up $80 from 2 years ago.

This part made me LOL:

celiacmaine-iac · Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 1327 Location: Maine

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 10520 Location: WI, USA

Must be shopping at WholePaycheck...
_________________
Al

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

ostrich · Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 4941 Location: Nebraska

Steph - Sorry, that would be for a family of 4.

Al - *more gigglefits*

nancw · Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 1172 Location: Denver, CO

Speaking of Whole Paycheck...
Last week my MIL was complaining that a dozen eggs cost $2 now. I couldn't bring myself to confess that I pay $3.69 for organic eggs. Embarassed

_________________
Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 10520 Location: WI, USA

bump for FatCat
_________________
Al

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

mrsppmrxky · Joined: 09 Oct 2004 Posts: 1612 Location: GF Kitchen

I thought that I had responded to this 12 step program thread. Laughing

Hello, my name is Mrsppmrxky and I am a frugal cheapskate. I began this way of life at an early age and I admit now in front of all of you that I have taken pride is seeing just how big of a cheapskate I can be. Embarassed

I just went to the Asian Market and purchased tapioca starch for .69 a pound I bought all 6 bags that he had left on the shelf because of shipping being so high, I knew it would be more expensive on the next shipment. (My potato starch has gone up .80 a pound there since the last time I purchased it.)

I get my rice spaghetti noodles at the Asian Market because I can get them for .99 a pound. I also like to get the Rice egg roll wrappers or the rice dumplings to go in chicken and dumplings or peas and dumplings.

I found a market from India that sells my sorghum flour for a small fraction of the price that the health food stores do. I also purchase the soap nut powder there to wash my hair with for $1 for 4 washes. It is a natural plant item that is powdered and I put it in water to wash my hair. No chemical or perfumes. It makes my hair nice and silky.

I found a Mediterranean market that sells spices and meats fresh and cheaper than other places and it has no additives, so it is cheaper and healthier than even the reg. grocery chain.

I go to WalMart grocery for some GF items because they are cheaper than other places.

I like to purchase my bagged veggies at an Aldi's type grocery chain or from Publix when they have them buy one get one free. I stock up my freezer to have food when the regular prices are more expensive.

I bake things from scratch. I even grind my own rice because it is much cheaper to grind my own than to purchase the premade mixes or flours.

One thing that I have realised also is that now with me absorbing my foods better, I eat less food than before. I don't think about food as much as before either.

I have even taken to looking at Amazon and other websites and comparing the prices online verses driving to the other grocery stores. Having food delivered is sometimes much cheaper than what I can get at the store.
_________________