My son has had GI problems since he was born...and after being diagnosed with everything from a milk allergy to acid reflux disease...it has finally been correctly diagnosed celiac disease.

this is the difficulty we are having and i'm hoping someone might be able to advise my wife and i on how to spend our money wisely with aidan's (my son aidan) diet. there are people who are worse off than us...but we are struggling financialy and need to know where we can purchase wheat-free ingredients with out going into financial ruin.

please help us with your advise and avenues that you have taken to spend wisely with this diet.

There are alot of mainstream things that we can still have and they are not too expensive. There are a list of mainstream brands that will clearly list wheat,rye,barley,oats on the label or they will be safe...this may help you out if you do not have them and they are as follows:
Aunt Nelly’s
Balance
Baskin Robbins
Ben&Jerry
Betty Crocker
Blue Bunny
Breyers
Campbells
Cascadian Farms
Celestial Seasonings
Country Crock
Dove
Edy’s
General Mills
Good Humor
Green Giant
Haagen Daz
Hellman’s
Hershey
Hormel
Hungry Jack
Jiffy
Klondike
Knorr
Kozy Snack
Kraft
Libby’s
Lipton
Martha White
McCormick
Nabisco
Nestle
Old El Paso
Ortega
Pillsbury
Popsicle
Post
Progresso
Russell Stover
Seneca Foods
Smucker
Stokely’s
Sunny Delight
T Marzetti
Tyson
Unilever
Wishbone
Yoplait
Zatarain’s

Also if you do not have the Delphi List you should get that...its is 79 pages long or products, meds and foods gluten free status. It is free and someone from the site can either send it to you or in the post about it in the product section it gives you directions on how to get it yourself.

The specialty items are usually what costs more.

If you buy things like rice in a big quantity and then make your own food or stick with fruits and veggies then it won't be too expensive either.

Hope this helped you a bit.

I can totally relate to the financial strain. I decided to stay home with my kids shortly after my dd was diagnosed. She kept getting sick at the babysitters, and I really felt like I just needed to stay home for a bit and get her well. We really needed my income, and poor dh took on a second job to compensate for the loss! He's beat. I am going back to work soon, but just one or two days a week.

Anyway, I'm sure you didn't need to know all that! The way we deal with the cost is by sticking to regular mainstream products. I really don't buy anything from a specialty store except pasta and flours. The only thing I actually make with the special flours is pancakes. I make a big batch so they can eat them for breakfast or snacks. We also eat alot of rice, or potatoes, or beans. Those are all very filling, and super cheap.

Finding snacks for my kids is the most expensive thing for us. I can do meals pretty cheap by just doing a meat, veggie and starch. But I have to get creative for snacks. I do a little mix w/ marshmallows (Jet Puff, Kraft brand) gluten-free cereal, and raisins. They also eat fruit (usually bananas), or rice cakes w/peanut butter. That's all I can think of at the moment....when I think about it, I have pretty much cut out most of their snacking. It's when we go out that I pack alot of snacks, but at home they usually just eat at mealtimes.

This forum is a great source of information, so many ideas for meals. In no time at all you'll be a pro at keeping the cost down, it just seems so overwhelming at first. I bought everything in the beginning, b/c I didn't know where to start. The best advice I got was to stick to the basics, and go from there!

http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

Kinnikinnick has great bread/donuts/pizza crusts/ bagels. The price is a little high if you're on a tight budget. I think it's worth it to have the bread, though. You can place orders up to $200 for only $10 shipping. This is a great shipping deal. Your child can have half sandwiches supplimented by cheese sticks, yogurt, apple w/peanut butter... that kind of regular store bought item. The donuts are very filling and a half a donut is more than enough for a meal. A half a bagel is more than enough for a meal. The pizza crust can be snapped in half for a single meal for a young child. I recommend the K breads because it brings back some sort of normalcy to the diet for the parents as well as the kid. You can make your $4.65 loaf of bread go twice as far by making half sandwiches. It's really not that bad if you think about how much easier it is to feed a toddler "regular" foods.

Tinkyada pastas are the best. Kids usually like pasta and this one beats all the other gluten free versions hands down. Plus, if the kid doesn't finish the meal, the pastas hold up in the fridge. You can use them in soups and stews, too.

http://www.chebe.com/

I think shipping for Chebe is obscene. But I do like the product, so I get it. I would love to find it in my local Wholefoods, trader joes, Henry's, or Boney's...but can I???? -no- Burns me up. But chebe is a good product if you can find it on the shelves somewhere.

In the meantime, here are some regular store items that are gluten free
Lays Stax potato chips
Post fruity and cocoa pebbles
hormel salami
oscar mayer bologna and hot dogs
bushs baked beans
cozy shack rice puddings
hunts chocolate puddings
frito corn chips
Emeril's apple chicken sausages
Classico Alfredo sauces *even the creamy ones
prego spaghetti sauce
pickels
olives
snickers bars
peppermint patties
recess peanut butter cups
taco shells
sour cream
regular cream cheese
peanut butter/jelly
corn starch for thickening
Mission corn tortilla wraps
Boar's head brand cold cuts
eggs
butter
bacon
*check hams*
Manwich sloppy joe sauce
Hellmans/Best Foods mayo
Old el paso taco sauce in the jar
old el paso taco shells


You can make:
chili
chicken rice soup
beef stew
tacos
nachos
lentils
pea soup
omlettes
deviled eggs
fish
chicken salad
tuna salad

How about sticking to naturally gluten free foods rather than trying to replicate wheat-based foods with their expensive gluten-free versions? I think it's a much healthier way to live anyway. You can still use rice and potatoes if you want some starchy, filling carbs. Otherwise stick to veggies, fruit, meat, fish and eggs (and if he can eat dairy then you have cheese too). Nobody *needs* bread products (gluten-free or not). I avoid them out of choice, not for financial reasons, but just because I really feel good eating this way. Sure I have gluten-free birthday cake and bake the ocassional loaf of gluten-free bread if I need sandwiches for some reason, but my day to day diet is pretty much grain free and my body is very happy about it.

Stick to natural, whole foods. Your son's body will thank him.

I agree with that fact, but life sure is easier when you can make a kid a sandwich. I think finding alternatives to bread at a reasonable cost can make life easier for parents of newly dxed celiac kids. You have to have a lifestyle that embraces a breadless existence already to go that route with a little kid who was just dxed with celiac. Otherwise you're challenges may overload you going gluten free then bread free all at once.

It's true nobody needs bread. I find when my child is invited to a birthday party, that is serving pizza and birthday cake, it is nice to have gluten free pizza and gluten-free cake. Children are offered candy and sweets all the time. I always try to have something gluten free on hand all the time. It makes the adjustment easier, and the life long habits to keep your child healthy. I don't think my child will risk health over a snack to fit in with the peer group.
Laura

I have to add my second on the Kinnikinick sandwich bread is worth the cost for a child and it does help with a sense of normalcy. I've found I can make grilled cheese sandwiches and freeze them and just pop em in the microwave for a quick meal for my daughter. Also being able to send a p, b and j sandwich to school in the lunchbox has been critical! She loves it.

That and the Tinkyada pasta are the only things you really need to buy on a regular basis, the rest of the gluten-free specialty foods are high in calories and just substitutes for gluten filled versions. Good for a treat but don't go out and buy every single gluten-free specialty item you can find at first. stick with the mainstream products that are naturally gluten-free.

Another thing I do to cut down on costs is when I make a gluten-free meal, I make twice as much and then package up the extras in individual sized containers (glad reusable/disposable containers) and freeze them. They microwave up real easy when I need a quick kid meal!

Depending on where you live, there are some food coops around where you can purchase gluten-free food at a greatly reduced price. You can also try and buy certain foods in season, ie. berries. You can make your own baked goods (muffins, cookies, brownies, layer bars, bread etc.) in bulk and freeze..that is cheaper than buying say, a box of gluten-free cookies at the store. I do that and love it b/c I don't bake that often, but I always have desserts I can pull out of the freezer. We have a deep freeze, so everything says great for a long time. I will second that kinnikinnick and chebe are good breads. Note that Walmart began labeling their brand of foods as gluten free or not. I believe the labeling is in process, but start checking the backs of labels if you shop there, and you will have some cheaper options. Going with name brands when possible is usually cheaper than going with the specialty gluten-free brand as Nini mentioned. ie. Kraft salad dressing vs. Annie's

I have to second the recommendation for Kinnikinnick. When we can afford to splurge a little, and I'm just talking around $50 or so.......that's what I buy. I'll buy a loaf of bread (Tapioca Rice Bread is good), the chocolate donuts, and the frozen pizza shells. We use the bread conservatively, and the donuts and mini pizzas can be halved for a child's size serving. We went for a while w/out bread, and I have to admit that it's really nice to have a good ole' sandwhich now and then! Plus, it adds a bit of convenience to the diet, which is the thing I miss the most. Sometimes, I just get SO sick of cooking all the time!

Are you close to any specialty stores that carry gluten free food? I'm extremely lucky in that we have one about 15 minutes away that carries all the popular brands. They have a celiac who works there and tells them what to order........it's a celiac's dreamstore. It saves me from having to order anything online.

Everyone else has given you really good ideas; I have a couple more to add:

corn tortillas made into cheese or mashed bean quesadillas
dinty moore beef stew is gluten free
homemade hummus - it's very inexpensive to make it yourself

I've also had good luck finding local store brands that are gluten free, such as french fries and breakfast cereal. You might want to check out the private label brands of your local grocery. Also, most of the Great Value (Walmart) fries are gluten free.

I find that it is less expensive to make your own bread, muffins, pancakes, waffles etc, rather than trying to buy them already made or making them from a gluten free mix. Once you get your pantry stocked with the gluten free basics for baking you will spend less and have fresher, butter tasting baked goods. Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" is a good resource for baking if you want to try that avenue.

Good Luck!

I like Roben Ryberg's book The Gluten Free Kitchen, I found it at our local library before buying it. She uses corn starch and potatoe starch instead of 4-5 different flours. Corn Starch is 99cents a box and the potatoe starch, (I have even found the potato starch in bigger main stream grocery stores) is usually fairly cheap compared to some of the other specialty flours. My daughter loves the All Purpose Loaf and the Double Chocolate Cookies.
We also make corn tortilla grilled cheese sandwiches- corn tortilla, cheese, gluten-free seasoning of choice, leftover meat if you have it or want it, Refried beans,etc.. top with another tortilla and heat. And corn tortillas are very cheap- we can get 100 for 2.49 or 2.99. Sometimes I feel like the "101 ways to use corn tortilla lady..." but oh well ..
Also check out the asian section of your market- there are "naturally" gluten-free things there that you might not think of. I found gluten-free crackers there.
And if you can find Chebe- it is worth it. We use it for pizza.
Good luck

My Kailyn is 2 1/2 and it's hard to get them to eat anything at that age!

But she basically lives off the following for right now, we're still fairly new to the whole gluten-free diet thing.


Oscar Mayer hot dogs and bologna
yogurt- she loves Danimals or Yumsters ( the current ones are Dora the Explorer)
chesse quesadillas (I use the non-refrigerated corn tortillas- they're on the aisle with the mexican food and are much softer.)
Tyson chicken strips- the plain grilled strips are gluten-free
Rice, mixed veggies (frozen kind) and ckicken if you want, add the traditional prego sauce for an easy meal

Our newest and best finds have been Mrs. Leeper's line of meal kits- they're similar to hamburger. Each box uses 1 ib of meat and the rest of ingredients are included. Makes a lot!! I usually make this for her, then fill those snack size ziploc bags with the rest and freeze for easy "TV dinners"

Vann's waffles are good - blueberry ones are great, but I have also bought the ready to make mixes (they're like gluten-free bisquick) and they're all good. I usually add 1 tsp of sugar and some berries, frozen or fresh to add flavor. Or mush a banana and add to batter before cooking. Delish!

Hope this helps....it gets easier....I PROMISE!! It's only been 4 months for us and it's like second nature!!!

Mel

FYI,

Some bacon has soy sauce in it (which contains wheat = gluten)

Read ingredients of bacon before feeding your little ones....

We have tried alot of gluten-free products, but I will name our favorites.
Pamela's pancake mix(everyone in our family love's these)
Tinkyada pasta(wonderful and leftovers keep well)
Kinnikinnick(especially english muffins and pizza crusts-very yummy and their donuts, but you don't need these and we eat them about every 3 months if that)
Environkids-gluten free vanilla animal cookies(great for the diaper bag)
Ok, that is about it that we like as far as the health food store goes. THere are more, but not necessary items.
If he can have dairy that helps, but my little guy is just now able to eat some. He is 19months and has been gluten-free for about 6months. He just made it back onto the growth chart. Yay! How is your little one? How is his weight? It does get easier, but I find that I am always cooking and it is hard to keep things on hand that are fast.
Mine loves pinto beans out of a can and his latest is spaghetti.
Good luck!
Oh, and others gave great brands and products in the mainstream grocery store.
We don't eat alot of bread either, but love the pancakes and english muffins.
Monica