Gluten free baking? How do you afford this???

[TXMomof4]

We have a very good friend whose son is allergic to wheat, soy, peanuts, rye, and a few other things. They just discovered this and it is causing a huge upheaval in their lives. He is having a terribly hard time adjusting to life without "real food" as he calls it, so I thought I'd try to make him some bread that actually resembles something he's used to eating, some brownies, cookies, etc. I went to the store today and it would have cost me close to $50 just to get some of the ingredients needed! Is there some place I don't know about that has any of these things at more affordable prices??

 

All I could find was 1 lb bags of rice flour, potato flour, etc. and they were all $4-5/bag. The xanthum gum was $10.00!!!!! I ended up buying a bread mix and all purpose gluten free baking flour. Is it really more cost effective to do this than to buy the premade stuff?

 

Any advice or experience? I'm thanking God for my allergy free kiddos right now, no matter how picky they are!

[Jenny in Atl]

Nope, sounds about right. GF stuff is very expensive. Some things have come down in price and new products are coming to market daily, which hopefully will help, like GF Rice Chex. I wish I had a great answer for you friend.

 

Amazon.com sometimes has deals on GF stuff. Whole Foods has the best selection, with Trader Joe's (great cheap GF waffles) coming in a distant second. Even some regular chain stores are starting to carry more. But all in all a loaf of GF bread (that actually tastes good) bought or made, will run about $4 -$5 a loaf.

 

Has she found a support group in her area? There are a number out there. It might help her son to talk to other kids facing food allergies/intolerance.

 

I forgot to add... many gf mixes are not safe for those with nut allergies. She will need to read everything very carefully!! Often nuts are used for texture/flavor. Just and FYI.

[Emily in FL]

It is very expensive. Miss Roben's is a little cheaper than most health food stores. The xanthan gum is extremely expensive, but lasts for a long time. You only need a tiny amount for most recipes. If you know someone who has some, perhaps they might share enough for your recipe. I also keep some of these ingredients in the freezer to make them last longer. I am still using the first box of egg replacer I bought almost 3 years ago (kept in the freezer), so it has been worth the initial investment.

 

I also buy some of the alternative flours at a bulk food store (my Mennonite friends say these are common in Amish country). I am pretty sure that I could get a very small bag of xanthan gum there if I asked (though it is still expensive by the pound).

 

Since it is only my ds who has to eat these special foods, I always freeze the extra servings. I take out what I need, and either microwave it or let it sit out on the counter to thaw. I do this with everything I make for him. We try not to waste anything unless he just doesn't like it at all.

 

It may take a while for him to adjust to the new textures and tastes of wheat-free baking. I have heard that the best thing to do is not try to substitute anything for a few weeks. Let his taste buds forget what "real" food tasted and felt like.

 

Since my ds was so young when he was diagnosed, we were fortunate that introducing new textures was pretty easy. The bread that he eats is not soft at all. I don't think I could eat it. He is very happy with it though. It is better than nothing to him.

 

It is very sweet of you to do this for your friend. Dealing with food allergies is a really big adjustment for everyone in the family.

 

HTH:001_smile:

[Greta]

I use coconut flour for our baking -- it's gluten-free, low-carb, and high-fiber. (Don't know what xanthum gum is, I've never used that!) It's not as cheap as wheat flour, certainly, but I would point out that it lasts longer. You use a much smaller amount of coconut flour to make, say, half a dozen muffins, than you would wheat flour. I don't really know why this is true (I think the flour absorbs the liquid and expands?) but I was shocked by the tiny amounts of flour that the recipes called for the first few times I tried them, but it always works like a charm!

[klmama]

I use coconut flour for our baking -- it's gluten-free, low-carb, and high-fiber. (Don't know what xanthum gum is, I've never used that!) It's not as cheap as wheat flour, certainly, but I would point out that it lasts longer. You use a much smaller amount of coconut flour to make, say, half a dozen muffins, than you would wheat flour. I don't really know why this is true (I think the flour absorbs the liquid and expands?) but I was shocked by the tiny amounts of flour that the recipes called for the first few times I tried them, but it always works like a charm!

 

Please share the recipe!!!!

 

Do you make your own coconut flour or do you purchase it? Where have you found the best price?

[Jenny in Atl]

 

Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife has a ton of recipes.

[Greta]

Yep, like Jenny said, I use Bruce Fife's book for recipes. And I've used Tropical Traditions coconut flour in the past, because I was a member of an ordering co-op, and we would order Tropical Traditions stuff in bulk and at great prices (http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_coconut_flour.htm). But, I had to drop the ordering co-op because of time constraints, and so now I'm honestly not sure where I'm going to get it! I'm really hoping that Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage carries it. I haven't investigated yet because I still have quite a supply -- I'm telling you it lasts forever! Or at least it does at my house because I don't really do that much baking anyway.

[Greta]

Here's one of my favorite recipes from Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife. I like this one because my dd needs gluten-free and I need low-carb, so we're both happy. If you're not a low-carb-er then there are lots of dessert recipes in the book which look and sound great, but which I've never tried.

 

NO-SUGAR LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS

 

3 eggs

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp coconut milk

30 drops liquid stevia or 1/4 tsp powdered stevia

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon extract

1/4 cup sifted coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

 

Combine coconut flour with baking powder. Mix remaining ingredients separately, then mix into the flour mixture until their are no lumps. Pour into greased muffin tins, and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. (Makes six muffins.)

[Jenny in Atl]

I've used Wilderness Family Naturals

http://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Flour-fiber-2-2-Pounds/dp/B000KJWBVW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1217884556&sr=8-4

 

I find the WF/Harry's near us does not carry coconut flour much. Some of the smaller health foods stores do, but at a high price. :tongue_smilie:

[DIY-DY]

but do-able. One thing we found is that without buying the "occasional" box of Teddy Grahams or Iced Oatmeal cookies, or so on, we actually saved money after a while.

 

Flour blends in bulk helps - mix up a batch and put it in a container in the pantry.

 

Don't assume that the best prices will be at the local crunchy/health foods market. Our Kroger carries GF items at a significant savings. Not as large a selection, but significantly less expensive. Also, shopping at ethnically oriented markets (for example, rice flour and tapioca flour are significantly less expensive at our local Chinese market - same thing for the Mexican mercado). Amazon carries some things, too, and once they find their favorite "staples", they could order there and save.

 

See if guar gum is less expensive than xanthan - sometimes they flip-flop in cost.

 

It comes. After a while, it does come. But yes, allergy-aware kitchens cost a whole lot more to stock than others, no matter what. But it's oh-so-worth-it to have a healthy family. :)

 

And when you're up for making a little treat for them, see if you can find Namaste brand mixes - still more than Betty Crocker mixes, but allergen-free, easy to mix, and quite tasty!

[bettyandbob]

I've been doing this 6 + years. two oldest have celiac so our house is completely gluten free. Regular meals don't need to cost more. I buy rice in huge sacks at costco. Rice, salad, vegetable, meat = meal and it's all gf.

 

Prepared baked good very, very expensive

 

GF mixes or instant foods very expensive (cake mix, mac n cheese, etc)

 

GF replacement flours expensive from Whole Foods or other health food store.

 

I buy my flours in bulk. I buy bean flour and tapioca starch from the ethic. Bean flour is in the Indian aisle "Gram Flour" (chick pea flour). Tapioca starch is in the Vietnamese aisle. I could also go to a vietnamese store and an Indian store, but this new store in my town is convenient having both. Buying the flours from ethnic stores is infinitely cheaper. Potato starch is in the Korean aisle. I could also get white rice flour there, but I prefer brown rice flour and quinoa flour to white rice (more nutrient power).

 

I use a standard replacement mix found in most GF baking books:

1 C tapioca

1 C potato starch

3 C bean flour

3 C quinoa or brown rice

 

All gf baked goods need Xanthum gum which seems to cost more than gold. I haven't found a cheap source, but it takes a long time to use up a tiny bag.

 

You need to make your own flour mix and bake from scratch. I keep my flour mix in the fridge and mix more as I get low.

 

My favorite baking books are Gluten Free Bakinging Classics by Annalise Roberts and Gluten Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly

 

I recommend dropping bread (and therefore sandwiches) from the boy's diet for at least a year until he "forgets" what bread tastes like. If the mom is up for mixing up a different flour mix there is a bread recipe at the beginning of the Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread that tastes like real bread. It was approved by my MIL an avid bread baker.

 

Tell your friend to make basic gf meals for the whole family. Like I said starch : rice, potato, quinoa, millet; vegetable and fruits : fresh, frozen, canned steamed, boiled, roasted , meats/protiens: beans and any meats prepared just about anyway except breaded. As you can see there are multiple combinations of these menus. It will be easier on the child (and healthier for the family) to drop fish and mac n cheese and frozen pizza from the family's menu.

[TXMomof4]

I've been doing this 6 + years. two oldest have celiac so our house is completely gluten free. Regular meals don't need to cost more. I buy rice in huge sacks at costco. Rice, salad, vegetable, meat = meal and it's all gf.

 

Prepared baked good very, very expensive

 

GF mixes or instant foods very expensive (cake mix, mac n cheese, etc)

 

GF replacement flours expensive from Whole Foods or other health food store.

 

I buy my flours in bulk. I buy bean flour and tapioca starch from the ethic. Bean flour is in the Indian aisle "Gram Flour" (chick pea flour). Tapioca starch is in the Vietnamese aisle. I could also go to a vietnamese store and an Indian store, but this new store in my town is convenient having both. Buying the flours from ethnic stores is infinitely cheaper. Potato starch is in the Korean aisle. I could also get white rice flour there, but I prefer brown rice flour and quinoa flour to white rice (more nutrient power).

 

I use a standard replacement mix found in most GF baking books:

1 C tapioca

1 C potato starch

3 C bean flour

3 C quinoa or brown rice

 

All gf baked goods need Xanthum gum which seems to cost more than gold. I haven't found a cheap source, but it takes a long time to use up a tiny bag.

 

You need to make your own flour mix and bake from scratch. I keep my flour mix in the fridge and mix more as I get low.

 

My favorite baking books are Gluten Free Bakinging Classics by Annalise Roberts and Gluten Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly

 

I recommend dropping bread (and therefore sandwiches) from the boy's diet for at least a year until he "forgets" what bread tastes like. If the mom is up for mixing up a different flour mix there is a bread recipe at the beginning of the Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread that tastes like real bread. It was approved by my MIL an avid bread baker.

 

Tell your friend to make basic gf meals for the whole family. Like I said starch : rice, potato, quinoa, millet; vegetable and fruits : fresh, frozen, canned steamed, boiled, roasted , meats/protiens: beans and any meats prepared just about anyway except breaded. As you can see there are multiple combinations of these menus. It will be easier on the child (and healthier for the family) to drop fish and mac n cheese and frozen pizza from the family's menu.

 

 

So if I mix those things up tapioca, potato, rice and bean flour, do I use them in place of regular flour? With the xantham gum? Or do I need to specifically find recipes for gluten free bread and figure out the replacement there?

 

The biggest problem is their lifestyle was Chick-fil-a 3 nights a week and Sonic the rest of the time. She teaches, the boys are involved in everything under the sun and they aren't ever home. I think the rest of them are going to suffer more than the boy will simply because he's younger and will adjust easier.

 

Thank you for all of your replies. I'll see what I can come up with, maybe not breads, but cookies, brownies, etc. that will make him feel like his life isn't over and destined to "granola food".

[Emily in FL]

Some may not be comfortable with going out to eat at all, but we do order from certain places for our ds. At Sonic and McDonalds, we order a hamburger patty without the bun. He can have an apple juice slush. If we are worried about cross-contamination with the fries, we bring along some veggie for him. It sounds weird, but our ds loves frozen peas. I freeze these in small portions and just pull one from the freezer when I need it. If for some reason he doesn't want them frozen, I can easily heat them up in a few seconds before we leave.

 

 

If I'm not sure there will be anything for ds to eat at the restaurant we are going to, I try to have pre-cooked chicken tenders in the freezer. I freeze them in serving sizes and pop them in the microwave just before heading out the door.

 

Many fast-food places have allergen information on their websites. I printed these out and highlighted the things my ds could have. It helps to be prepared. They may get strange looks from people when ordering a burger without a bun, but I haven't had anyone tell me they won't do it.

 

Is he allergic to milk or eggs? If so, Great Foods Without Worry is a great cookbook, especially for baked goods.

 

I haven't tried replacing regular flour with an alternative flour blend because we also have to replace milk and egg. I'm not sure how it would work. There are a lot of gluten-free recipes floating around. There are also some good yahoo groups for support and recipes. :001_smile:

[bettyandbob]

"The biggest problem is their lifestyle was Chick-fil-a 3 nights a week and Sonic the rest of the time. She teaches, the boys are involved in everything under the sun and they aren't ever home. I think the rest of them are going to suffer more than the boy will simply because he's younger and will adjust easier. "

 

 

No they can't do the fast food. Since she's a teacher, she needs to make a plan before school starts. My two favorite appliances are my slow cooker and my pressure cooker. You don't have to do lots of extra stuff in the slow cooker. Sometimes you barely have time to get out the door in the morning. However, if you have a big one you do have time to dump a whole chicken in there and leave all day. Come home through rice in the pressure cooker (7 min white, 20 min brown), frozen veg in a bowl in the micro and you have a hot gluten free dinner. I usually plan 2 slow cooker meals a week. One day for left overs from the previous 2. If I have a really bad night of the week we might have gf hot dogs (Wellshire Farms kids chicken hot dogs here).

 

If she needs ideas beyond the desperate dumping of the chicken in the slow cooker, look at low carb slow cooker cookbook. The low carb cookbooks limit grains so most recipes are gluten free. As far as time in the morning when she is trying to get the kids out and run to work, you can prepare all the stuff for the slow cooker the night before, put it in the ceramic and put the ceramic in the refridgerator. You can just pop it in the heating element in the morning.

 

If she works at it, this fall will be tough, but by Christmas she will be cooking good gluten free dinners with ease and the whole family will be a whole lot healthier.

 

Another tip, if the kids are practicing at the dinner hour, but mom and boys are home briefly at say 4 pm before trying to leave for a 5 pm practice, don't snack. Eat the dinner. Then the kids are insanely ravenous after practice. Eat a snack at home after practice.

 

With regard to the flour mix. I have a friend who subs the flour mix for flour in standard recipes and ads 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum per cup of flour. I use the gluten free books I previously listed and couple of others. Generally if a recipe doesn't call for my mix exactly, I add up all the flours it calls for and scoop out that much of my mix.

 

My dd was 4 when she was diagnosed. I quickly mastered cupcakes, because she was being invited to every preschool birthday on the planet. She carried her own cupcake. You can make cupcakes and freeze them individually and frost when needed. If pressed for time, you can resort to an expensive mix from the store. I just don't rely on them for the cost, but if say the child's birthday is next week and you don't feel confident about baking yet, that's what the mixes are for. I think that should help a mom who is mostly used to hitting the fast food. My guess it she probably used to buying the birthday cakes from the grocery bakery.

 

Mastering this while working and maintaining an active sports schedule will require menu planning and organization. She will have to shop the outer aisles of the grocery (fresh produce, meat, frozen produce). If it's from a box or can it is often not gluten free. Label reading will exponentially increase her grocery visits for a while too.

 

Last, lunch will be hard to figure out. I'm guessing the boys bought lunch at school before. She can bake drumsticks and freeze them. She can make tuna or chicken salad and put it in those ziploc cups and put a spoon in the lunch box. Yogurt, apple sauce and fruit cups can go in the lunch box. As for junk food plain potato chips and plain tortilla chips are gluten free. Look for the packages that have 3 ingredients : potatos, oil, salt or corn, oil salt.

[Jenny in Atl]

Well the upside of all this, he will eat better. With his multi allergies, I can't see any fast food being safe. I had a friend whose sons had very bad peanut allergies. She was even uncomfortable driving by a Chic Fil A (everything is cooked in peanut oil). :grouphug: