Gluten Free PT

As the primary consumer in our household and the one who has ALWAYS bought all the food (excepting public school lunches and my husband’s lunch trips to the hospital cafeteria), I’m looking for advice/tips/HELP from those who have been GF longer than I.

What do you do to control the food budget?  Trying to buy gf foods that I know I can eat safely is expensive – the packaged stuff.  I wasn’t good with meal planning before this, and now it’s killing our budget.   A lot of my attempts at gf food haven’t been all that stellar, and my husband and older son are picky eaters.  When I make something gf and it’s not great, they end up eating something else.  Then I either eat too much because I feel guilty wasting it all (NOT what I need), or I throw it out because it goes bad (NOT what my food budget needs).  Produce, dairy, and meat are outrageous in the Northeast, as I’m sure it is everywhere.  Tomatoes were $5.99/pound this weekend, and milk was $3.29/0.5 gallon.

My husband would be happy if I took over as Family CFO, but if I can’t get a handle on the food bills and still keep everyone’s palates satisfied, we might end up living out of a shoebox.

How does everyone else do it?  Does anyone have a sample family menu plan that they would be willing to share?  Not just dinners but lunch, etc, and how itt fits together on a budget? Thanks in advance for any advice

Jenn

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I’m surfing. Kill the Gluten has some treat recipes that look easy and yummy (and like they would fix a major chocolate emergency). Look at February 14 post for peppermint patty chocolate cookies (need to check gf on the candy); and the closely posted chocolate pie.

<> We just finished with one birthday and we have 4 more in the next 30 days, so I’m kind of OD on “treats” right now. I need a few more healthy/savory things to try, and I’m still not in very good control of balanced meal planning GF style. But these two are on my radar for a future “easy, kid friendly desserts”.

<>Also. Kate from Gobsmacked has a fantastic looking ice cream sandwich posted today…….yummmmmm !

<>Yesterday I took my son to the grocery store, and we chose a vegetable that we had never had before.  We got a jicama.  I went back to the recipe whose photos I barrowed by mistake (and now can’t get off my webpage – sorry); and tried my hand at it.  I modified a little bit (no vinegar for the kids, fresh lime wedges, a sprinkle of raw sugar).  It was great.  My husband and I liked it.  The baby liked it.  My 8 year old, however, didn’t.

Oh – and I put mango slices and pre-cooked (purdue is gf) chicken slices under it.

Let’s see if this photo posts.  This was the first meal I made that I felt good about in a while.

This one’s not about gluten free. The very best things in life don’t have to do with gluten. I got a great reminder this morning. My newly-turned 8 year old tried his hand at cooking this morning and made me Breakfast in Bed! He did it all by himself. Tea. Grapes. Ok ~ bread with cheese. He couldn’t find the gluten free bread. That’s because today was shopping day and there wasn’t any. (I’m fortunate enough to have a store near me that brings in fresh gf bread every Friday and Saturday morning, and you can buy it frozen anytime). My son actually read the labels on all the packages in the bread-basket looking for “gluten-free” and decided to use what he could find. There was butter and crumbs all over the grapes but a little cc there was worth it to eat the grapes with him and see how proud of himself he was.

You should see my microwave!

Forgive my lack of photo cropping. It’s late and the electronics aren’t agreeing with me tonight. If this picture is gargantuan, and someone knows how to crop and control the size of your photo posts, please let me know so I can ask for help!

<>The best stuff in life doesn’t come with an allergen warning!

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Five simple words.  Host some parties and it becomes almost robotic.  It’s the polite thing to ask.  Of course I would like some cake.  Or girl scout cookies at the office.  Or a piece of pizza.  Or a slice of ice cream cake.  Except now I know that the answer to that question is “no thank you”.  But sometimes, when I see everybody else enjoying the festivities and food, I just stand there, with my mouth hanging open, silent.  Then when the silence is one millisecond too long, the person who asked the question realizes that they wish they hadn’t asked and this uncomfortable exchange involving my frustration and the other person’s awkward feelings plays out.  I’m still trying to figure out what I can and can’t eat, and reeling from the mistakes I make that leave me feeling sick more often than not.  But so much of celebration and gathering in our culture involves food and communal eating.  When you can’t eat what everyone else does, you’re kind of the loner.

I need to learn how to answer the cake question and stay part of the party.  I could say I’m on a diet.  And nobody would believe me.  I could say I just ate, until I have to spend more than 2 hours in one place (thus refuting the “I’m on a diet” explanation).  I think I might have to go web surfing when I have time and see what other people have had to say about this one.

For anyone who wonders, I really don’t care if you eat the cake in front of me.  I don’t  even care if you ask me if I want some.  I just want to be a part of the party.

I appreciated the quote that they are using to cancel letters with right now.

“Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.”  John Adams 1768

Let’s not forget what can happen to a society when its members neglect to do so.

Read on.

My brother and sister in law brought the best butternut squash soup for my son’s birthday party today.<>  She got the recipe from weight watchers cookbook and we modified it to be gluten free.

1 (2-2.5 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 slice gluten-free bacon, diced

3 cups gluten-free chicken broth

freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 teaspoons minced fresh sage, or 1.25 teaspoons dried

Place the squash in a steamer basket; set in a large saucepan, over 1 inch of boiling water.  Cover and steam until tender, about 15 minutes.

In a large non-stick saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil.  Saute the onion and bacon until the onion is light golden, about 5 minutes.  Add the squash and broth; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the squash is very soft, about 10-15 minutes.

Transfer the squash mixture to a food processor; puree.  Return to the saucepan and add the pepper; heat to serving temperature.  Serve, sprinkled with sage.

<><> The recipe didn’t call for it but we like it with fresh grated parmesan or other hard cheese on top.

<><>Enjoy.  We will.

I found this website today.  It’s sponsored by CSA.  It lists GF “safe” and “forbidden” foods by manufacturer.

<>This alone is enough to make me want to go get one of those phones that lets you use internet anywhere.  Imagine standing in the grocery store with kids and actually being able to figure out what you can eat! <>

I’m doing a lot of internet searching for research to validate my decision to take medication (in liew of pursuing more radical treatment) for my thyroid.  I found this article, citing a research study from  the medical journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences (February 2000;45:403-406) in which “the researchers found that the various antibodies that indicate celiac disease – organ-specific autoantibodies (i.e., thyroid antibodies) — will disappear after 3 to 6 months of a gluten-free diet.”

A second study published in Digestion (2001;64:61-5) looked at patients with autoimmune thyroid disorders and found a higher incidence of celiac disease in that group.  I found this one a second time on a different website.

A third article suggests that celiac is related to a number of other autoimmune-type disorders, including

• Dermatitis herpetiformis.
• Thyroid disease.
• Systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Type 1 diabetes.
• Liver disease.
• Collagen vascular disease.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Sjogren’s syndrome.

They suggest that the connection between celiac and these diseases may be genetic.