The wheat & gluten, dairy free/organic diets on the cheap thread

diamonds · 14 October 2011 at 6:57PM

Wheat & gluten are out my diet as my IBS as a side effect of Fibro/M.E/CFS gets worse as does the cant get out of bed fatigue. Organic is choice but I swear it makes a difference.

Being on benefits W&G free foods and organic foods really are not attainable so I'm asking the old style board for recipies based on cheap costs - most W&G free bread products are £2.50 for a small loaf or a few rolls - the costs for most people even in work is not even affordable...the DWP make no allowances for higher food costs effecting health and/or disabilities.

A change in diet can make a difference and thats not only with healthy eating !

So can we let the recipies (all you old school trained ladies

), best buys, experiences & promotions discussion begin

I'll do the first:-

Doves W&G free flour

Tesco & Sainsbury £1.75-£1.80

Ingrediants: Flour blend (Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize & Buckwheat), Raising Agents (Mono Calcium
Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Xanthan Gum

Oil, vinegar, yeast and egg (anyone one know a egg baking alternative ?).

Bread machines must have a W/G free baking option as mixture needs an hour to rise before the oven.

1KG pack makes 2 loafs & the bread is highly bubbled, rubbery & over moist, edible just - crumbles very easy which make slicing/sandwiches almost impossible. Found blasting oven to full for last five mins gave a deeper crust all round holding it together better (until biting in that is !)

Conclusion: Much cheaper than 2 loafs at half the price (as an estimate of all ingrediants) per loaf. Following the recipe on packet is not a tasty substitute for bread but a substitute all the same.

diamonds · 14 October 2011 at 7:07PM

Tesco Free From range is wheat, gluten & dairy free

https://secure.tesco.com/health/food/healthy_eating/tesco_food/freefrom.html

HelenYorkshire · 14 October 2011 at 8:11PM

Don't shoot me down here, but do you really need bread, pastry, cake etc?
Potatoes and rice do for carbs with meals; you could swap out sandwiches for salad lunches/soups etc.
Just a thought - as I'm on various versions of "paleo/archevore/primal/meat-n-veg" I do my best to avoid all grains and am shocked when I look at prices even of "normal" bread, never mind GF stuff that never quite tastes right.

Having said that, for baking you can use ground almonds or coconut flour successfully - http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Addition: You can get ground almonds in bulk in Indian grocers or online, I found the Sainsburys bigger bags okay. The baked goodies tend to be denser so more satisfying, so pobably not too much more expensive per portion.

adamantine · 14 October 2011 at 8:36PM

my DS2 is dairy soya and gluten intollerant and ive had a nightmare trying to afford food for him. i cut down on the food for me and DS1 so i can afford the food for DS2 coz there is no option but to pay through the nose for it.

http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk is fantastic for ordering stuff. we dont use alot of bread as its not very nice tbh and as he is only 2 the amount of pasta he needs is tiny and the rest of us have the normal stuff.

knorr stock cubes are GF but the oxo ones arent and, unsurprisingly, knorr are more expensive! so i stock up when they are on offer.

as HelenYorkshire said, get your carbs from pots and rice and veg rather than the expensive breads and pasta and pastry.

oh and dont use the recipe for the bread off the back of the doves bread flour packet *shudder*

rising_from_the_ashes · 14 October 2011 at 9:46PM

Hi Diamonds, will be reading this with interest - I'm wheat and lactose intolerant and also really struggle to afford to get things on my budget.

I've practically cut bread products out altogether as I find the alternatives just "not quite there" - the only bread I've found edible is Soda bread.

I really struggle with breakfasts and as a result I spend huge amounts on certain things (I do eat porridge but I'm afraid it gets a bit much every day:o).

A couple of examples just to highlight the differences on "everday" products:

Oatibix - £2.68 / 24
Weetabix - £1.98 / 24

2.27 litres (4 pint) semi skimmed milk - £1.18
1 litre Lactofree - £1.31

I also find that there aren't offers on wheat/dairy free products very often and the pack sizes are smaller eg the biggest box of Oatibix is 24 but you can buy packs of 72 Weetabix / the biggest carton of Lactofree is only 1 Litre when you can buy cartons of milk up to 3.4 Litres.

I'm dreading winter as I really struggle to find things for lunch - salads etc are OK in the summer but when it's freezing outside, a bowl of soup and a nice roll/bread really hits the spot!

rising_from_the_ashes · 14 October 2011 at 9:49PM

Meant to add ....

I tried a turkey breast coated in porridge oats earlier this week (1st time) and gently fried - like you would do with breadcrumbs - and it was yummy!

HelenYorkshire · 14 October 2011 at 10:11PM

If you make a really "solid" soup you shouldn't need the roll - think bacon and bean soup, or chunks of potato and veg - works better with protein if that makes sense.

durham_mim · 14 October 2011 at 10:11PM

I too have ME and I have just recently been diagnosed with IBS. I am dairy, soya and gluten free. I have to be careful only to use gluten free oats (again more expensive)as ordinary oats also give an adverse reaction.

I have found a good recipe for soya milk bread in Erica White's Beat Candida Cook Book. Having had a relapse with my ME this year I have been unable to bake myself. I have resorted to using Genius bread but I keep it in the freezer and only take out a few slices at a time. I try to keep it for when I need a pack lunch. It is not so easy to make pack lunches with pasta or rice. The gluten free pasta isn't very nice anyway.

Here is the recipe for Soya Milk Bread.

NB. Soya milk can be replaced with rice/oat/coconut milk

1lb wholewheat flour(I use gluten free)
1tsp sodium bicarbonate(raising agent)
2tsp fresh lemon juice
1tsp extra virgin olive oil
Soya milk to mix

Preheat oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6. Mix raising agent with flour, stir in lemon juice, then rub in oil. Add sufficient soya milk to make a soft dough. If using loaf tins mixture may need to be even more moist (about 1/2 -3/4pt soya milk). Put dough into greased tin, smooth top. Bake for about 20-30mins.

This loaf is ok but tends to be rather heavy. Perhaps mixing white gluten free flour in with the wholewheat will lighten it.

LondonDreamer · 14 October 2011 at 10:14PM

diamonds wrote: »

Tesco Free From range is wheat, gluten & dairy free

Sorry to be picky, but Free From is wheat/gluten OR dairy free. As someone who can't have dairy, I've noticed it tends to focus more on the former. There is very little processed food that doesn't have dairy in it even in the special diets ranges. Which ends up being good, if inconvenient, since it means I have to make everything myself so I know what's going on it.

OP - for egg free baking, you might want to look at vegan recipes. There is an OS vegan thread on here somewhere. Flour is easy to substitute with a GF option. Also the low carb thread might be of use as it will restrict bread and pasta usage.

Here's my contribution. I actually got the recipe from another thread here, but have it memorised I make them so often...

Oaty cookies
8oz butter (I use packet stork)
6oz sugar
2oz golden syrup
10oz plain flour (I use Dove's Farm plain white blend if making them GF)
6oz oats (Mr T pure oats are GF)
up to 8-10oz chocolate/nuts/whatever flavours you like (optional)

Cream together butter, sugar and syrup. Stir in flour until it forms a dough. Mix in oats - I find it easier to use my hands by this stage. Add in flavouring. Place flattened balls on baking sheet, they won't really spread so make them the finished size and thickness that you want. Bake at 190 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool on tray.

I get 48 cookies from this amount of mix, and the dough freezes really well if you don't want to make them all at once. Cost is about £2.40 for the basic dough, plus the cost of whatever you add in. For anyone like me who doesn't need to use GF all the time, the cost drops way down to around £1 if you use value flour and oats instead of GF.

I've marked the flavourings as optional, as I think you could get away with not using them. I haven't done that as I normally add value plain chocolate, but the basic dough is yummy on its own when I eat it off the spoon.

adamantine · 14 October 2011 at 10:19PM

http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/315595_Orgran_Multigrain_Pasta_with_Amaranth_Spirals_250g.html

i found this to be the best GF pasta. that and ive found a bob the builder GF one in tesco that my DS LOVES! but i think its more the fact its bob the builder lol. tonight he was loving his "twisty pasta" though.

for him i have to use oatly milk and thats about £1.18 per litre. i buy a crate of 12 at a time from asda coz thats where its cheapest. the tesco value soya milk i use for myself as im allergic to dairy and thats really cheap and really good.

adamantine · 14 October 2011 at 10:22PM

LondonDreamer wrote: »

Sorry to be picky, but Free From is wheat/gluten OR dairy free. As someone who can't have dairy, I've noticed it tends to focus more on the former. There is very little processed food that doesn't have dairy in it even in the special diets ranges. Which ends up being good, if inconvenient, since it means I have to make everything myself so I know what's going on it.

there are some things that are wheat, gluten and dairy free but not alot. ive lost count the hours ive spent researching stuff but as you say you need to cook the majority of stuff yourself which isnt much of a problem for me as im a SAHM but if i worked then it would be near impossible with 2 kids on my own.

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The wheat & gluten, dairy free/organic diets on the cheap thread

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