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

Hawthorn

I'm Gluten/lactose free too.

I rarely eat bread/pasta/pastries/biscuits these days. My diet mainly consists of meat, vegetables, rice, potatoes in some form or other.
I do purchase lactofree milk, and have scrambled eggs for breakfast, or even soup that I make a big pan of and leave in the fridge.

I'm with Durham_mim, I can't tolerate normal oats,only the gluten free variety. Then again I do appear to be supersensitive having had problems with a cornflour that was packed in a factory that also packs wheat products grrr.

To the op, lots of things are gluten free, that are not sold in the 'free from' sections - heinz beans and sausages for one , Aldi beans another. All colgate toothpaste is (awesome) and if you call and ask them nicely, Heinz will send you a list detailing what is suitable for a gluten free diet.

I find aldi quite good at labelling too, where sometimes the bigger supermarkets don't list something as either containing gluten or gluten free. Usually in this case I will err on the side of caution (if it's processed) and avoid, since I have been got by foods that weren't listed as either.

But yea, by far the cheapest way to go about it is to avoid processed foods and stick with naturally gluten free stuff.

I did try making bread, but the closest I got resembled an overbaked housebrick. I was quite sad about that because my normal bread used to be fantastic!

Mrs Crimbles sage and onion stuffing is ok for special occasions. Often sainsburys have offers on this stuff. I love stuffing but mostly I do without now since it's pricey.

Trufree do a nice crispbread (or did, I can't seem to find it anywhere now)

Sainsburys basics peanut butter - nommy and GF.

My local health store does suet - in rice flour instead of wheat flour which is standard. It works if you're craving dumplings or suet pastry

Good luck

kippers

My dd has been on a diaryfree diet for just over 2 months now....it's been a long battle with the docs and yesterday she finally had a lactose test at hosp which shows she has a severe allergy to lactose.

Anyway, i am new to this so this thread will be great for me.

What i have learnt so far is by replacing butter/ marg with 'pure' diary free marg and milk with soya milk i can bake most things ie cakes, pastry, yorkshires, biscuits etc



What i have found is:

• Holidays/eating out are a nightmare and we need to get more used to this.
• Docs are useless and i should have put more confidence in my 'mothers instinct'
• My dd's friends seem to have stopped asking her for tea which really upsets me (though her best friends mum has been like gold, her dd has a nut allergy so i suppose she understands).
• 'Free from' food costs the earth and taste awful most of the time
• Diaryfree chocolate doesn't taste too good but makes great cake toppings and is nice in biscuits
• Grandma's & grandads or people over 80 yrs always ask 'is she better now'?...they can't understand and still bring my dd chocolate "which she can eat when she feels a bit better":(
• Schools are as bad...if she can't eat diary then she will have to watch while everyone else tucks into cakes or treats that the teacher brings in. Xmas dinner at school this year (she normally takes a packed lunch but everyone has the special xmas dinner)...i've got that battle to face yet!
• Because my dd doesn't have a tummy ache/feel sick straight away, she can't really have a lactose intolerance.....i must just be an over anxious mother...,give her a biscuit she'll be ok (good job at 11 yrs my dd is old enough to label read and say no)
• Just because you go to a carvery it doesn't mean the veg doesn't have butter on. Toby Carvery assured us that their carvery is dairy free except for the gravy and cauliflower cheese. I rang and spoke to a different person a couple of weeks later and was told all the veg has butter on and you need to ask for them to cook it specially when you arrive! Good job i checked again

Anyway, rant over, (i'm so new to this). I really feel for those of you out there that have a other allergies/intolerances as well, how on earth do you cope?

adamantine

i just noticed the OP asked about egg substitues. you can get an egg free egg replacer
http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/471310_Allergycare_Whole_Egg_Replacer__200g.html

i tried it once but my DS can have egg which alot of people find strange with his dairy allergy but as i point out to them dairy is typically from cows and eggs are from chickens so the protein make up is different. my son does like to be different though!

yeast doesnt have gluten or wheat in it so you dont need to replace that.

i tried the allergycare gravy powder but it wasnt that nice so now i use the orgran one which is so much nicer. i use it for all of us too so i dont have to have 2 lots of stew or mince or whatever. most times though i tend to use just a small amount and thicken it with cornflour which is a staple in this house now. before i had DS2 i hardly ever used to use cornflour. in fact i had to throw out a packet coz it was out of date but now i use it almost every day!

adelight

Holland & Barratt are currently doing "30% off your entire online order" (inc special offers exc cashback) until the 18th and they do some great stuff inc egg replacer. Whilst I know they're not the cheapest the deal makes things like dehydrated soy mince a great buy at ~£1.10/375g and the plain version of the flour the opp posted £1.40/1kg. Free delivery over £40 too and they have a points card now so a big shop could be worth while.
It's a "click a link in email" thing rather than a code and it says forward to friends and family so if anyone isn't signed up for emails from them, pm me and i'll forward it to you.

kippers, i agree carvery can be risky! I had a works xmas dinner at fr@ankie & b3nnies and when i told them i was lactose intolerant all i could have was plain meat, the boiled carrots and no pudding! Since when was their milk in roast potatoes or peas?? I'm lucky that I can handle a small amount of milk but I still don't trust a lot of restaurants. At least it means your DD is learning about food and making healthy choices at a young age.

Gingerbiscuit_2

Im on a gluten/diary free diet living on benefits to so I know how difficult it is, I keep my bread in the freezer and use it for toast but as you say £2.50 for 10 tiny slices is hard going. Have been looking for a new bread receipe but not found one that dosnt use diary so thanks for the recipe. Though I can live without bread it is hard not to eat anything comfory like cake or biscuits in the evening.

I also am quite ill with other health problems and cant really cook very often and you are very stuck when it comes to ready meals that you can eat. I mostly live on jacket potatoes and salad or soup. The only thing I have found resonable is gluten free pasta which is £1.35 for big pack which is similar to normal packs but I lack the ability to cook often enough to take advantage!

Patchwork_Quilt

This is a very interesting thread. I live a gluten-free diet, although no-one has ever been able to label me as coeliac, probably because I've never been able to get the right tests. I do sympathise Kippers.

My DS's gf is vegan, so we do need gf and dairy/egg free meals.

The DS ciabatta rolls from Tesco are a really good substitute for bread.

One of our comfort foods is flapjack -

4 oz Pure margarine
3oz sugar - demerara if possible.
5oz by weight of golden syrup or honey, if you are not a vegan. This gives a hugely better taste.
8 oz gluten free oats.

Add in 2 oz of sultanas, walnuts or chopped apricots. Even chocolate chunks for a change. Sometimes, I don't add anything at all.

Melt the margarine in the microwave in a large bowl. Stir in everything else until combined. Tip into a baking tin ON TOP of some baking paper (must use this but you can wipe and re-use to save money) and bake until golden at 160 C in a fan oven. Cut into small squares five minutes after taking out of the oven, otherwise it is impossible.

For lunches, I take in a small portion of last night's meal and microwave at work.

Patchwork_Quilt

Just thought of another one -

Gf and vegan chilli

One can value kidney beans
one can mixed beans for variety
two cans value tomatoes
chilli powder
cumin powder
mixed herbs
salt
oil
onions
3 cloves garlic
value peppers

Fry the sliced onions, garlic and peppers in a generous quantity of oil - about 1 1/2 tablespoons. When browned, add the beans and tomatoes. Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon chilli powder, according to taste. Add 2 teaspoons of herbs, then about 1 teaspoon salt. It may need more, depending on the beans and tomatoes. I find a slug of red wine helps too (I freeze it if there are any left overs and spoon it out as needed).

Serve with rice or jacket potatoes.

Patchwork_Quilt

Crumble is also good. Make in ramekins and freeze. Defrost to reheat or eat cold with soya yoghurt.

Must stop now.

juno

Holland and barrett have a new reward card thing, and it actually has fairly decent rewards. Although you do get a voucher that you have to use in a certain time frame. But if you're buying from there anyway, get the card.

mozzy10

I'm with HelenYorkshire. Why do you need to substitute? Just don't bother eating grain and dairy products anymore. I get on just fine eating wheat free. Don't feel any need to eat "bread" or "pasta" in any gluten free form. Why would you want to eat something that tastes nothing like the original and is full of garbage like soya flour or artificial thickeners etc?

I used to be lactose intolerant up until I gave up grain products!

Now I don't eat grains, I can drink milk with no tummy troubles later.

Also don't make the assumption that ALL milk products have the same amount of lactose in them. Butter and cream have much less lactose than milk. Same for yogurt. Hard cheeses have hardly any lactose in them. Be careful of eliminating ALL milk products. Do some research!

Soy products are so very bad for you... so are vegetable oils.

Well anyway, as I said, I get on fine without wheat and grains. Bolognaise with veggies on the side is so much better than slimey spaghetti... and less fattening to boot!