Free from food on a budget

Cyclamen · 2 April 2017 at 8:30AM

Hello Folks

I have been lactose intolerant/milk free for a long time and I am confident with how to shop for it. Yes it increases the shopping bill a bit but it's been affordable.

After my GP's advice I have tried going wheat free. Two weeks in and I feel a huge amount better but I'm finding the whole shopping process very expensive and very hit and miss.

Genius bread may be free from but it tasted like mashed potato.. not for me. I realise there will be a fair amount of trial and error as i find things that work for me but its working out very expensive. I am amazed by the price of 'wraps' which i use for lunch and even bread.

I'm at a loss with a nice noodle option tried amoy rice noodles a while back and they fell apart in stirfry. A good wheat free pasta and flour are also top of my list.

I have chronic ill health/disability and no one to shop for me so I use tesco's online. (With the occasional Iceland shop for fish and veggies).
I am limited to what I can cook for myself. My carers make tea and when I can I join in.

diet restrictions: wheat and dairy free, no alcohol, no beef/lamb/onion/garlic/hot spices so this has ruled out most ready meals. Nuts are a problem too not allergy But I can't snack on them.

So please can anyone share any tips, ideas or products that will make this all a bit more affordable without tasting hideous?

Official MoneySavingExpert insert Tue 19 Mar:

If you're gluten-free, wheat-free or have coeliac disease, the cost of free-from food adds up, but if you know where to look in the same supermarket, you could make big savings without compromising on ingredients. See MSE Rhiannon's Don't overpay in the free-from aisle blog for help on spotting hidden bargains. The blog is from 23 May 2017, so some of the figures may not be current, but the principle still stands.

Big thanks to Cyclamen for starting this thread!
[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

happy35 · 2 April 2017 at 9:01AM

I eat rice cakes and ryvita instead of bread, hummus, Linda McCartney sausages, alpro almond milk, alpro yoghurt and tin chickpeas. Dove flour is good, I don't really like gf pasta so eat a lot of rice or make gf gnocchi.
My main staples are salads or soups for lunch that I make myself.
Evening meals I make from scratch but are veg based.

happy35 · 2 April 2017 at 10:19AM

Sorry, just read you can only cook limited meals, in that case you used to be able to get diet lists from tesco, they may be of help.

Cyclamen · 2 April 2017 at 3:37PM

Thank you Happy

I have discovered rice cakes by 'nature valley' or similar name but the orange chocolate ones taste how i remember jaffa cakes and are lovely.. hadn't thought of plain ones instead of bread.

I have added dove flour to the shop.. i have been told elsewhere you have to add xanthum gum for air bubbles is this true? or can we just bake. My husband likes to make bread and we bake together when i can.

I'll have a rummage round tescos website.

tried one of the ready meals at lunch.. despite being really expensive it wasn't that thrilling.. and very pricey. My husband is on about batch cooking some meals for me but with work, caring tasks for me its hard to have time together. Still we must be able to conjure something up to freeze.

I used to eat pasta quite a lot ..noodles and fusili so nothing grand and am finding i'm missing that .. i havent tried the GF stuff yet but did cook some years ago for cousin an dit was horrible.

Huge thanks for reply.

alanq · 2 April 2017 at 4:07PM

Do you live in an area served by Ocado? It isn't cheap even for general groceries but it does offer an extensive range of free-from products of various categories. However, even there I fear you will have a struggle given the combination of your dietary restrictions.

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/getCategories.do?tags=%7C20000%7C30489&Asidebar=1

VfM4meplse · 2 April 2017 at 4:37PM

Cyclamen wrote: »

diet restrictions: wheat and dairy free, no alcohol, no beef/lamb/onion/garlic/hot spices so this has ruled out most ready meals. Nuts are a problem too not allergy But I can't snack on them.

This is extreme limiting! I normally advocate avoiding processed foods, but in your case the free foods are protein, fruit and veg, which makes me wonder where you will get your energy from. It sounds to me as though potato, rice, oats and beans will have to be your staple carbohydrates. If you find a dairy free milk that suits you, you can at least eat cereal.

Bananas123 · 2 April 2017 at 6:57PM

hello,

i have IBD, many intolerance, the best food related purchase i made was a pressure cooker.

(chicken veg stew, ALOT).

my carbs and bulk items > peeled potatoes, white rice, carrots (~50p p/kg (asda))

butternut squash (up to £1 / kg)

then random more expensive veg, lot of mushrooms etc

asda do a nice crispy rice cake (gluten free), that tastes nicer then kallo imo for 65p for 13.

i can't eat lactose, but do OK with the odd bit of mold ripened cheese (make sure "sugars" read 0 or <0.5 per 100g though... if want to try (obviously 0 is better))

also, i am fine with hot chilli peppers (fresh), but not fat, alot of the time people eat chilli / fat and blame the chilli peppers.

i would be angry without my chillies

juliesname · 2 April 2017 at 10:34PM

Hi,

Can you eat oats? Oat gluten is similar to wheat gluten but not quite the same - some people can, some can't. Rice and potatoes for other carbs.

Would recommend pasta twists as they don't collapse to mush - Tesco's, at least, tastes of sweetcorn as they are made with rice and maize. Bread - Newburn Bakehouse thins and Schar ciabatta rolls aren't too bad - have just checked my packets and neither lists milk.

You can't make normal bread with gluten-free flour, even using Xanthan Gum, but the back of the packet of Doves Farm bread flour has a recipe - I have made the brown bread version. Tips - base-line the tins as it sticks, and don't let it rise above the edge of the tin as it grows outwards not upwards. The recipe looks odd and the texture before cooking is more like a spongecake consistency, but it does come out OK.

Julie.

Cyclamen · 3 April 2017 at 9:38AM

Thanks everyone

firstly i just wanted to say that my diet restrictions are not of my choosing. I know I am now a hugey 'fussy' eater and hate how many issues it causes.. eating out is challenging but when my mum wants to make a family dinner I cause all sorts of complications.

I can't tolerate any lactose.. the intolerance there is so severe even lactose in tablets is an issue.. sigh... but i do have calcium tablets and rice milk with calcium/soya milk although not keen on oya i need something.

alan - I will look at ocado thank you.. you are not the first person to suggest them, but i haven't looked yet as i know from pre illness they were pricey and a special occasion shop when i could work. Time to look i think.

vfm4 - thanks.. sigh beans are also a no go.. they mess with me too. We are eating a lot of potato as i work this out. I try to avoid ready meals normally but now i've gained an 'exclusion' they seemed the best option for lunches without causing extra work.. I haven't eaten cereal in ears.. i shall see 'what is out there now' and try and find something.. thank you.

bananans - i dont know where to start with pressure cooker but do like our slow cooker. We use it for tea's on 'non carer' nights. I'll have a look in asda we have one in town and should be there next week. I guess i need to look at all the shops again. We decided against signing up for asda for this years delivery as they didn't have much in the lactofree range.. but that isn't suitable for me now..sigh.

Julies.. i have no idea about oats.. i dont know if its wheat or gluten thats the problem.. gp just suggested cutting out wheat and its made a huge difference.. once i get the hang of this i shall have some porridge .. one of my favourite breakfasts and see what happens.
I have the tesco pasta twists coming in todays delivery.
Thank you for checking packets.. i have tried newburn bread and like it.. will keep an eye out for the thins.

bread making.. ahh i didnt know doves did a bread flour.. it didnt come up on tesco search (but that can be useless). My husband really enjoys making bread so i'll look out for that.

THANK YOU everyone

Cisco001 · 3 April 2017 at 3:40PM

regarding amoy rice noddles, they are a bit expensive.
You could go to chinese supermarket or "world" section of big superstore, they should have cheaper dry rice noddles which is easier for stir fry.

Cyclamen · 3 April 2017 at 8:04PM

Thanks Cisco.. i absolutely agree that they are pricey.. i looked at the dry rice noodles but didn't know how much work they'd be for carers. Some of my team are amazing cooks and not phased by anything others really struggle with cooking.

I'll bite the bullet and add them back to my shopping list.

Free from food on a budget

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