Seeing how much money I spend on food on a weekly and monthly basis has gotten me thinking more about the cost of a gluten free diet. According to the USDA, the average single woman aged 19-50 should spend around $159/month on a “Thrifty Plan” and $316/month on a “Liberal Plan” for groceries.

I set a budget of $400/month to spend on groceries (not including eating out). So I guess I’m on the “Extra Liberal Gluten Free Plan”. Even if I spent on the top end of that amount, I probably spend at least $80-$100 more on groceries a month than the average gal. So, that’s about $960 – $1,200 more a year.

I’m fortunate enough to have enough disposable income to not worry too much about what I’m spending on food. And since finding things to eat on a gluten free diet can be difficult enough on its own, without having to take cost into consideration, I’m grateful that I can afford to spend what I do.

That said, there are a few things that I do to keep my grocery costs down:

1. I don’t eat meat
While I do eat seafood about twice/week, keeping my diet mostly vegetarian helps remove some of the big ticket items from my list like steak, lunch meat, etc.And plant proteins are far less expensive.

2. I buy store brand or mainstream where I can
For staples like sugar, canned goods, and spices, I go to normal grocery stores or Target and get the cheap stuff. If I’m making a ton of cookies for work, for example, I’m not going to use a $8 jar of peanut butter, I’ll use a $1.99 jar from Safeway. When it doesn’t affect the quality of what I’m making, I’ll get it as cheap as I can.

3. I try to avoid gimmicks
There are a ton of new gluten free products coming out on a seemingly daily basis. Some of them look great, or are something that I’ve been looking for. Some don’t look that great, but I’ve bought them before because of that pretty “gluten free” label slapped on the packaging. Then I’ve gotten them home, tried them, and cursed myself for spending $7 on a box of cookies that aren’t even close to as good as the ones I can make at home. I’ve tried to become better at telling myself that I don’t have to try every new product that comes out.

And a few things that drive my expenses up:

1. Specialty products I can’t live without
That’s an exaggeration, but there are some gluten free products that I love that are just expensive. I love Glutino pretzels, but they’re $7 a bag. So, I only buy them occasionally. I also love Bakery on Main’s granola, but again, I think it’s $7.99 a bag. Usually I try to resist buying them unless they’re on sale.

2. Keeping up the variety and nutrients
I’ve found it to be really easy to get into an eating rut on a gluten free diet. For example, I love Pacific Foods tomato soup. So, for about two months straight I ate it. Every. Day. Now I try to load my basket with different fruits, veggies, and kinds of whole grains/proteins (quinoa, lentils, beans, tempeh, tofu) to keep me interested. Trying new recipes and flavors helps me feel more content and less frustrated with having to eat gluten free.

That said, all of that variety comes with a cost. Quinoa is $6 a box, spices are expensive, and rare fruits/veggies can add up. Not to mention all of the nuts and nut butters I eat. I can easily spend $30 on nuts alone at the store.

3. Laziness
I try, I really try to make things myself. But making bread with Pamela’s bread mix is so easy that I always buy the mix instead of getting ingredients and figuring it out myself. While I’ve gotten used to paying $9 for a loaf of bread, sometimes when I see a delicious gluten-filled artisan loaf on the shelf for $4, I get jealous.

The same goes for bars. I could easily make my own granola bars, or Kind Bar-type bars (which I do sometimes), but when I’m out and need something quickly I can end up spending $2.50 on a snack.

In conclusion, eating gluten free is a strain on the wallet for a number of reasons. It took me years to figure out a balance between splurging and saving on different grocery items, but I feel like I’m at a pretty livable place right now.

Any tips on saving money while grocery shopping gluten free? Or anything that you spare no expense on?

If I was presented with the following beers and asked to vote them off of the gluten free island, Survivor style, this is how I would do it.

Beers ranked best to worst:

The best:
1. Brunehaut Blonde Ale
2. New Planet Off Grid Pale Ale
3. Brunehaut Amber Ale
4. Estrella Damm Daura
5. New Planet Tread Lightly Ale

Good, but not my first choice:
6. Green’s Discover Amber
7. Green’s Dubbel Dark
8. Redbridge
9. St. Peter’s

Beers I won’t even drink
10. Bard’s Tale
11. New Planet 3R Raspberry Ale
12. New Grist

Beers I haven’t tried/aren’t released yet:
Dogfish Head’s Tweason’ale (to be released later this month)
Hambleton Ales Gluten Free Ale and Lager
Beljica Brewing

Any ones I’m missing? Agree/Disagree?

1. Whole Foods and Cleveland Park Wines are now carrying New Planet beer

Cleveland Park Wines has the best selection of gluten free beer, and as far as I know they’re the only place in the city that carries the Off Grid New Planet beer and Estrella Damm Daura. Lucky for me it’s right by my apartment. They also sell New Planet for $1-2 cheaper than Whole Foods, at $9.49 for a six pack.

2. FUEL Pizza opens on K Street, offering gluten free pizza

Yesterday FUEL Pizza opened on K street and 16th, offering gluten free pizza crust and Redbridge beer. They also have a gluten free menu that points out which toppings are not gluten free.

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3. Whole Foods P Street is hosting gluten free tours on January 31st (1-2pm and 4:30-5:30pm)

Considering I’m at this Whole Foods about four times a week, I don’t think I really need a tour. But I may make an appearance to meet some other people in the DC gfree community.

4. Science Club serves delicious gluten free fries with homemade mayo

In my book, homemade mayonnaise is newsworthy. Science Club in Dupont has really delicious crunchy fries made in a dedicated fryer.They also have $5 glasses of wine for happy hour.

5. There will be lots of gluten free baked goods at the next DC Grey Market

Grey Market just released their product list for the January 28th market, featuring yummy goodies from Kate Bakes, Goldilocks Goodies, and MeBakes.

Anything else going on lately in DC gluten free news?

That’s a caramel blondie with a thick layer of caramel on top, full of chocolate chips, and topped with chocolate and peanut butter chips.

It’s buttery, chewy, and the kind of baked good you need to pace yourself with. You better believe I obnoxiously ate this and crinkled the wax paper during the movie I went to after – I just couldn’t stop myself.

Both times I’ve been to Baked and Wired the non-gluten free friends I’ve been with have liked my gluten free treat better than their own. So there.

A baked good that probably isn’t as good, but I’ve never seen before, so I thought I’d share, are these mini pound cakes from Jennie’s Gluten Free Bakery. They also have these cakes in raisin and marble flavors, which sound more up my alley than plain. I can imagine using these to make strawberry shortcakes pretty easily though.

As you can see, I did not make a New Year’s resolution to cut down on sweets

I certainly do. I couldn’t wait to go back the last time I was in NYC.

This time I decided to go in another direction and get a sweet bagel. So I started with a plain bagel and added peanut butter…

Then I decided to mix in bananas…

Then I decided, whattheheck, why not add potato chips too?

It’s stick to the roof of your mouth, crunchy, salty/sweet goodness. I forced myself to save half just so I could continue to eat it later.

This time they also were selling Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies at the front, so I picked up a bag.

These were good, but I honestly really don’t like crunchy cookies, so they didn’t really do it for me. I ended up giving the package to a friend back in DC.

If I could give one gift to someone who has Celiac’s, it would be to take them to NYC and get Vic’s bagels.

Next time I’m getting a pizza bagel

Getting glutened is a lot like a break up: awful, frustrating, confusing, and makes you want to lay in bed and cry all day. It happens to me more often than I’d like, 3-4 times a year I’d say. Whether it’s due to cross contamination, or that one time I ate a Red Vine because I confused it with Swedish Fish – gluten is always around threatening to make your life miserable.

These are a few things that I’ve found to help me recover from a glutening. I’m not a doctor, so take this advice with a grain of salt – but it is what has worked for me.

1. Get mad, then move on

Whether you write a strongly worded letter to a restaurant, or curse yourself for letting your guard down, let out your frustration. Then you’ve got to move on. There’s nothing you can do at that point to get the gluten out of your system, so you have to focus on healing your body as soon as possible.

2. Drink ginger tea

Ginger is known to help aid digestion, and also has anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea and antioxidant properties. I’ve found that having a cup or two after a meal really helps settle my stomach. Peppermint tea has many of the same benefits.

3. Exercise, but not too much

There are a ton of benefits to exercise when your system is a mess from gluten. For one, it helps your body digest food and pass (ahem) gas. It also helps fight fatigue, which is one of the most annoying side effects of being glutened for me – I feel like I could sleep all day.

That said, take it easy. If you feel like you’re overdoing it, or are struggling to keep up with your normal workouts, turn it down a notch. If you usually run, try incline walking, or take a yoga class.

4. Avoid foods that are hard to digest

The worst thing you can do when your gut is damaged is fill it with foods that are hard to break down to even the strongest of digestive tracts. Things like kale, broccoli, cabbage, and other insoluble fibers are too harsh for your system. When you’ve made it through a few days, then slowly introduce small amounts of greens back into your diet.

5. Be gentle with your gut

I tend to treat my stomach like I would if I had the flu for 2-3 days after I realize I’ve ingested gluten. I eat lots of bananas, mashed potatoes, soup, rice with butter, cooked carrots, and eggs. Even things like caffeine and carbonation tend to affect me more, I feel, so I try to cut down on my coffee and soda intake.

1. Planter’s Pumpkin Spice Almonds

I got a GIANT canister of these sweet babies from Target for $3.24. Yes. Three dollars and 24 cents. I’d run there right now and see if they still have any. I also was impressed because usually products like this are “made in a facility that also processes wheat”, but these are totally gluten free.

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2. Go Raw Super Chips

My latest work snack has been Go Raw Super Chips. I’ve tried the chocolate and spirulina ones, and they’re really addictive. You can eat a whole bag of them for the same amount of calories as a bag of Fritos, and they’re about 100 times better for you.

Warning: the spirulina chips look really scary because they’re bright green, but they taste mostly like coconut and sweet dates, so be not afraid.

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3. Bakery on Main Apple Raisin Walnut Granola

While this isn’t exactly the healthiest granola out there, it sure is delicious. I love that all of the ingredients are really high quality (giant walnuts and raisins) and there are big chunks of granola in each bag. I add this to a bowl of Honey Nut Chex and almond milk when I’m feeling like a cold breakfast.

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Any new gluten free snacks I should try?

To me, there are really only three suggestions that I would make to said friend: think ahead, be supportive, and put the bacon on the side.

1. Think ahead

The other night I went over to a friend’s to watch the Sugar Bowl, and she had made a whole separate plate of cheese and crackers just for me! All it took was some forethought on her part to buy a box of Glutino crackers, and it made my night! So thoughtful.

She also made homemade veggie dip and told me all of the ingredients before I had any; I didn’t have to worry about anything.

This same principle applies to suggesting restaurants – before suggesting a place to go to breakfast, think. Then don’t suggest we go to a place that only serves crepes.

2. Be supportive

It’s okay if we’re out and you want to eat late night pizza. I’m your friend and I’ll go with you. You must also be a friend and come with me to find food that I can eat. Tit for tat, buddy.

Also, be nice. Don’t “nananana boo boo” me because you can eat the donuts at the morning meeting. And try to supress the urge to make orgasmic eating noises as you down a delicious piece of cake for dessert. Sometimes I just need to believe that I’m not missing out on anything. When I go to the bathroom, feel free to rave about it behind my back.

3. Put the bacon on the side

This goes hand in hand with “think ahead”, but being willing to make small sacrifices for a gfree friend is key. It’s similar to meat eaters being friends with vegetarians – if you’re ordering pizza you get one with meat and one with veggies. If you’re sharing a plate of cheese fries and you want bacon on it (because that seems necessary), then ask for the bacon on the side.

In my case, my aunt made this yummy creamy potato soup for our family. Not only is it gluten free, but she also substituted the chicken stock for vegetable stock to make it vegetarian. Then she put the bacon on the side for the rest of my family to top their soup with.

Everyone’s happy and no one gets glutened!

Do you have any tips for friends and family of gluten free people? Anything that someone has done for you that was particularly friendly to your food allergy?

I nabbed up a loaf of this Amish made gluten free bread from Sweet Season’s Orchard. They also had pies, cinnamon rolls, pizza crusts, etc.

The bread was sweet and eggy, with a beautiful golden brown crust. I think that the potato flakes in this bread made it extra dense and helped it stay moist.

It was used to make french toast for breakfast.

With strawberry syrup and pecans.

And a grilled cheese.

Since I don’t travel with my bread maker, it’s awesome to be able to find quality gluten free baked goods at home! Plus, at $6.50 a loaf it’s actually less expensive than buying a mix.

And these were the best.

The BEST.

I had never heard of Brunehaut brewery before I saw their beers on a shelf at Horrock’s in Lansing, MI. Probably because they seem to be a really old, obscure brewery in Belgium that just happens to make two amazing gluten free beers. Wikipedia says that they’ve been in operation since 1890, which explains how they’ve actually managed to make a gluten free beer that has that lovely thing called taste.

I got one of their blonde ales, which I basically chugged the second I got home from the store. Amazing. Wish I had three more. Right now.

And an amber ale.

Both were full bodied, smooth, with no hint of weird sorghum or grass.

Both were also gold medal winners at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships. I am so proud that our country has one of those. Go USA!

I wish I could tell you where to find this beer, but the locations map on their website only has where you can find it in Belgium. I don’t know what twist of fate brought them to this random store in Michigan that I happened to go to; it just must have been my lucky day!

The best I can say is to beg a locally specialty store to order it for you. Cost should be no object, just get it.

These Brunehaut beers give me hope that one day us Celiacs can also enjoy specialty beers.

Cheers