Student.. New To celiac disease.. Low Cost And Gluten Free.. That Possible?

[csm170]

Hello, My name is Chad and I've been aware of my celiac disease for a week now. I am in Pharmacy School and have next to no money for food. I checked out the Gluten Free section of the store and I just don't have the money to shop in that section of the store... I am looking for some food items that I could put in my back pack because I spend most of my time in a library. Do you have anything in mind that can keep carbs and fiber in a diet... I've already turned more to fruit for these nutrients.... Thank you for any input you can give..

[GlutenFreeManna]

Rice cakes are cheap (make sure you get gluten free ones). I make peanut butter and jelly rice cakes a lot to take with me.

You can make a trail mix with raisins, nuts, chocolate chips or Plain M&M's. Add shredded coconut and dried pineappel for a tropical version.

Cereal like Chex (all except wheat chex and multigrain are gluten-free) makes a good snack or addition to the trail mix too.

Lara bars and Enjoy Life bars are good portable snacks but not super cheap--you can save money by gettign them in bulk online however.

Popcorn is good too. Stay away from Target brand if you get microwave type.

[cyberprof]

Hi Chad,

Trail mix, as the other poster said, is good. I make my own with nuts (usually almonds), chocolate chips, craisins or dried cherries. Dried fruit is good to keep in your backpack.

Pop a bag of unsalted popcorn, add nuts and raisins and other dried fruit. Reseal bag and take on the run.

How about single-serve yogurt? Put it in the freezer while you're getting ready for school in the morning so it partially freezes and stays cool until snack/lunch. String cheese. Beef (or turkey) jerky (you may have to look around for a gluten-free option). Peanut butter with celery sticks or apple slices. Hard-boiled eggs. (You may need an insulated lunch sack and/or ice pack.)

Canned peaches or pears or mandarin oranges. Put them in re-used containers (like yogurt or cottage cheese) and then you can throw the containers away at school if it's too hard to bring them home. Or buy the single-serve ones when they're on sale.

Make easy fake-rice-krispy treats. Only takes a microwave. (I say fake because Rice Krispies are not gluten-free, but there is puffed rice cereal that is gluten-free and while it might be a little more expensive, making your own treats really saves money.) Or easy peanut butter cookies. One cup of PB, one egg, one cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix, roll into balls. Roll in sugar (optional). Place on cookie sheet. Press with fork (optional). Makes 10-12 cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Cool.

For my son's lunch, I bought a wide mouth thermos and put in Hormel chili, or Progresso soup (look for the gluten-free label), or vegetarian chili with cut up hot dogs. Pre-heat the thermos with water before you add the hot food and that keeps it warm and appetizing until lunch. Buy soup on sale or with coupon. Also, canned tuna salad, chicken salad etc. in cool thermos or with ice pack.

That's all I can think of off-hand. Good luck!

[cap6]

apples & peanut butter are a good emergency snack.

[divamomma]

Some luncheon meats (packaged) are gluten free. (I am in Canada but Buddig's and Grimms are both gluten-free and available in most stores). Corn tortillas....they roll nicely if warmed in microwave for 15 secs or so. Rice is gluten-free. (pilaf is not) Fresh meat, potatoes, veggies and fruit are all gluten-free. Watch dips/salad dressing. No croutons. Eggs are gluten-free. Corn tortilla chips, some brands of salsa. Watch for cross contamination with condiments. You may need to replace them all.

Popcorn, buy popcorn seeds and brown paper lunch bags. Put one cup of seeds in a bag, roll top over twice (one inch folds)lay it flat in a microwave and microwave it for about 21/2 -3 minutes, listen to the popcorn and take it out when it is done. This is gluten-free and cheap! Much cheaper and healthier than buying bags of mircrowave popcorn.