How To Go gluten-free Without The Resources?

[BrandiS]

I live at home with my parents whom are also disabled and no extra income or no means of helping me or no interest in going gluten-free as well. Trying to make my house and home is going to be an impossible task. It is very hard for me dealing with what i am and the brain fog to keep up with cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen as well as my family as well. I cant afford to go out and buy new pots/pans untensils and will have to use the ones we already have that have been exposed to gluten. We dont have the space to make a part of the kitchen gluten-free only. I do have access to a seperate mini refrigerator that hasnt been exposed to much gluten so have been keeping fruits and veggies in there. Anyone else dealing with the same issues? I almost feel that this is just a waste of my time. Any thoughts?

[1974girl]

Being disabled and low income doesn't mean that your parents can't help you have a safe enviroment. Don't give them a pass on that! Don't use the toaster...period. You can't get it clean enough. Line your pans with tin foil and cup cake liners for muffin pans. You can still take out the food from the pantry/cabinet, clean the shelves, and make you a big shelf just for you. I have read to make it the highest shelf so gluten won't accidently fall on your stuff, too. Put their flour canisters at the very bottom! I bought a $1.50 bin at Walmart for my celiac child's snacks and that whole shelf is gluten free stuff. I think things get clean enough in hot water so we all share the same plates and utensils. If cleanliness is also an issue, then ignore me. You will get zapped. There are plenty of cheap recipes online. www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com has some good ideas. You really have to just get your parents to agree to eat their gluten and then wash their hands and counters and try to help you in every way possible. We have a mixed household and it is working fine. But I bend over backwards to make my daughter safe. If I was disabled or low income, I'd do the exact same backwards bending!

[BrandiS]

After being sick for a very long time and the last year being homebound mainly due to extreme brain fog(never subsides) and fatigue and not being able to go to doctors due to no insurance and after lots of research of my symptoms as a last resort Im trying to go gluten-free starting about 3 days ago. Cross contamination is going to be a problem for me as I stated in my other post. ( I live with my parents whom arent gluten-free) and I cannot afford new untensils etc. I have no income and no where to get help. AS a last resort I am trying to find help online. I do get $130.00 in food assistance a month. But as we know that dont get me very far! The last couple days I have been trying to eat fruit and vegetables (something i havent ate much of growing up as we just couldnt afford)and chicken. I did by a few gluten-free things as well. And my food allowance is already gone. Some examples of what I have been eating are chicken breasts cut up and cooked in olive oil with sea salt and pepper. I cooked some in classicos gluten-free alfredo sauce today, asparagus some packaged gluten-free mashed potatoes I found at Kroger. Alot of strawberries and kiwi and canned fruits and vegetables (which Im not sure are gluten-free) of and gluten-free Fruity Pebbles with soy milk! LOL. I try my best to wipe out the pans and utensils before I cook. I really want to eat all organic/natural and its just not something I can afford.

Any ideas of cheap, easy foods would be very much appreciated as reading all the gluten-free recipes online I just for one cant afford and two physically I cant do much cooking. Thanks!

[kareng]

We have had many threads on gluten-free on a budget. Look around the sight for food ideas. I'll see if I can find a few and put the link here.

[Adalaide]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but throw that organic/natural idea right out the window. It just isn't happening on a budget. Buying things like pre-packaged mashed potatoes will be a drain you don't need on your budget. I pick up 10 pound bags of potatoes for $2.59 and I imagine you can probably find a similarly low price. For fruits and veggies, check every local stores flyers online before you go shopping and buy what's in season and on sale when you buy fresh. I personally buy mostly frozen veggies since I can almost always find them on sale somewhere. It doesn't thrill me, but it won't kill me to have to cook them myself on the stove. Dried beans and rice are also great diet fillers that are cheap and I use them extensively now. LaChoy brand soy sauce is safe, I like to just fry up some veggies with some and throw it over rice. It isn't fancy but it's filling and cheap.

Two other tactics I use for saving. Sunday papers. Coupons are wonderful things, and you can usually find a listing online of what coupons are available in the paper before you go buy it and find out there are either none or none you would use. (I get it delivered so I don't know what websites my friend uses for that.) I also have 2 stores relatively close to home that mark down products as they approach their expiration date. I visit each of these stores several times a week. I've scored deals like ground turkey for $.99 a pound, chicken legs and thighs for $.59 to $.79 a pound, cheese at half price (if you can do dairy) and produce such as prepackaged salads at half price. One of the stores I find these at is Smith's which is a Kroger store so maybe you'll find similar deals yourself. I've also never had a problem with any Kroger brand products, but check every label. I believe it's their canned beans that list right on the ingredients that they may contain wheat so veggies may also have a similar warning.

[kareng]

Ok. I'm back!

Look at these for some ideas. Just remember that any info about a specific product that's more than a year old should be checked. Meaning, 2 years ago, someone said that XYZ rice Cakes were gluten-free but they may have changed the ingredients since then. So read labels.

They will send you a package of gluten-free stuff to try for free:

Open Original Shared Link

saw this on an ad here. I got a free box of samples. Always good to try them before you spend money on them.

Open Original Shared Link

[BrandiS]

Thank you so much! Its just a very over whelming thing. I am constantly reading and looking for recipes but after looking at different blogs with people having so many allergies to so many things it just gets you really down. I will just try strictly gluten-free items before I try cutting anything else out of my diet and try to eat as many fresh/frozen/canned fruits and veggies as I can afford! Thank you again!

[Mom23boys]

Don't abandon organic just yet...

See if your area has a CSA.

I get weekly deliveries year round from a local, organic farm. I feed my whole family these fruit/veggies for $50 a week! We often have leftovers. (a normal delivery is in 2 party size coolers) Of course, I get their largest "box" for 5-6 people. The best part is I don't have to go anywhere. I put my box out on Mon night and Tues morning I have groceries on my porch.