Gluten Free Foods = $$$

[MIGrandma]

I sure wish gluten free foods weren't so expensive. Is it really that much harder to make things out of rice and corn flour than it is wheat???

I finally found a gluten-free bread that I like, but gosh, the price...$6.19 for a teeny tiny loaf! And the slices are teeny tiny too. Why can't they be regular sized slices? And the same price for four small hamburger rolls.

And it's even worse for a 14 oz. bag of Glutino pretzels...$8.19! Yikes!!

I mean, I think it's great that companies make things like this, but gosh the prices are so high I can't afford to buy them very often.

Everything else is the same way. If you want gluten-free items you pay terribly high prices.

 

[ambertides]

Yep.

Mostly I stay away from pre-made gluten free stuff, though I do splurge on hamburger buns from Whole Foods -- $8 for 6 buns, but they are really great. Good thing I only have a hamburger once in a forever.

Can you do dairy? If you can find Tapioca flour, it's fairly inexpensive, and you can make some really, really yummy rolls/breadsticks/whatever with it:

Gluten-free and LOVIN’ it – cheese buns extraordinaire

At some point we're going to try it as a pizza crust.

We also make a lot of things (pie crusts, cookies, waffles, etc.) with Pamela's Baking Mix. You can buy three 4lb bags on Amazon for $34. Still crazy, but less crazy than buying a box of 6 pancakes or 9 cookies for $5. I've read Bisquick is coming out with a gluten free version at the end of summer, but I'm not sure how it will compare quality or price-wise (the Betty Crocker brownie/cookie/cake mixes are around $4/box here.)

I will mostly do salads or lettuce wraps instead of sandwiches, or use Sandwich Petals, which are $25 for 36 wraps, including shipping.

Good luck!

 

[dzorn]

I order some of my food from amazon.

Denise in MI

 

[golfgal]

I am not on a gluten free diet but I noticed that my Rice Chex is Gluten free and they weren't that expensive.

 

[pixiegoose]

I'm not gluten free but there's an awesome crockpot website that I love that has mainly gluten free recipes that are pretty easy to make. It's crockpot365.blogspot.com (the direct link to her gluten free recipes is: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/search/label/gluten free ) . She mentions a lot of gluten free ingredients that she uses or makes herself but most of the recipes just have "regular" food and are gluten free.

 

[kimmar067]

I sure wish gluten free foods weren't so expensive. Is it really that much harder to make things out of rice and corn flour than it is wheat???

...TELL ME ABOUT IT!

...And it's even worse for a 14 oz. bag of Glutino pretzels...$8.19! Yikes!!

...they're only $5.99 (yeah, like that's cheap either!) here for that 14 oz bag...

...I mean, I think it's great that companies make things like this, but gosh the prices are so high I can't afford to buy them very often....If you want gluten-free items you pay terribly high prices.

...that's why I try to made as much home-made stuff as I can....although the Tinyada pasta is expensive and I buy 2 or 3 bags every week...!! Hey, my DH likes pasta, so I buy it for him....I haven't found a decent pizza for my DH though....

 

[monorailsilver]

Dairy free stuff is pretty pricey too! My 6 yo is allergic to dairy (peanuts, tree nuts & egg whites too).

But I can luckily buy store brand on some things which off sets his soy ice cream, milk, frozen pizza (thank you Toffutti!), cream cheese & sour cream.

I am so sorry. I hate it too.

 

[kimmar067]

Dairy free stuff is pretty pricey too! My 6 yo is allergic to dairy (peanuts, tree nuts & egg whites too).

But I can luckily buy store brand on some things which off sets his soy ice cream, milk, frozen pizza (thank you Toffutti!), cream cheese & sour cream.

I am so sorry. I hate it too.

...there's a great product called Tempt

...and it's not only gluten-free, but is dairy-free (it's made with hemp milk) !!

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

I think a large part is the cross contamination. They either have to have their own room solely for gluten free production or they have to shut down normal production, sanitize the whole room, and then produce gluten free products.

It is not so much what is in the product but the need to guarantee it is gluten free during production.

 

[shortbun]

We have a friend who has learned to bake because he and his son both have celiac. He makes biscuits, pancakes, cookies and pizza crust that I know of. I think he uses rice flour and some other stuff he found at our local whole foods. He says it's much cheaper than buying the ready made. He bakes early Saturday morning. His wife says he does a horrible job of cleaning up the kitchen, lol. She doesn't mind because he's doing the baking.

 

[Ceila]

I think a large part is the cross contamination. They either have to have their own room solely for gluten free production or they have to shut down normal production, sanitize the whole room, and then produce gluten free products.

It is not so much what is in the product but the need to guarantee it is gluten free during production.

This is definitely a large part of the problem. There are much more precautions that the bakers need to have in place in order to guarantee that the foods are truly safe, which translates into higher costs.

Also, since the market for gluten-free is much smaller, manufacturers can't realize the same economies of scale that larger food companies can.

 

[mjkacmom]

Believe it or not, the prices have been coming down. My nephew has a severe wheat allergy, and celiac runs in the family (dd7 tested postive to one test, waiting on the GI appointment). I am gluten intolerant, but gave up going gluten free, because of the cost. It's simply supply and demand.

 

[1stluvispooh]

DD went wheat and dairy free 6 years ago. I have to admit there are a lot more premade products now than when she first started.

Funny thing about your post. The other day I said to my DH that I wounder what the family budget would look like if we didn't have to buy DD gluten free/casein free!

 

[Rora]

Tell me about it!

Recently my Grandma tried gluten free products to see if it would help her stomach issues (DR thought she had Celiac) and I did all of her grocery shopping for her. It was shocking how expensive it was! I specifically remember buying a box of macaroni and cheese for a whopping $4!!!

This is certainly a hardship for those who have celiac or an allergy. I hope the prices come down soon!

 

[Traveliz]

My husband has had celiac's for over 25 years now - the prices have always been high - back then there were less choices so the good news is now at least there are many more options for food.

We used to mail order most of his food and would occasionally find a Health food store with a few choices.

At any rate we basically just pay it - I say it's like ordering lobster - if you need to ask the price you can't afford to be gluten free... of course I realize it isn't a choice thing but we only he eats the gluten free products so that helps.

Liz

 

[MIGrandma]

I think a large part is the cross contamination. They either have to have their own room solely for gluten free production or they have to shut down normal production, sanitize the whole room, and then produce gluten free products.

It is not so much what is in the product but the need to guarantee it is gluten free during production.

I never thought about that part of it. Makes sense though.

Someone else said they get their gluten free foods from Amazon. I've looked there, but you can't buy just one of anything, it all comes in multiples like 6 or more. I don't want to spend money on 6 of anything without knowing I like it first. There have been some breads I would like to try but I just don't want to have to buy 6 of them.

 

[kimmar067]

...what you COULD do is find out if Whole Foods carries any of those brands/products and buy 1 for the first time to try it out. If you DO like it, then go ahead and buy bulk...

 

[dzorn]

...TELL ME ABOUT IT!



...they're only $5.99 (yeah, like that's cheap either!) here for that 14 oz bag...



...that's why I try to made as much home-made stuff as I can....although the Tinyada pasta is expensive and I buy 2 or 3 bags every week...!! Hey, my DH likes pasta, so I buy it for him....I haven't found a decent pizza for my DH though....

try amazon for the pasta

 

[MIGrandma]

...what you COULD do is find out if Whole Foods carries any of those brands/products and buy 1 for the first time to try it out. If you DO like it, then go ahead and buy bulk...

I COULD do that, IF there was a Whole Foods anywhere near me.

 

[1stluvispooh]

My husband has had celiac's for over 25 years now - the prices have always been high - back then there were less choices so the good news is now at least there are many more options for food.

We used to mail order most of his food and would occasionally find a Health food store with a few choices.

At any rate we basically just pay it - I say it's like ordering lobster - if you need to ask the price you can't afford to be gluten free... of course I realize it isn't a choice thing but we only he eats the gluten free products so that helps.

Liz

I've been known for yelling at DS for eating his sisters animal crackers! "Don't eat your sisters when you can eat the cheap stuff."