Eating gluten-free: more or less expensive?

Does it cost more to eat gluten-free?  That's today's burning question.

And I don't have a definitive answer for you.

Personally, I don't keep track of how much I spend on food.  I spend what I spend to get what I need.  I watch sales closely and stock up when prices drop.  Some things get ordered from Amazon because we use them a lot and it costs less to have them shipped than buy local.  If something is just way too expensive, we either substitute or do without.

But as far as hard numbers, I don't have any.  Sorry...

I can tell you that since going gluten-free, we have almost completely stopped eating out.  The risk is just too great, and frankly, I'm a really good cook and it's rare that a restaurant does a better job than I can.  Not trying to brag here, but just calling it like it is.  So the amount of money we spent on restaurants has gone down significantly.

As far as groceries are concerned, yes, gluten-free food substitutes can be expensive.  Six dollars for a loaf of bread?  Um, no, thank you.  Four dollars for a bag of pasta?  Seriously?

Before going grain free, we baked some bread, but not a lot, because we live in Florida and who wants to heat up the kitchen with the oven during the 9 months of summer?  Occasionally I would pick up a loaf of Udi's or Rudi's bread for my hubby, because he likes it.  But we're talking 3 or 4 times a year, if that.  We found cheaper sources of gluten-free pasta, and got creative with substituting rice.  We found cheap rice flour and I made all of our sweet baked treats.  No way was I paying a small fortune just to eat a gluten-free cookie!

So yes, we had a few indulgences.  And most of those are gone now, too, because we're grain and sugar free.

Another thing that helped our grocery bills was that with all my other food intolerances, I can't eat most junk food.  That means no potato chips, candies, and most processed foods, even if they are gluten-free.  Even with sales and coupons, junk food is still junk, and is simply extra money being spent.

Really, since going gluten-free, the major increase in our food budget has been for higher quality products.  We eat a lot more organic, local, fresh produce and higher quality meats.  That's because we know so much more about food now, we have to invest in healthier options.

Our household has been gluten-free for several years now, so I don't even have the data to compare how much we spent before.  But if I had to guess, I would say that we pay right around the same amount as we used to for food (if you include all those restaurant meals we used to eat).  The difference is we eat so much better now, which is an investment in our health and well-being.  And when I look at our annual blood work results from the last few years, I can tell you that our investment is paying off.

A lot of what goes into a food budget is discretionary spending.  If you find that your gluten-free spending is higher that you'd like, it might be time to examine where the money is actually going, and decide if that's really how you want to spend your hard earned dollars.

How do you feel about the FDA's proposed gluten-free labeling laws?

The other day the FDA re-opened discussion on their proposed gluten-free labeling laws.  You know, the ones they started drafting in 2007?  Yes, the ones that have been languishing for 4 years.  Those laws.

Here is the FDA press release, containing relevant links, should you want to find out more about it.  No, I haven't read all the details yet.  I've only just glanced at the release.

I did happen to be on Twitter right after the FDA teleconference on Aug. 2 ended.  My computer screen literally exploded with tweets containing #gfFDA.  There were comments about the proposed language of the law, what was included, what was left out, and what did it all mean.  OMFSM!  (Oh My Flying Spaghetti Monster, the best expletive I've heard in a long time.)  Seriously, with all the traffic, I really thought something big had happened...

Yes, this is kind of big.  Let's call it "big-ish." I do think it's a big deal that the FDA is finally (in October or so) going to specify what "Gluten-Free" on a label means, and what standards companies have to meet to qualify for such a designation.

The new labels will have a profound effect on the lives of millions of people.

But...

Let me just say something here, something that I suspect is going to make me very unpopular among the mainstream gluten-free population:

The new FDA laws, whatever they may be, will have little (or no) effect on my normal life.

<gasp!>

There, I said it.  It's out in the open now.

<but how can this be? gasp!>

Well, the first reason is I have so many food intolerances and restrictions, I have barely eaten anything labeled "gluten free" in the five years I've been gluten free.  I haven't tried the new GF Bisquick (and I'm not going to).  My box of Betty Crocker GF Devil's Food Cake Mix is still sitting unopened in my pantry.  (Thank goodness it was complimentary from the company!)  Nearly everything made and marketed to the gluten-free community contains potato starch, soy, canola oil, or something else that will make me ill.

To top that, the second reason is I recently went grain-free and stopped eating almost all processed foods.  And I feel wonderful, and so does my husband, so this is probably going to continue.  That means I no longer have any use for GF Rice Krispies, Glutino GF Crackers, or Udi's GF bread.  Not that they aren't all wonderful products, but they just aren't on my radar any more.

<so...what about things you CAN eat?>

Um, you mean, like meat?  Eggs? Seafood? Dairy? Fresh vegetables and fruit? Nuts? Well, the last I checked, those things are already gluten free.  Okay, yes, there are a few types of bleu cheeses out there that might contain gluten. So I am looking forward to the new labels for that reason. But for the most part, I only eat whole, natural foods now.  I don't need a label to tell me what's in them; I can already see the contents.

It's amazing how liberating it is to realize that no matter how the FDA writes their final version of the gluten-free labeling law, I am going to be able to eat safely and be healthy.

However, for those of you that do like the convenience of ready made food, don't forget that the FDA is soliciting comments for 60 days from August 3, 2011.  Do be sure to tell them how you feel.  Don't assume that they will just automatically get it right, okay?  It's up to you to take action to protect your own health.

Is it really too much to expect?

Today's post is food related, though not specifically related to gluten.  However, transparancy in food labeling can only ultimately benefit us all.

I read an interesting article today on food labeling in the meat industry.  Meat is one of my favorite things these days since going Primal, so I sat up and took notice.

Mystery Meat No More?

The USDA has proposed a requirement that any additives or enhancements added to meat products be CLEARLY stated in the name of the product (emphasis added by me).

Currently, extra ingredients must be listed, but are often in teeny, tiny print.  I have often noticed and complained about this.  As someone who reacts to all sorts of things that are added to foods as "flavor enhancements," nothing, including meat products, goes into my grocery cart unless the label has been triple checked.  I am looking forward to the new labels, because they will make my life a lot easier.

Just to be clear, I don't have a problem with salt and water being added to a chicken.  Juicy chicken is a good thing.  I just prefer that everything we eat be additive free.  So the new labeling rules will make it easier for me to ensure that the only thing in my chicken, beef or pork is chicken, beef, or pork.  I do know people that specifically buy injected meats, because they like the flavor and texture.  And that's cool, too.  Now they will have an easier time of picking out the cuts they want.

What I do have a problem with is how companies seem to be trying to hide this information.  By printing their additive lists in microscopic print, it appears they are trying to pull one over on their customers. And that's not cool.

After all, when I find out someone is trying to hide one thing from me, I start wondering what other things they are trying to hide from me.  I'm just sayin'...

Being Gluten Free

I don't eat gluten.  Ever.  No, I don't cheat.  Not even a little bit.

Does that surprise anyone?  That's often one of the first questions I get when someone finds out I'm gluten free.

The other thing people always say - always - is, "Oh, I could never give up bread/pasta/insert gluten filled food item here."

I don't know, maybe they couldn't.  Frankly, for me, the choice between a slice of Wonder Bread and a slow, painful, agonizing death from cancer is pretty easy.

You can keep your bread, thank you!  I'm fine.

Evidently not eating gluten is the latest "fad" diet out there.  A lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon, giving up gluten here and there, because they've heard it's good for you.

I actually tried it once, many years before I found out I had celiac disease, a genetic gluten intolerance.

That time, I didn't notice any change in my health, and abandoned the diet after a few weeks.  After all, it's a pain in the ass, and it wasn't helping, anyway.

What I didn't realize at the time was that I hadn't eliminated gluten.  Not at all.

Oh, I thought I had.  I stopped buying bread and didn't eat any pasta.  I had it covered.

I didn't realize that the stuff is in everything.  Really.  Look at your container of soy sauce, bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, and package of Twix candy bars.

Then look at your spice cabinet.

And all those prepackaged foods in your freezer.

And pretty much every box and container on your pantry shelves.

Yeah, I was about as gluten free as a kid in a pie eating contest.  No wonder I didn't feel any better.

Once I was diagnosed with celiac disease, though, it all changed.  I went through the kitchen with a fine toothed comb.  No gluten escaped the purge.  Okay, I kept a few things that my husband eats, but when he finished them, they weren't replaced.

About three days after I eliminated gluten completely from my diet, something happened. 

I felt better.  I felt human.  For the first time in years.

From that day on, I haven't willingly touched anything with gluten in it. 

And I haven't missed the damn Wonder Bread one bit.

More shameless self-promotion

Are you gluten free yet? 

No?

Why not??? It's all the rage...

Hop on over to Li Loves David for a review of Garden of Eatin' Blue Corn Tortilla chips.

Yum...

Oh happy day...

I need to cheer up.

I’m in a bad mood right now. I have food intolerances, and I thought I had all the substances that make me ill pretty well nailed down. But for the last year or so, I’ve been on a downward slide as far as health. It’s been a slow descent, to be sure, but it’s there. And it’s time to do something about it.

So I’m on an elimination diet.

If you are at all familiar with allergies/intolerances, you probably have heard of this, and may have even done it. An elimination diet is simply where you eliminate foods that may be causing you problems.

I’m not going to get deeply into the mechanics of the diet here. You can Google it if you want the nitty gritty details. There are a few ways you can go about this, and I’m doing what I like to think of as a “rice fast.” Basically I’m eating rice, and not much else, for several days. Then I slowly get to add one food back into my diet every day or two, until I can pinpoint whatever has been bothering me.

I’ve done this before and it sucks. The first week or so is especially awful. Even though I feel better rather quickly, the rice fast leaves me hungry. All. The. Time.

And when I’m hungry, I’m crabby.

You may not have picked this up, but I love food. A lot. So not having any food variety in my life, not being able to cook for a few weeks, just kills me.

Writing hasn’t been helping much, because I normally do a lot of noshing while I write. I know, bad habit. And you should see my keyboard…

So to get through this, I’m trying to think up ways to distract myself from thinking about food. Little emotional pick-me-ups. Here are my top ten, in no particular order:

1. Go for a walk or run (a favorite).

2. Take a nap (another favorite).

3. Write something (trying to break the association with food).

4. Read.

5. Watch something funny on TV.

6. Cuddle a cat.

7. Meditate (I really should do this more).

8. Surf the web (staying away from food blogs, natch).

9. Knit something.

10. Did I mention naps?

Okay, it’s obvious I missed a whole bunch of good distractions. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

On my way to forming a habit

So I've made it to day 6 of the Blogathon, and I've managed to post every day.  My intent in doing this was to get back in the habit of writing every day, whether blog related or not. 

I read someplace that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I'm about 1/3 of the way there.  Yay, me!

There's updated information over at Li Loves David, if you are interested in gluten-free goodness.

Otherwise, I'm about ready to finalize a piece of spec writing that I'm planning to submit to a potential client, in the hopes of getting them to pay me to write more. 

In case you're not familiar with the term (and I wasn't until a couple of months ago), writing "on spec" means you write a sample for someone, to demonstrate what you can do.  Beginning writers often do a lot of this, as a way to get their names and abilities out there.  The theory is that the potential client will either (A) like it so much they will hire you on the spot, or (B) like it, decide it's not what they are looking for, but keep you in mind the next time they need a copywriter, which hopefully will be soon.

I'm hoping for (A).  We'll see.

I also have two sticks of butter softening on the kitchen counter right now.  They will soon become some gluten-free shortbread.  I don't think I've ever posted that recipe on Li Loves David, so if you're interested, you may want to watch that space soon.

Here's to the weekend!

Selfish plug

There will be another post here later today, but in the meantime check out the lastest info on the FDA's complete inability to get their act together.  Okay, that's not exactly news.  But this time it affects me personally, and I'm pissed.

Li Loves David - Three things you should NEVER believe...

Yes, running can be entertaining...

I became a runner this weekend.  When I started running, I had it in my mind that I could only be a jogger until I could consistently cover a 5K (or greater) distance while running continuously.  Finally, I did it.  3 times in a row, no breaks.  In fact, I blew past the 5K mark.  I am finally a runner.

Actually, I was a runner the moment I turned up the speed on the treadmill and pushed off.  But it took me this long to get over my mental hurdles.  Truly, it was a nonsense rule I had made up for myself.

Well, whatever.  I'm now a runner.  I run.  How cool is that?!

To celebrate, here are some vintage Adidas ads.  Note, this site is not safe for work.  Do not click on this link unless you can do so without repercussions!

Runners, Yeah We're Different

Running on...

A new personal best today:  I completed a 5 mile run.  Six months ago, I would have said that could never happen.

Running on...

I have to share - today I reached a personal best.  I started jogging a few months ago, following the Couch to 5K program.  Today I jogged 2.25 miles without stopping.  Yay, me!

Now, a little history here.  I am not a natural athlete.  I've never been a runner.  I like to walk.  I like to relax.  I think couches are great!  But a series of events converged a few months ago, leading me to realize I want to run a race.  I also want to increase my fitness, have more energy, fit into my clothes better, blah, blah, blah.  But mostly, I want to run a race.  Run the whole damn thing.  And finish it. So I started Couch to 5K.  I can walk a 5K, and in fact, I have walked several.  So training to run a 5K seemed like a logical progression.

Since I'm not a natural athlete, and have some old injuries, I've stretched the training out quite a bit.  It's taken me over 12 weeks to get to the week 6 workout.  I have to be very careful about stretching and warmup.  I still managed to strain each knee early on, but they eventually healed and now they are getting stronger.  And they lasted 2.25 miles today.  Now I'm ready for a nap...

Choices

After an experience I had at work today, I was going to write about how many people there are out there that deserve to be killed. But that seemed pretty grim. So I thought about it for a while, and I decided to look at the glass as half full instead. So I’m going to write about why I don’t kill people. Much more pleasant, don’t you think?

Why I don’t kill people:

1. Love – the love for my spousal unit and my furry critter keep me in line. They might not love me as much if I started murdering. Well, the cat probably would. Until I went to jail and could no longer provide a lap for her to shnooze upon. Then she’d get over me pretty quickly.

2. Cooking – I love to eat, therefore I love to cook. Food used to poison me. Thankfully, I have figured out what I can and cannot eat, and now food is again a joyous event. I have a blog dedicated to my exploits in the kitchen; you can read more at Li loves David.

3. Laughter – I was blessed with a sense of humor. Don’t roll your eyes; a lot of people are born without the humor gene. I know this to be true; I work with quite a few of them. My sense of humor helps me to see that absurd people should be mocked, not murdered. See more at OMG! I LOL’d.

4. Fiber Artistry – my obsession began with knitting. Then came crochet. Now I’m branching into recycling and upcycling fiber, and trying new techniques. You’ll be seeing a lot of that here in the future. I'm completely addicted. It’s gotten so bad that when I'm surfing the net, my spousal unit knows I'm looking at yarn porn.

5. Writing – oh, my gosh, I love to write. Almost as much as I love to eat. Then why, you ask, don’t I keep my blogs up to date? Why isn’t my novel published already, instead of wallowing in endless revisions? Well, writing takes concentration, and time. A lot of it. And these days, time is a precious commodity. I’m working on organizing and simplifying, and hopefully will free up some time soon. Then I’ll see you all at my book signing.

6. Exercise – yes, you read that correctly. Exercise. I never, ever thought I would become one of those people who live to work out. And yet, I’m becoming one of those people who lives to work out! Seriously! I even get up an hour earlier, just so I have the time to go to the gym. (See? There’s that time thing again.)

Anyhow, the above list is why I don’t kill people. But what does all this have to do with simplifying and conservation? Well, I don’t think jail would simplify my life. Going off to live in a tiny space, with no possessions, a limited wardrobe, nowhere to go, no expectations, nothing to do but exercise and write…

Um, wait a minute, that all sounds pretty simple. But they might not let me cook or have yarn in jail. And there's probably not a lot of humor to be found. I don't want to take that chance. I’ll stick with my non-murdering ways.