Guest post from Bethany of All Natural Savings
I’ve had to go on a few different allergy-free diets in the past… and I’m currently on a dairy-free diet while I nurse my son, as he doesn’t react well to dairy. It didn’t take long for me to realize that allergy-free diets can be expensive and time-consuming. However, I soon adapted to my new lifestyle and found ways to make it affordable and manageable.
If you or a family member are dealing with a food allergy or intolerance, here are a nine ideas that should help you make the transition a little easier.
1. BYO”F”
I’ve found that it’s a lot more convenient for myself (and the host) if I bring my own food. I bring along my purse-style cooler, which doesn’t attract much attention, and pack food that doesn’t need to be heated up.
This saves having to read labels of every ingredient they used in their cooking. It’s a bonus if I find something allergy-free there that I can munch on.
2. Use coupons.
Allergy-free diets can often mean higher grocery bills. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. There are many allergy-free coupons available and when paired with a sale, make for some cheap, allergy-free food.
Online coupon sites such as MamboSprouts.com, Coupons.com, and SmartSource.com offer many gluten-free, dairy-free and other allergy-free coupons.
3. Ask to read labels.
When we go out to eat, I’ll ask to read the labels on their bread packages, and other items that could contain dairy. They are usually happy to oblige and I still get to enjoy the food, knowing I’ll be safe from any dairy ingredients.
4. Find allergy-friendly restaurants.
I’ve found Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s to be two of the best allergy-friendly restaurants. Outback Steakhouse has a gluten-free menu, and Applebee’s has a paper list of all of their food that is allowable for each allergy-specific diet.
I’m always impressed at Outback, as everyone from the hostess to the manager usually acknowledges it and assures me that my food does not contain any dairy.
5. Shop online.
Amazon and Vitacost are a great, frugal choice for buying allergy-free pantry items such as gluten-free flours, allergy-free snack bars, cereals, chips, and even allergy-free makeup. By using Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program, you can receive a percentage off discount on top of their already low prices.
6. Host a party.
I always find it much more convenient to host. I know what ingredients I used, and I don’t have to worry about reading labels or packing my own food.
7. Eat healthfully.
Because there are so many options, it can be tempting to eat a lot of allergy-free packaged foods. Use this as an opportunity to clean up your diet by replacing the allergy foods with more fruits and vegetables.
8. Know the lingo.
While many packages of food will specifically state if an allergen is used, some packages still do not. Brush up on all the different ingredients that contain your specific allergen. Printing a list and keeping it in your purse or walled can also be helpful for use at the grocery store or restaurant.
9. Don’t deprive yourself!
There are so many recipes and products that allow you to still indulge in your favorite foods. With my dairy-free diet, I really missed whipped cream, cream cheese, and ice cream… however, I’ve replaced these with whipped coconut milk, soy cream cheese, and the occasional treat of soy ice cream.
Stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods offer a ton of allergy-free substitutes. Pinterest and other online sources are a great resource for allergy-free recipes. Get creative with other ingredients you have on hand and substitute them in your favorite recipes.
With a little creativity, being on an allergy-free diet doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
What are some ways that have helped you on an allergy-free diet?
Bethany is a stay at home wife and mom to her husband, Chad and sweet baby boy, Silas. She is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and encouraging others on how to eat healthy, frugally. Her blog, All Natural Savings, offers tons of information on eating healthy, living healthy on a budget, healthy recipes and natural health.
Kemi Quinn says
I’m allergic to soy and have been on a soy-free diet for 17 years. At first it was difficult and I felt very limited in what I could eat. Slowly, through the years, I now don’t miss out on much but eating out. Since food allergies are much more common and more manufacturers list ingredients and manufacturing practices on their products it makes it much much easier. Strangely enough not being able to eat soy made my diet much healthier and kept my weight down.
Jenna says
With nearly all chain restaurants — many have allergen menus on their websites. I can’t have dairy and its a standard practice for me to check out a restaurants website before going. Some don’t provide the info, but give you contact info so you can contact someone at the company/restaurant–not convenient for checking an hour before you go through!! 🙂
Dee Wolters says
My teenage daughter has an allergy to all mammal meat (beef, lamb, pork, etc). Thankfully she has no problem with dairy and can have fish and poultry. But since we live on a farm and raise lamb and beef, those are our main protein (have a freezer full…). It is difficult to eat our because bacon is used on almost everything these days, but she is doing better at asking for meat free items. She will be attending college next fall and eating in the dining hall. There are vegetarian entrees at each meal as well as lots of chicken.
My biggest issue is not cooking 2 meals- one for her and another for the rest of us, especially when buying chicken costs money, but the lamb/ beef is “free”. But going to the hospital with allergic reaction is not fun either, in addition to being costly.
Milk Allergy Mom says
These are great tips and I agree that you can find coupons for allergy-free foods. Facebook is a great place to support your favorite brands and to print their coupons. We don’t chance eating out with my son’s severe allergy, I make all his food unless it’s prepackaged with a label.
And I would add that it’s great to get into food coops like UNFI and Azure Standard. I can get our dairy-free chocolate chips, yogurt, and more for even less than Amazon most times. It’s also a great way to meet others with your allergies. You can split orders and build a little community. 🙂
Amy f;) says
We are drowning from food allergies. We buy everything in bulk, and cook everything from scratch (except once a week “dining out” snack of purchased hummus and crackers during the grocery shopping.)
We can’t eat out at restaurants at all. Still the food is breaking the bank. Its hard to eat cheap when you are allergic to beans and rice. and wheat. and eggs. and soy, dairy, most nuts, chocolate, corn and when you have to rotate all the foods that you still can eat to once every four days so that you don’t become allergic to those too.
We’re at the point where either we become a one-car family to get us by for a few more months, refinance for a longer term on our only debt, or I work. I’m not sure how to work when I have all this cooking from scratch to do and three little homeschooled boys.
I appreciate the idea of this post, but was disappointed that it didn’t offer any help for our food allergen money problems and I’m so desperate right now.
I guess if I offered tips for multi-allergen food situations, it would be to make a price book and really shop around. Specialty ingredients like lamb, teff, quinoa, gf oats, etc. can be tricky to find to start with, but the more I shop, the more I am able to whittle a dollar off a pound here with lamb and two dollars off a bag of grains there. Its grueling to do all this shopping (on top of the cooking and kid-raising), but what is the alternative? I have been able to make some relationships with farmers (as she suggested) and they have been generally the cheapest source for many things so that is a good place to start. Its almost easier that way too- so you are not parading by the beautiful baked goods in the regular grocery store when you can’t really eat them.
Another example, Comparing coconut milk prices…we save a lot of money by buying a bulk sack of shredded coconut and then using that for coconut milk, coconut yogurt, coconut ice cream, etc. We know that there are no additives, that it hasn’t been sitting in BPA for months, and that we save almost twice the money by making the extra steps to make these products from scratch. Do we live in the kitchen? Yes. pretty much.
I’m thinking with multiple allergens a big freezer would be a really good idea too- that way you always have food on hand that you can eat and you are not forced to pick around at the store for things that might make you cheat (and get you sick) or things that might cost more than bulk purchasing.
Also, making your own personal products as much as possible might help, because there are just so many things added to those when you buy them at the drug store. That way you save money and you are not unknowingly being exposed to something like gluten, every time you brush your teeth or something. One of my sons had a reaction every time he used regular gel toothpaste from the dentist!
Another family I know with multiple food allergies really has had great success with gardening to at least cover the produce bill. They have older children:) and there might be quite a learning curve (at least for me there is) but this way you know if anything has been sprayed on your own veggies and they must have more nutrients if you eat them fresh from the garden.
Milk Allergy Mom says
Sorry for your discouragement. I agree, it’s really hard to get the food bill down each month. And yes, we do live in the kitchen. I spent all day there today, in fact. I’m working on my attitude about it and try to surround myself with things that make it more enjoyable. Fresh cut flowers, music, a good view out the window, kids playing…I am glad we eat healthy as a result and spend a lot of time together as a family. 🙂 Looking forward to working the garden to advantage this year.
Amy f;) says
Can you tell I’m really, really struggling with keeping that positive, grateful attitude right now? 🙂 Its not your fault:)
I actually got some paint a few months ago to paint the kitchen my favorite color. I noticed that I am just one of those people who is really color-aware and I thought it might help. DH is working late tonight, but the kids just put in a video…maybe I’ll surprise him with an orange kitchen:)
My garden is not doing well, but I just put a chicken in the oven seasoned with fresh herbs (the only thing I CAN seem to grow)…so I AM grateful for that:)
PS I thought of another thing…if you need to sub grains for a grain allergy, a home mill saves $. We used our vintage vitamix til it gave up the ghost last winter. Since then, we’ve been baking much, much less and using a cheapo handheld coffee grinder. It works…it just takes more time:)
Kemi Quinn says
Amy you had some great tips in your comment. The gardening, the price book, are great ideas! Gardening and the freezer are two things we did. In my immediate family it is just soy but we eat a lot with our extended family and that makes it gluten free and also my mom who has to keep rotating her foods and cannot eat any meat but fish, no dairy, and very low gluten. She also started becoming sensitive to soy. Oh and she can’t eat any nuts.
The freezer is a life saver. And sometimes you can’t items that cost a lot at your local health food store for less at an ethnic store.
Amy f;) says
Thanks:) Prayers that your mom’s body would quit attacking her food.
Amy f;) says
ooh-I was thinking too- you have to be careful buying in bulk. I buy huge sacks that are straight from the farm without any processing so that there is less chance of them being contaminated, not foods straight from the bulk bin.
Sarah says
I’m struggling in the kitchen as well. My daughter has severe food allergies to gluten, dairy, soy, corn, oat, egg, tree nuts, peanut, nightshades, citrus, rice, chicken, tuna, beef, and pork.
She can only eat the special superfood items and it’s killing our bank account. Not only do I live in the kitchen making EVERYTHING from scratch, but it’s the most expensive ingredients. I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out how to keep her fed, along with my husband and other 2 kids, and save money at the same time. Coupons don’t help because she can’t eat processed foods (always something she can’t tolerate). We can’t garden because we rent a townhome.
I feel like my only option is to buy the foods she can tolerate at full price. It’s killing us financially. I’ll take any advice!!
dawn says
I’m praying for each of you ladies who are struggling right now.
Sarah- I am looking at your list of allergens and just throwing this out there for ideas if it helps- beans (cook dry beans up and have in the freezer). millet is a lesser expensive gluten free grain, i’ve used it like oatmeal for breakfast, see if you can get it in bulk if you find she likes it. Maybe you could plant in buckets or pots. Maybe keep a list of all the things she can eat.
Amy f;) says
thanks dawn 🙂
Amy f;) says
The closest nutritional food co-op to me has 10% off boxes for members on certain days of the year- you might try asking at the places that seem like they have the best prices to start with if they would work with you on the price if you ordered in bulk. Honestly, I haven’t been organized enough to try ordering through them yet, and they are 50 minute drive away for me, but I do get Azure Standard deliveries once a month and about half the things I price with them are cheaper than amazon prime or amazon sub n save.
Hugs Sarah! Its good that you are doing what you can to meet her special food needs:)
Jenn says
I am vegan (for health reasons) and recently gluten free (try that for a combo!!). I make almost everything from scratch and thanks to Crystal talking about Azure Standard, buy all my gluten free flours from them (I grind some of them myself in my Vitamix dry goods container to save more). I find their prices are much better than anywhere else on-line.
Also, I have been emailing GF companies and asking for coupons – some of them really come through!!! I’ve gotten some really high value coupons, and one even sent me a sample of gf pasta.
I find the restaurants that I can eat at are Mediterranean (Alladin’s is AWESOME), Thai, Chinese, Flat Top Grill, and Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Julie says
FYI: Red Robin is an excellent place for people with food allergies! My son has many lol and they are VERY accommodating 🙂
cher says
If you are new to eating soy products please research and consider carefully the difference between fermented and unfermented soy. Further it would be wise to understand how soy can mimic estrogen in the body and throw your hormones out of balance. There is a pretty good book called The Soy Deception by Dr. David Brownstein M.D that gives some really insightful and important facts! Hope this is helpful!
Diana says
Yes, bringing your own food is the easiest way around allergen-free diets! I also had to be dairy-free while my son was nursing exclusively (he’s much better now, but I haven’t given him dairy yet), and it seems like that is the hardest situation to be in because you’re so hungry all the time and you can’t eat cheese or yogurt! I ate so much peanut butter and tuna 🙂
Now the hard part is that he’s a dairy-free toddler who won’t eat much peanut butter. Buying lots of meat really adds up, and he wakes up hungry if he doesn’t get a good balance of protein and carbs. I have a really hard time finding inexpensive, healthy foods that he will eat and will fill him up.
Leslie says
Celiacs beware when eating out at chain restaurants. My husband is celiac and has found breaded crumbs/ pieces of gluten-full food on his plate at Applebee’s. Needless to say we’ve stopped going to Applebee’s.
Sarah@Early Bird Mom.com says
I had to eliminate many, many allergens while nursing my son and I found that cooking everything from scratch was the only way to do it safely. I’m so glad he’s finally weaned!
Elizabeth M. says
I’ve had to be dairy-free while nursing my son. I have found Olive Garden to be good with allergy-free meals as well (they have a great allergen menu). I have had a waitress almost knock food out of my mouth because she hadn’t yet verified that the kitchen had done what she’d asked. I’ve had a manager go into their freezer to bring me the ingredient lists from their breads. I’ve also had another Olive Garden not only comp my meal because they accidentally contaminated my dish, but also gave me a gift card to pay for the next one.
I don’t live very close to a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, but I have found that both Meijer & Kroger carry allergen-free foods.
Melissa says
Excellent tips! We’re all gluten free and dairy free, and my son and I are off many foods that we’re currently intolerant to. While it does cost more to buy foods since I just can’t buy whatever is on sale, we’re also saving in a different way because we rarely go out (and when we do, it’s Outback like you said), and we also bring all of our own food when we travel.
Another big savings for us has been buying directly from the farmer. We rarely go to super markets now. Don’t forget to also consider growing a garden if you can.
ARCpoint Labs of Herndon says
People oftentimes forget how easy it can be to save money with coupons. And there are plenty out there for health foods and allergy-free foods.