Ask the Readers: Frugality with food allergies?

I know that this is late, but it might help someone in the future, so I write it now. Our son has eosinophilic esophagitis and major food allergies. Basically, he can eat only about ten foods.

I think the major thing to change is your mindset. I know that was what I had to change. I was trying to make sure he had bread so he could have sandwiches, cookies and pizza and ice cream! I had to realize that my son is different and will not be able to enjoy those type foods. Trying to buy (even make my own from scratch) became VERY expensive.

Other kids say that they feel sorry for my kids because they cannot have such and such to eat (we are all pretty much on the same diet so I am not a short order cook). But I feel sorry for those kids that think that FOOD is what makes something fun. That is how kids get unhealthy and fat. My kids are super healthy, rarely get sick, and are super happy. I truly believe it is because we eat the foods God gave us to eat. VERY few things in my house have a label on them.

Farmer’s Markets are my best friend. I become friends with the farmer’s I buy from (EVERYTHING has to be organic – my son reacts if it is not – that is how sensitive his system is). They usually have a stuff a bag for $10 (get a $1 off if you use THEIR bag which you can buy once and bring back again and again year after year). I and now my oldest daughter are REALLY good at stuffing a bag. I can usually get $35 worth of produce for about $10 this way. The smaller two girls will pick out what looks good, and my oldest and I will pack bags. Going when the market is about to close gives you the BEST bang for your buck.

Keep an eye out on freecycle for a freezer. God knows you will need one and He will be faithful to provide. We had to wait a year, but He provided a VERY big one for our family. It has been a true blessing. Now we buy a lot during the summer, freeze it and preserve it and have plenty all winter. I have not had to buy an onion since August!

We also stock up on sales of meat at the grocer. My son is allergic to all meats but buffalo and beef. We stock up on grass fed beef and buffalo when it goes on sale for about $3/lb. Normally $7/lb.

Also, look for ways to cut elsewhere in the budget. Do you still have cable? Netflix? The library has everything for free, and you can watch most TV shows free online (a few days after they have already aired). And Red Box has coupons for free rentals for when you just can’t wait. Are you eating out a lot? Make eating IN more fun! You save money AND you don’t have to worry about the waitress accidentally giving your son milk when you ordered water (thank God I had an epi pen with me!). Do you have two cars and two payments? Do you really need that second car? I know it is difficult to sometimes just stay at home, but it saves you money (no second car payment, and no temptations from Goodwill!). If you need fellowship, invite friends over to your house (a great way to make sure your child is not getting any allergens at another friend’s house).

I have to second (or third, whatever place in line I am) the 5dollardinners.com – great stuff that can be modified to fit most any allergen diet.

And while my son cannot have ice cream. He can have fruit popsicles. I can even shave ice and pour fruit juice over it for a special treat. I can dehydrate fruit to make leathers for him. I still make cookies (I have a recipe on my son’s web site http://onemothersjourney.blogspot.com), but they are simple and use ingredients I already have on hand, not specialty ones that cost an arms and a leg. He cannot have cheese, but he can have jerky. Pray about fun and unique ways to make sure your child with special food needs gets to participate.

My son is happy and healthy and thriving now (no longer on a feeding tube). Sacrifices have to be made. God will bless you for them and He will provide. I hope that this was helpful.

My son had milk and egg allergies until last year. He grew out of them. Woo hoo! But, it’s what he is used to eating, so we still eat a lot of the same things since he doesn’t like cow’s milk or egg, etc.

Cooking everything from scratch was not really an option for me and I don’t think for a lot of people, especially those who work.

I have written about what we did to save money here and there and what kinds of things we cooked over at my blog at http://www.flyawayfamily.com

I am so glad that I’m not alone. My children have wheat, oat, egg, soy, dairy, peanut & tree nut allergies, (and possibly bean), and I can’t help but laugh when I read of people feeding their families on $50/week.

You must cut out all offending foods, no matter how slight the reactions. Reactions will get worse with time, and it is not worth the risks. I had pretty well adapted to dairy/nut/egg free life; we use Rice Dream, various egg substitutes, and Natural Balance buttery spread. I give my son a dairy-free calcium supplement.

Wheat, oat, and soy is a different ballgame. Planning dinners (and lunch and breakfast) is really hard. Basically I stick to meat, potatoes or rice, and vegetables; casseroles are gone. We all like beef & pork roasts (which go on sale regularly), whole chicken ($.79/lb), chicken thighs, and ground beef. Sometimes I fix rolls for those who can eat wheat.

I really feel like fresh fruits and vegs are an important part of our already limited diet and therefore I am willing to pay $20-$30 a week on produce that we really do eat. We eat salads, broccoli, lots of apples, oranges, & bananas.

My other splurge is Hormel Natural Choice lunch meat. It is free of wheat & dairy as well as yucky nitrates. It is easy to break in pieces for the little ones, transportable to the park (unlike roast), and very tasty. I often eat apple slices dipped in sunflower butter (though I’m hesitant to actually feed this to nut-allergic children b/c it is processed with nuts).

Soy Dream and Rice Dream make pretty good ice creams for special occasions. One son who can have soy loves Tofutti ice cream sandwiches. Sorbet (not sherbet) is a great dairy free, easily accessible treat, too.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free All Purpose Mix is great for making pancakes & brownies. Google “Wacky Cake” for a tasty chocolate cake, safe from eggs & dairy, and can be modified for wheat free, too.

My last two comments: 1. Try not to focus on all the things you (or your child) can’t have. Learn to embrace potatoes and rice. 2. Try not to worry excessively about your food budget. At $500/month, I feel like I am doing the best I can for our family of 5. Yes, I would like to save more, but we have to eat (and I like to eat as nutritiously as possible).

Trader Joes is a great place to get egg-free and nut free stuff at reasonable prices! My son is allergic to all dairy, eggs and all nuts(peanuts too)! I used to have to go to Whole Foods until the Trader Joes opened up in my area. I also make most of our meals from scratch.

Sorry, thought of something else. =) The dietician that I saw said that my son’s egg allergy was only to the egg whites b/c that’s where the protein is. If that’s the case for you, then you can still use the yolks to cook. I had to separate the whites and then rinse off the yolk to make sure to get all of the whites off or he would still have a reaction. Anyway, I think that it. I think. =)

I just have a few more practical ideas in case the organic route is too expensive for you:

Mostly you’ll have to start reading labels. Once you know what works and what doesn’t, it gets easier. But don’t let that fool you, because they’re constantly changing their “recipies.”

I guess I’ll start with cereal. If you don’t like the sugary kind, try Rice Chex. If you like to give them a treat now and then (or I liked to mix the sugary with the good stuff), you can find something like Smacks or another puffed rice cereal, you’ll just have to check the corn syrup, because I didn’t have to worry about that.

As for the milk to go with, I used Rice Dream, it’s fortified. But you might want to make sure you add a little more protein somewhere else in their diet?

For egg substitute, the dietician at our hospital was very helpful (another resource I would suggest tapping into). She gave me info on all my son’s allergies (where they might be hiding, like root beer and lunchmeat have egg in them; as well as helpful substitutions). I would use cornstarch and water, although I don’t have the exact recipe, I can get it for you if you would like it.

Bread. If you look in the freezer section of the grocery store (although I haven’t found any at Walmart) with the frozen loaves of bread, like Ezekiel bread, there’s a brand that makes spelt and rice bread, although I can’t remember the name right off hand (I can get that for you too, if you’d like it). It’s a bit pricey, but if it’s just your son eating it, it will last a while.

For my sons birthday and other special occasions, so he wouldn’t feel left out, I would splurge and go to the health food store and get a specialty cake mix, although they have these more and more at regular grocery stores now. They don’t taste any different from regular cakes really, and they have the right mixtures of the different grains. I tried making my own with rice and oat, but it came out really heavy. For ice cream, I found some store brand whipped topping (like Cool-Whip) that didn’t have any dairy, but, again, I don’t know about the corn syrup. Anyway, I would freeze it and he loved it. I tried the more expensive soy and rice cream, but he wouldn’t eat them at all.

Well, that’s all I can think of right now, but if I think of anything else, I’ll come back and post. Just a note of encouragement, it does get easier once you get the hang of it all. Have fun on your new journey! =)

Ashley, if your daughter is sensitive to wheat, you need to check on Kamut and Spelt — they have gluten as well. I make a cereal mix with Quinoa flakes, crushed millet, certified stone-ground oats, and brown rice. I cook large batches in advance and freeze it in single portions. When I reheat it, sometimes I use coconut milk, dried pineapple bits, almond slivers and sprinkle coconut on top. Problem is, then my husband wants to eat it too!

My daughter has been allergic to milk, eggs, all nuts and bananas since she was born. She’s now 8. It’s a tricky lifestyle and yes, our food budget is higher as we have found some prepackaged items that she can eat. We do make a lot from scratch. She actually eats healthier than anyone else I know. I do now make my own whole wheat bread (only has 8 ingredients) and is fantastic. My kids love it. You need a freezer to help store the items that are on sale that they can eat, as well as stocking up on meats on sale. Again, don’t beat yourself up when some people say “I only spend $50 a week on groceries”. That’s great for them but doesn’t work in our household and I’m an avid couponer. Good luck!

I am sooo loving the fact that there are others out there trying to be frugal and living with food allergies. My son stopped eating when he was 5 weeks old…we went through a lot, including a G-tube (feeding tube in his stomach) and found out in August that he is allergic to eggs…HIS FAVORITE FOOD!

We live no where near a Whole Foods, but there is one about 2 hours north of us. We make a trip about 1 time a month up there, and I stock up on as many pre-packaged egg-free foods as I can! We have found Aunt Annie’s pasta that has a pasta in tomato sauce that he LOVES! It is *very* expensive, but he usually gets 2 meals per can….and since I work outside of our home, it is a great “go to” when I am exhausted! I also have found Liz Lovely (http://www.lizlovely.com) cookies. They make Vegan cookies…and thanks to Whole Foods, I know that Vegan means NO EGG! So, if I see Vegan, I usually jump at it! My last “plug” is an online friend that I have made…Heather…she has a blog called SPEWD-FREE. Soy, Peanut, Egg, Wheat, and Dairy. Her adopted son is allergic to all of these, and she has a terrific source of information! (http://www.spewdfree.com)

I am loving all of the suggestions and can’t wait to try the milled flax seed, I actually have some! Thanks, y’all!!!!

My son is allergic to milk proteins so, he can not have milk at all. I have tried cows milk, lactose free milk and even goat milk and they all make him very sick. The GI doc doesn’t recommend rice milk cause there is not any nutritional value in it and my son will not drink soy cause it tastes “yucky.” (He can’t have sugar either so he can’t have the flavored soy milk). I fix him his own food and we eat ours. I just discovered in my town we have a place to order a box of food at a very cheap rate. The company is called Angel Food Ministries. The web address is http://www.angelfoodministries.com and they are all over the US. I say all this because they just started this month having an Allergen-Free Box. These foods are processed to eliminate the eight top serious allergens: peanuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fish, crustacea, tree nuts and gluten (wheat, rye, and barley). In this box you get 1lb of coated chicken tenders, 1lb of coated breast filet, 1lb coated chicken nuggets, 1lb coated chicken wings and 1lb coated cubed steak (chicken fried steak). You get all of this for just $25. They have other boxes too. Hope this helps!

Well we are now on a “NO BOVINE” diet (no dairy products or beef) for our 2 year old son. While it is challenging I have resolved to only modify current recipes. I am not cooking 2 seperate meals 3x a day! My son can have soy and rice milk,also almond milk. I would say shop Costco or Sam’s Club type store for milk substitutes unless you can score some AMAZING coupon offers. One local store discounts their soy products on Friday so I go stock up on clearance milk PLUS use a coupon keeps the cost down. I also make seperate things once a week and freeze them for a faster morning or on-the-go meal. I found a great cornflake chicken nugget recipe (you can use an egg substitute in this one) and away you go! I made up 2 whole batches and froze them. Also, soy pancakes (busiquick has no dairy) and there are some brands like Vans that have gluten free dairy free waffles!
All I can say is good luck and may you keep it cheap!! :).
(Homemade is almost always the way too go!!)

I second all the comments that say to remove even the items that your son has an intolerance to out of his diet… you never know when an “intolerance” will develop into a full-blown allergy. (I have an allegy to chicken that’s pretty severe; if I’d started eliminating chicken from my diet when I was warned of the intolerance, I wouldn’t have to obsessively ask “Is there any chicken broth in this? Any chicken bones in the stock? Any way it would have come in contact with chicken?” every time we go out to eat!)

I also second the idea of shopping at the Asian market — for anyone, food allergies or not. Our Asian market not only has a great variety of food options for rice and tofu, it also has great prices on meat (1/2 the price on shrimp versus the local grocery store; 1/3 the price on lean ground pork, etc.).

Have you checked out $5 Dinners? She has a lot of gluten-free recipes:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/

We are blessed to not have any known allergies to particular foods. My heart goes out to all of you that deal with this on a daily basis. I do however have a friend who had a daughter that was severely allergic to milk. After years of food substitutes and research she found a MD (in Tulsa) that specializes in allergies. This doctor treated her daughter in one office visit (no pills or anything invasive) and she is no longer allergic to dairy. It sounds CRAZY and I admit I probably wouldn’t have put much stock into it if I didn’t know this family personally. If you are interested in the doctor’s name feel free to email me. It’s worth a shot (if you are close to Tulsa).
Nancy karrer at sbcglobal dot net. 🙂

I’m so grateful for this post. Thanks to Moe who mentioned my site, rfak.org, for parents of kids with food allergies. We are building a great community of parents who share ideas and tips JUST LIKE THIS! We are in this together, and there are more of us than you think.

Right now I am running a giveaway contest for the cookbook that Danielle mentioned by Linda Coss, “What Else is to Eat?” Definitely jump on the site to enter to win the book, it will be a great starting point for you.

The one thing to remember is that once you figure out the basics of what works for your child, it will be MUCH easier and MUCH cheaper. At first we tend to panic and buy anything we see that will work, but when you’re in it day to day you’ll organically learn tricks.

I have a list of links to a lot of great allergen free companies that will be a good starting place to contact them for coupons and samples. (feel free to mention you saw it on my site!) 😉

Best of luck, we’re in this together!!!

my boys are allergic to egg, oat, peanut, and dairy. we also deal with sensitive skin and eczema. i jumped on the frugal bandwagon a year ago and have since learned ways to couple the two…allergies and thriftiness.

-call your favorite companies for coupons

-cook from scratch (ie: bread in bread machine)

-be content with the basics (MSM helped me learn that beans, rice, plain veggies and fruit are OK! I don’t HAVE to come up with dairy & egg-free casseroles for dinner every night)

-know that you are saving by not eating out or taking vacations (which we don’t do b/c of allergies)

-shop around. we get soy milk, toffuti ice-cream, rice milk all at different places because there are huge price differences between the stores.

-save on toiletries to make up for expensive food. going to generic diapers have made a huge difference for us.

-research “common food substitutes” so you don’t have to spend a fortune at the health food store (ie: applesauce for eggs in baking)

-ask friends for coupons on allergy foods they don’t use. this allows us to stock up when a good coupon comes out.

-garden (i need to help out with in-laws garden a lot more this year!)

-try new toiletries or foods (that you got on deals) one at a time. if a reaction occurs, you will be able to pinpoint the culprit more easily.

-accept the fact that an allergy budget is higher than a normal budget.

I will add that my first pursuits of thriftiness while following blogs like these had me buying any old hygiene items with all the coupons out there. And we learned that our allergic, sensitive skin cannot handle just any body wash, deodorant, or diaper. So while we can’t take advantage of every free soap deal, we do keep our eyes peeled for the deals we CAN take advantage of. Yay for the Dove soap and deodorant deals at Wags this week!

Find joy in the fact that we can’t eat all the processed foods and out in the restaurants. I’m kind of glad that allergies have forced us to live a healthier lifestyle. Sometimes “healthy” costs a little more than “convenient”.

Don’t compromise your family’s safety for frugalness. We end up paying for it in medical bills for allergic reactions. Have fun and enjoy learning frugal tips but keep safety your top priority!

My kids have had some minor issues and I was surprised that the prices of the organic foods in a “regular” supermarket where more expensive then shopping at a store like Whole Foods–do you have supermarkets like that around you? Also when an item is on sale stock up!

I have alot of food allergies too and all of the advice above is the advice I would give. I get wheat, gluten and yeast free bread from Deland Bakery. http://www.delandbakery.com
You have to order 24 packages of bread in an order for them to ship to you so you need alot of freezer space. I have been eating their bread for 12 years or more and found it to be easier and cheaper than all the horrible bread I made for myself. I do not include this in my grocery budget but have a separate budget just for this bread. One thing to note about Deland Bakery-their label says the bread contains wheat and gluten to comply with FDA food labeling rules but they should state it differently-you will see from their website that they are English language challenged. I have never had allergy problems with their products. Yeast and wheat cause me a very severe reaction and so I can tell you that I am confident about their safety.

I am on a phenomenally restricted diet that omits all wheat, all starches, etc. No rice, pasta, wheat, etc. But I can use nuts, so that’s a big help. Anyway, as to saving money….almost everything I buy is on sale plus double coupons. When something is on sale I buy in bulk and freeze, can an dehydrate it all for later. When organic apples are 99 cents a pound, I buy 25 lbs, etc. This way I can basically buy all organic produce at the cheapest time, and then use it all year long. If I had a big garden, I would grow it all myself. By saving huge amounts of money there, I can afford to spend a little more on any other products I might need. And don’t overlook ebay for coupons. I can buy huge stacks of coupons for the products I need and then hit the grocery store. Between coupons from ebay (which one of our local supermarkets doubles) and a sale, I recently got 40 cans of organic tomato products for 19 cents a can (normally between 99 cents and $2.19 each). Bulk buying at the right time is the way to go.

I developed a SEVERE allergy when I was a teenager…getting ready to go away to college. My mom was terrified that I would somehow be exposed and have problems. So, we spent several trips to the grocery store-buying absolutely nothing. All we did was read labels. Now, several years later, I am so grateful. I know right off the top of my head what products (even BRANDS) I can consider and what ones to avoid. It has helped me stay within our grocery budget because I know what I’ll be shopping for, and if I know I am out of something that I have to be brand specific about, I can usually find something else on the list to cut out or to substitute with a cheaper brand. I have learned to substitute and make it myself when necessary…homemade always tastes better anyway.

We also have a child with food allergies. Trader Joes is a good place to find low cost food. Their employees have gone out of their way to help me find products. They also carry a few products that aren’t Trader Joes brand at a lower cost and they take coupons. Costco sells rice milk in bulk. Enjoy Life Foods brand is allergen free and they have coupons on their web site. Join their email list & they send out coupons too. We also eat a lot of beans and vegetables. If you have the space, a garden is a great.
Also, ask around while you are shopping. There is a local grocery store here that has a great natural/organic section and all of the employees in that area are trained in food allergies. They have introduced me to great food and pointed me to where I can find coupons. The store carries two FREE natural magazines. Not only have I found good info about food allergies in them, but they have several coupons. I agree with a previous comment, join a yahoo group. We have all shared ideas.

I myself have always been gluten intollerant. My baby boy has such a sensitive system that we actually have had to cut out all of the top 8 allergens. After only 3 months of being a “hypoallergenic” cook – I think that I’m geeting pretty good at it. The good news is that, according to the GI specialist at Vanderbilt Childrens, he may grow out of some of these in years to come, but only if we allow his little system to heal and avoid attack.
– I loved the advice from godairyfree.com.
– I buy potato milk in bulk – it’s a powder that can be stored ,so since I bought the 25lb bulk amount it will be no more costly than buying regular milk – I just have a years supply of it (that I vaccum sealed). Not only can it be drunk, but also baked with, used to make homemade yogurt and smoothies, and allergen free ice cream – which I am getting pretty good at – I must say.
– When I was “just” gluten free I loved rice crispies and frosted flakes – pretty cheap.
– You can make your own allergen free crackers with a spritz gun, just a bit more work – but pretty fun.
– I make up the allergen free bakingand pancake/waffle mixes in bulk and in different forms and freeze for easy breakfasts. for example, I have a waffle iron that is the shape of mini donuts – so I make allergen free donuts – you have to put alot of nutmeg and cinnamon in them though.
– Just a note – info from our GI doctor – when you over process rice (ex.rice milk) a soy protien becomes present. Which explained why my son had such a HORRIBLE reaction to rice milk – even if it were just baked in something. Also their are only 2 baby rice cereals that do not have this soy protien. One is Earth’s best organic, and the other was not one I recogonized, so I already forgot what it was.
– I cook our brown rice with my homemade chicken stock and it tastes great! Lots of flavor and extra nutrients.
– Make your own stock from leftover bones (chx or beef) to use in just about anything. It’s hypoallergenic, packed with nutrients, and super chearp.
– AND MY BIGGEST TIP FOR HELPING KIDS WITH ALLERGIES – this will take extra effort on your part Mom’s, but it’s really worth it for your little ones — Pretend that you have the same allergies as your kids – b/c if you are eating like they are then you are much more likely to find alot of foods to incorporate in their diets that actually taste good, rather than settling with say a list of only 5 things that pass the test. I believe that this is why I was able to perfect “ALL FREE ICE CREAM” – because I really wanted ice cream.
– ALSO – this does not qualify under the catagory of cheap – but is serves a purpose – get their guts back to normal – eliminte to offender, provide benificial flora/fauna, and UP UP UP the nutrients. You can truely have “smoother sailing” from there. The best thing that we ever did was start drinking Monavie (think super nutrients and antioxidants with the nutrient content greater than anything you have probably ever drunk) – totally regulated digestion and got our entire days requirments of nutrient in, reguardless of what we ate or didn’t eat. Once you start healing, you can go from there.

Wow–this question received a lot of excellent comments! I don’t think I can add too much to what has already been said, but I did want to suggest that you get in touch with a local support group. Even if you don’t need the emotional support, you can get great tips on local deals on products that you need as well as recipes, and other helpful tips. For example, one food allergy mom in my town sent a group email to alert everyone that Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes being sold at a great discount. We all quickly stocked up for a while! Please continue to take advantage of online resources. I’ve compiled a list of blogs written by food allergy moms of kids with multiple food allergies which you may find useful as well–many of them share recipes and other helpful tips. Feel free to email me if you think the list would be useful–[email protected]. Best wishes in this food allergy journey.

My son has an allergy to some food colorings and he is also mildly lactose intolerent. He can have a small amount of milk if it is cooked in foods such as mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. Honsetly I have found that cooking from scratch and supplementing with sale items/coupon shopping has been the most cost effective plan. It also ensures that my son doesn’t “accidentally” get something he shouldn’t not to mention the fact that it is a healthier choice anyway. Best of luck to you, food allergies can be very frustrating I know! 🙂

These may be repeats as there are a TON of comments already (which is awesome – I’m bookmarking this!).

I’m a celiac (no wheat, oats, barley or rye) and have crohn’s disease. My daughter is intolerant of cow’s milk (cheese is fine – milk, ice cream, more than a touch of sour cream is not) and allergic to egg whites – but cooked in things like pancakes and breaded things she’s fine (I also am allergic to RAW egg white, but fine when cooked).

I spent a lot of time getting to know some allergy message boards and communities. I belong to celiac.livejournal.com and get heads up from members in there about special sales – especially places like Amazon (who happens to have Annies products on sale this month, including gluten free (GF) mac and cheese). I take advantage of different opportunities like setting up orders on Amazon to repeat delivery – even the first time I’m trying something – because it lowers the cost of your order and you can cancel the repeat delivery if you don’t like it.

I shop at a local co-op for things like rice flour, tapioca flour… and I talk to the knowledgeable people that work there for tips that might save me more money.

If you have a Trader Joes near you, they have the best prices I’ve found on rice pastas and rice bread (that’s decent when heated) and AMAZING rice tortillas!

Regarding regular grocery shopping, I just try to get the best deals possible on the rest of my grocery order to leave more money for the specialty foods. And I try to use them sparingly.

As far as my daughter and her cow’s milk intolerance, she uses goats milk. I’m thankful that is an option through WIC, because it is not something that we would be able to afford regularly right now.

I hope that helps a little – I know all the responses will help me and my family, so thanks for asking!

Hi there Summer. I do not deal with food allergies personally, but I have two nephews who have differing allergies. My sister, in my opinion, is a saint. She deals with the allergies everyday, and by avoiding those foods that even cause moderate reactions, she has helped her boys tremendously . Furthermore, she is one of the most frugile shoppers I know!!! You can check out her blog for some great ideas; she is always posting “safe food” recipes and finds, as well as ways to shop for allergy-safe food on a modest budget. Her blog is:
milkallergymom.blogspot.com

I really think she can help you!!! Best wishes, and God bless!

My son (age 4) is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, and tree-nuts. These are all life-threatening allergies and we always carry benadryl and an epi-pin. We also have 4 other children. So with 7 eaters – one w/ food allergies – it has been quite the challenge to keep him safe, eat a variety of foods, and keep the budget low!

It was overwhelming at first, but now it is second nature to scan the ingredient list when checking out a product. The nutritionist at the allergy clinic we go to gave us a lot of good suggestions and hints. Many restaurant websites have food allergy info listed on them. I have typed up a list of what he can have at a number of restaurants and I carry that with me in my purse. I’ve also given a copy to the grandparents. I also carry “safe” candy (smarties, sweettarts) in my purse so he can have a treat in the grocery store when the other kids get to eat the samples.

We buy rice milk for him to drink. I’ve found the cheapest rice milk at Food Lion in a shelf-stable container in the baking aisle. He used to drink soy milk. FYI, the Wal-Mart brand of soy milk is manufactured in a facility that also processes dairy. It’s cheaper, but not worth the risk for me.

The egg substitute that I use is 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp. water, 1 tsp. baking powder mixed together for 1 egg. This will work in baking recipes with 1 or 2 eggs. In muffins, I just use water in place of milk. In meatloaf, I just leave out the egg and I use oatmeal for the bread crumbs.

When I take food to a church dinner, I make sure that what I bring, he can eat. It’s easy and cheap to make a cake or pie that he can eat and everyone else can enjoy as well. For frosting, I use shortening instead of butter. Fleischmann’s Unsalted Margarine is also dairy-free. We eat soy-butter instead of peanut butter.

Linda Coss’ cookbook has been very helpful. I want to get the new one she just put out. She also has written a book that everyone who has an allergic child should read – “How to Manage Your Child’s Life-Threatening Food Allergies”. Very informative, helpful, encouraging. It tells you how to protect your child in every different situation. There are also a number of different forms that you can copy and use in the back (i.e. doctor’s not for carrying an epi-pin on an airplane, letter to give to a restaurant manager, script for calling a food company, etc.). Did you know that our allergic children are covered under the disabilities act – at a theme park, for example, they have to be allowed to be able to carry “safe” food in with them?!

I’ve not had great success in getting coupons from companies. I hope that soon they’ll realize it’s not just people who have extra money buying their products. We’re kind of captive consumers…

But the less-processed the veggies, fruit, meat is the safer it is. We have taught all our kids to wash their hands after they eat “allergic” food and to make sure their brother doesn’t touch it. We have taught him to watch out for himself and not to eat anything unless one of his parents has cleared it. (My husband is a pastor, so there’s lots of people at church who like to feed the pastor’s kids!). When he was a baby, my mom cross-stitched a bib for him that said “Allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree-nuts. Ask my Mommy first!” I made him wear it anytime we were out anywhere. And the cross-contamination issue- what good is it to eat “safe” jelly after a knife with bits of peanut butter has been in there?

There’s a lot to think about to keep him safe, and also to eat healthy and cheap. We have a budget of $70/week. That includes everything (food, diapers, lightbulbs, everything). It is doable, but it’s a lot of work!

We don’t have allergies, but I have noticed that this site has recipes (and are working on a budget) that are generally gluten-free.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

And this one, which is not really budget conscious, but has beautiful pictures and great recipes:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/

I have a friend who is allergic to wheat, and she uses a lot of foreign food in her diet, particularly Asian. Examples: buckwheat (soba) or sweet potato starch noodles (glass noodles) from an Asian grocery store instead of the wheat based noodles, making rice as a staple for your meals instead of bread, etc.

If you have an international grocery store nearby, you might be surprised at how inexpensive it is compared to the health food items at your local American grocery. My husband and I spent a month eating just Korean food and our food budget dropped by about 25%. The biggest hurdles are that the staff often don’t speak English very well and that you might have to check a little harder to find an ingredients list in English. But I manage in the Hispanic grocery store without knowing Spanish, so it can be done. 😉

Most true Asian diets (ie not the Americanized versions we’re used to) are low in gluten, dairy, and tree nuts, but they are high in soy. They lean heavily on rice rather than wheat. If you try Northern European diets, you’re going to get a lot of oats and rye and barley instead of wheat. Do some research and see if any foreign cuisines are primarily based on foods that your family can eat, and then do some experimenting to see if your family enjoys that style of food. If so, you might have found your answer. Ethnic food is (in my experience) a lot cheaper than American health food.

Have you tried your local farmer’s market or Asian food store? My daughter has an intolerance to lactose and wheat. I buy rice pasta and tofu noodles for her at the Asian market. They sell all kinds of non wheat noodles there, like sweet potato and seaweed based. The noodles are fairly cheap.

I make her breakfast cereal from a mix of brown rice, millet, kamut, spelt and quinoa that I get from the local farmer’s market. It is expensive but she eats only 1/2 cup at a time, so 30 dollars worth of raw grain equals six months of cereal. For a bread substitute, I use corn tortillas.

Good Luck!

I think you wold find it helpful to look online for paleo recipes especially since you are having trouble eliminating wheat. You should be able to find balanced, healthy, and yummy meals for the whole family. This will help with the planning aspect of preparing meals. It can be really stressful figuring out a menu especially while looking around the grocery store for inspiration. I do sympathize! If you have a plan before you go to the grocery store it should cost a significant amount less. Our veggies and fruits for the week this past week were $20, for example and we loaded the refrigerator. I plan the meals around what is on sale in the produce department. I buy lean meat when it is on sale and stock the freezer. I only shop the rim at the store with the exception of buying an occasional spice. Hope these tips help and sorry you’ve been going through all of this. Best wishes!

Because of our boys, we at dairy, nut , egg, shellfish and beef free in our house. We buy the Costco generic soy milk in a case of 12 – we found this the most economical way to buy it. As for baking, I never found the Egg replacer to work well for things that were expecting eggs. I make Rice Krispy treats (with Fleishman’s margarine, no dairy products) when they need to go to a birthday party and can’t eat the cake, pizza or ice cream. Cherry Brook Kitchen cake/pancake/cookie mixes also work well. Yes, they are lot more expensive than the $1 cake mixes but here in New England, we have Ocean State Job lot and I have stocked up on them for $3/box. Amazon.com also sells them in a package of 6 for about $24 so it’s still cheaper than the $5+ at the grocery stores. We have also found Trader Joe’s has some “safe” foods for the kids and they are cheaper than Whole Foods (i.e. Waffles are egg free and taste good, mini chicken tacos have no cheese, cooked sausages). For cereal, we just stay away from the ones that have nuts and dairy in them and with the coupons and deals out there, we often can get them for $1 or less/box. Frozen veggies are also bought cheaply with coupons. My kids like soy yogurt and I always buy it with a coupon from http://www.stonyfield.com/coupons/signin.cfm.

Our family avoids eggs, wheat, dairy and peanut due to my childrens’ food allergies. To keep costs under control and safe for my son, who is super sensitive, we keep meals and snacks simple. I use the crock pot a couple of times a week. Our favorite cookbooks are actually my grandmother’s, especially the ones that she has collected from church fundraisers. They tend to have recipies that do not include premade ingredients, are simple, and are someone’s family favorite. I try to make double or triple batches of anything homemade and freeze.

We are a family of Celiac’s, with 2 little girls that have dairy allergies as well. Because of our food issues, we firmly believe that we should be prepared, and take care of ourselves. We’re big on emergency preparedness around here. We made sure that we had 72 hour kits that would provide for us in an emergency. Then, we started building our own “grocery store”/food storage. We buy in bulk and rotate our storage. My grocery bill for a family of 5 is under $400/month. It’s nice to only grocery shop for sale items and what I can’t grow in my garden. Oh, and I’m a working mom, so I don’t spend all day in the kitchen to make this happen. Good luck!

My son has egg, dairy, wheat, oats, and peanut allergies. Since he can have corn and rice I buy cereals at the regular grocery store instead of the health food store for him.

I also make and freeze allergy free pancakes, waffles, muffins for him batches at a time instead of buying the premade frozen ones.

I’m currently experimenting on making homemade bread and rolls instead of buying expensive gluten free bread.

We use a lot of vegetables, rice and meats when we cook. When I get stuck in a rut I search for vegan free and gluten recipes which usually have replacements for all the foods he can’t have built into the recipes.

I also use Crisco to cook with in place of butter and Flax seed to replace eggs.

It seems to me that you still have some cheap foods available to you, for example I’m thinking about beans/lentils and brown rice, would those be tolerated? How about making a list of all the foods that you can use and researching which ones are the cheapest? It is always more helpful to think in the positive like that then just to look at it from the point of view of what you CAN’T have. I like what the other posters have said about doing the research online and finding good recipes to make products from scratch and making your own mixes, the nice thing about this is that the food would probably be a lot better for you as it wouldn’t have any chemicals/preservatives in it. Finally I think that if you only have a small number of foods to choose from that are easily tolerated, being organized and having a well thought out meal plan would be invaluable, and, always remember that though you may think you know all the foods that are well tolerated, if you keep an open mind and keep researching/reading about food allergies and special diets, you may be surprised at all the helpful things you learn! There are plenty of moms out there who have had this exact same problem, and a lot of them post on very helpful websites and share what they have learned, this could be so helpful to you (though I’m sure you have been busy already doing your homework). God bless you and your three year old, I really hope as he matures he will be able to tolerate a wider variety of foods, but in the meantime I’m sure you can keep him healthy with what he can eat. Hope this was helpful to you.

My kiddo is allergic to eggs and peanuts as well. She’s 14 months. I just discovered a blog recently called egglesscooking.com and she’s talked about several different egg substitutes (flaxseed, vinegar, fruit puree) and has a lot of recipes posted. I made banana bread earlier this week with vinegar instead of an egg and it came out great! It’s nice to have some creative, and cheap, alternatives out there.

I TOTALLY understand your dilema. There are six people in my house, 2 of the children are diabetic, 1 child is gluten intolerant and the others are along for the ride! And what a CRAZY ride it can be. I just find that I shop 75% around the perimeter of the store. If you buy it fresh and make it yourself, it is healthier and cheaper. I like to go to the store in the mornings (though I don’t always make it). I find that the produce, meat, and dairy departments have various items marked down then. Also, I go to brand websites and hunt printable coupons. It is tough, but can be done, it just takes more prep work! I have thought our budget was out of control, until I talk to others to find that we are doing pretty good, for the way we eat!

Good Luck!

My daughter has many food allergies…and we eat all organic, so I can relate to high food bills! The best thing I have found is to make everything myself. Isabella’s gluten free prepared foods are very expensive, but with a little experimenting I was able to make them myself for a fraction of the cost. We eat a lot of whole foods, rice, beans, vegis, etc which everyone tolerates well and are really reasonable price-wise. I also use the flax seed egg-replacer from the Passionate Homemaking blog and have been pleased.
While your son is young I would cut his questionable foods completely. My daughter has some tolerance to gluten (found in wheat, etc) but I was advised to avoid giving her these foods for now in hopes of avoiding a much more serious problem in the future.
I came from a family where everyone had different food allergies and they were all extensive. At first it was overwhelming but it gets much easier with time! Hang in there!

My best tip would be to invest in a grain mill. It’s a pretty large initial investment, but in the long-run it so much cheaper than buying pre-ground specialty flours. With a grain mill you can make flour out of all sorts of alternative grains, and make your son’s wheat-free products that way!

Hope this is helpful – best wishes!

Katie

My daughter has a severe egg allergy (she is 18 months). I also was on an extreme elimination diet while breastfeeding for 4 of the 6 months I was able to do that. Through these experiences, the number one resource I have found is the Kids With Food Allergies Network. Their website is: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org

They have a great recipe database that you “tell” it what to avoid. I have found that most of the recipes are very frugal and use “bulk” goods. It also contains a lot of ideas of things that I just never thought to put together (it is so hard to think beyond pizza, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets). Hope this helps!

I eat completely gluten and nut free and understand how difficult it can be to enjoy this diet on a budget. A lot of my meals are based on rice, beans, corn, and potatos. Those items can be inexpensive so I try to base my weekly meals on those items. I never buy gluten free bread and seldom buy gluten free products (except for Tinkyada pasta). I stick to the basics.

My town (Colorado Springs) has a gluten free bakery so I do splurge on a pizza crust or a muffin now and then. I think it keeps me sane! I wish you and your son well in your journey. Let me know if I can help you further.

My children are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, barley, rye, sesame and mustard. When they were first diagnosed, I spent a fortune on specialty foods for them. But 4+ years later, I spend around $300-$350/month on groceries (I also live in a fairly expensive area, so this number really is quite low!) The key is to make everything from scratch. It is cheaper, safer, and much healthier! The flax seed substitute mentioned above is great (as are all the other suggestions) but pureed pumpkin is also an inexpensive substitute for eggs in baked goods. And avoiding nuts is really not difficult at all when cooking from scratch. Yes, it’s takes a lot of time and energy, but it’s so worth it! Hang in there…it can be done!

My oldest son (now 16yo) is allergic to peanuts and treenuts — very easy items to live without. He’s known how to read a food label (and to decline food gracefully) since he was about 4yo. Until age 6, he was also lactose intolerant and was sensitive to eggs (doc said not a true allergy…all he did was projectile vomit..insert eyeroll here). Today he can tolerate the dairy and some eggs as long as they are cooked in something (i.e., not scrambled, fried, boiled, etc. but okay in cookies, cake, etc.).

Before age 6yo he ate only lean meat, fish of all kinds, vegetables, rice, potatoes, french or italian bread, tofu, olive oil, oatmeal, and beans. He did fine. We still do not purchase prepackaged cookies, cakes, bread, donuts/pastries, etc. because of the nut allergies.

As far as keeping the grocery costs down, I must admit to buying higher priced items for him (fish, e.g.) and the rest of the family eating cheaper stuff when our money was tight. My overall grocery budget wasn’t very big because we didn’t buy cereal, snacks/chips, etc. We just kept it simple.

We have food allergies. Wheat, dairy, soy and corn. I’m making meals for $5 or less without these ingredients! Come by any time. I have a “Gluten free” label, as well as a GFCFSF (gluten free, casein free, soy free) label. I also have another site http://www.gfcfsf.net with helpful information!

Erin

Summer – I’m having the same problems with my young son. I stumbled upon a website recently. (rfak.org), raising food allergic kids. I emailed the Mom who runs the site and blog and she had several great resources and has reached out to several of the allergen friendly companies and is starting to run different give aways. You might check it out. She has great recipes and replacement ideas. The pancakes made with banana instead of egg are a favorite in our house. Good luck.

My youngest son is anaphylactic to dairy. He is also allergic to eggs and peanuts, although we don’t know what the severity is.

I recently wrote a post about our budget of $125/week (which also includes paper products, diapers, cleaning supplies, etc.) If you’d like to read it, here’s the address:

http://boysrulemylife.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-grocery-budget.html

With food allergies, it is almost impossible to compare your grocery budget to that of a “normal” budget. Samples and coupons are few and far between for the products we need, however ebay has been a good source of coupons for me on certain allergy-free products.

My full suggestion is to use coupons and samples, try to cook more from scratch if possible and get a price book together. Honestly, none of that is new from what MSM suggests. However, I would couple her suggestions with realizing that you may not be able to have as small of a budget as she does or even a comparable one. It took me a while to come to terms with that. 😉

I look forward to reading other suggestions as I am always looking for new ways to save money!

I have quite a few allergies and intolerances. Honestly, the best thing I have found is to limit pre-packaged food as much as possible. Allergen-free products are very expensive to buy, even with coupons. Cooking from scratch is your best bet whenever you can.

My diet consists of mostly basic items – fruits, veggies, rice products, meats, seafood. Instead of wheat bread you could use rice cakes for example. I would also make sure to thoroughly read up on the allergies – there are many names that can be cleverly disguised but still are allergenic ingredients. Things like whey = dairy, autolyzed yeast extract = MSG, etc. Many people don’t realize this. Your main concerns will be wheat, dairy, corn and soy as these are in a lot of pre-made foods. Reading labels is something you’ll always have to be sure to do.

For breakfast you could give him puffed rice cereal with fruit. Or how about smoothies made with rice milk. (There are rice protein powders you can add for extra protein.) For lunch/dinners, you can use rice pasta, but it is expensive (about $3 a package, but it’s an alternative). Tinkyada is probably the best brand out there to try. It sounds like he can have any type of meat or things like tuna/seafood which are helpful.

FAN (foodallergy.org) is a good place to start. Also, try to remember it’s very hard to have a super-frugal budget with food allergies. Many of the inexpensive frugal ingredients I cannot eat (I eat little wheat in my diet), so it’s impossible for me to have as low a food budget as many others can. You can only do your own best.

It is hard on anyone to have food allergies since food is a social thing with people. It’s especially hard on little ones I think because they don’t always understand and it’s hard to feel excluded from other children when they are able to eat things they cannot. If he attends regular school I would make sure that they know of his allergies as well.

Sorry this is long but I hope it helps! I wish you the best.

My daughter is allergic to corn, high frutose Corn Syrup and Yellow no. 5 dye. I cook everything from scratch. I also grow a garden and can a lot of our own veggies so I know what is in our food. Our motto around here is if it comes in a package we won’t buy it. (almost everything prepackaged has HFCS in it….) Our food budget is $75 a week but goes way down in the summer when the garden is producing. Our allergist gave us tons of recipes and articles about food allergies (I’ll have to dig around and see if I still have them…it has been over 5 years.) Another idea is yahoo groups, there are several out there for food allergies, join one of those and I’m sure you’ll get ideas, recipes and support!

I have a severe dairy allergy (gi track issues), soy is getting worse, and eggs although not as severe as dairy. I haven’t had much luck with contacting companies, although I do know it works. There are coupons sometimes in my local paper, for % off an item at a health store. I haven’t gone in to use them, as the store is far away. It’s just myself and my husband, so meals are pretty basic, with a little one making things from scratch may be more difficult. But thus far I have found that making things by scratch seems to be the best, and more affordable then buy pre-made allergy free item (not as a general rule). Can’t wait to hear what others have to say!

This is so frustrating! We deal with peanut and tree nut allergies at our house and those really aren’t that difficult or costly to avoid once you get the hang of reading labels. Avoiding egg and wheat (especially) are much more complicated AND costly. I was put on a wheat/gluten-free diet for a time and I was blown away at how it completely blew our grocery budget.
My tips would be:
1. Buy a breadmaker. The funky ingredients (xantham gum, etc.) for wheat/gluten free bread are costly, but I believe that the outlay for ingredients and even the breadmaker are made up in the amount you can save when you’re trying to buy pre-made products with those ingredients. Once you have the strange ingredients on hand, I believe it’s pretty easy to find recipes online for other products such as cookies, cakes, etc. Breadmakers can usually be found pretty inexpensively and if you really do your homework, you can find special breadmakers with gluten-free cycles that actually help the texture of your bread through the mixing process.
2. DEFINITELY call the companies for coupons and frequent their websites. I went to a food allergy walk a year ago and won a raffle–I NEVER WIN ANYTHING! :)– for a YEAR’s worth of Enjoy Life products. I don’t remember if their products are wheat free but they avoid all of the other allergens and they’re actually pretty tasty. That being said, those companies work really hard to keep customers happy and I bet they would love to send you some treats in the mail. Cherrybrook Farms often runs specials on their website. I know Target carries their stuff, but it’s crazy expensive and I believe their online sales are pretty decent. It’s probably worth it to “stock up”.
3. Research, research, research. I’m sure you’re already doing this, but you might be surprised when you really start digging on the web to see what you can find that you can actually make yourself in the way of pre-made mixes, etc.
4. Hang in there! I bet your son’s system will continue to get stronger and he’ll be able to handle more and more as he grows older. I know our son was just one big mess for a long time and the more time we give him and the more alternative medicine that we use (that’s another story, but if you’re interested, google “NAET”–it’s nothing short of a MIRACLE) the better he’s become over the last couple of years.

It’s not easy being the Mom to a kid with food allergies. Make sure you’re a member of FAAN (The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)–they’re great at sending out recipes and tips and ideas as well as just being a support network for families like ours!

Good luck!!
Leigh Ann

First of all, I would reccoment cutting ALL intolerant foods out of your little boy’s diet. There’s no need to tax his system– all those foods’ vitamins are easily found in alternative foods, and by giving him a total break, his digestive tract may heal enough to allow him to later tolerate the foods completely.

That said, I am soy and gluten intolerant, as well as lactose intolerant when stressed or pushed to consume lots of dairy… so I know how it goes trying to be healthy and varied cheaply! My husband & I have stuck to a $50 grocery budget each week since being married, though that is going to have to change now that I’m a ravenous pregnant woman. 🙂

My main “trick” is going as far back as I can in the do-it-yourself process. Rather than buying a sauce or a soup, I make it myself — that way you KNOW you aren’t getting anything allergenic, and it’s healthier anyway, as well as less pricy. Brown rice goes great with anything, as do several other grains, like millet (which is very nutritious). Buy the whole grain and cook it yourself. Soups are filling, easy to make, and varied as you want. Make your own gluten (or wheat)- free bread. Rice or Quinoa pasta is readily available, and it’s easy to make your own sauce out of tomato paste or puree, finely diced veggies, spices, and a little oil & sugar. If your son can tolerate goat’s milk, you could try goat cheese & goat yogurt– both are quite tasty once you get over the difference between them & cow’s milk. Beans & lentils are CHEAP and SO good for you– easy to make into all sorts of tasty dishes. We love BBQ chicken in the crockpot- stick in chicken thighs & find a recipie for homemade BBQ sauce, and let it cook all day. YUMMY! You can make your own baked beans (or Bush’s vegetarian are wheat & soy-free), combine it with browned ground beef, and top it with either rice or homemade wheat/corn/soy- free biscuits– this is my husband’s favorite meal, and we call it Hobo Casserole. Fruits and veggies with hummus are a great side and snacks galore. Try salad with raisins and a yummy honey mustard or raspberry vinegrette, etc. The key is doing as much at home as possible. This allows you to control everything as well as keep costs down, and nutrients UP!

I second asking for coupons and samples. I just emailed Sunbutter (a sunflower seed spread) and they sent me a small sample of the product and a $.75 coupon within a week. It’s always worth a try! 🙂