A guide to going Wheat Free for the poor!
Ok, so you’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease or Non-Gluten Wheat Sensitivity. And your wallet hasn’t magically gotten bigger to accommodate the change. Do not fret! Its a lot easier than it sounds, but I will not mince words: its not easy. It will NEVER be easy. But it will keep you healthy! And you don’t have to skimp on good food to do it! Even though Celiac and NGWS are different, the dietary restrictions are the same. For the purposes of this guide, I’ll be referring to everything that applies to both as “Gluten Free” or “GF” for the sake of simplicity.
First things first: You will need to learn how to cook. This is not an option. Going out for food is going to be at best a field of landmines, at worst you won’t be able to eat out at all (celiacs especially have to be very wary of cross contamination!). This is not a guide to that exactly. I can’t teach you the basics, but if you already know how to cook some things, you’ll be ok! And fortunately there is the internet to teach you what to do!
Now most guides assume you have a lot of money, because they’re catering to people who don’t suffer from these diseases, and are profiting from the popularity of the “diet”. This is a guide for those of us that can’t pay a 1000% markup for a loaf of bread.
First off, you’ll need some equipment:
The foremost of these is a nice rice cooker. Get a flip-top one, from Aroma or one of the fancy ones from an Asian market if you have the money. Rice will absolutely be a staple for you, since it can be gotten cheaply almost everywhere (more on that later!).
A good frying pan won’t be remiss.
Get a crock pot or one of those new one-pot multi-pot things.
You’ll need to learn to read labels. Do not rely on labels to tell you if something has wheat in it. Some foods don’t have the allergy warning, especially if they’re imported. So you’ll have to look for wheat containing ingredients (and malt if you’re celiac) in things.
That said, don’t buy anything labeled Gluten Free just because it says Gluten Free on it. A lot of these things aren’t worth the money and you can get a similar item for less money with the same formulation. Some things like GF bread aren’t worth the trouble.
If you have an ALDI or LIDL near you, shop here! They have a very good set of GF products! Plus clearly labeled items that indicate if they’re GF. Their definition of GF applies to malt too, for the Celiacs out there!
Wholesale stores are your friend. GFS is a good one that doesn’t require a membership. Costco is worth it if you have no other wholesale stores around your area open to the public. Your diet is going to consist a lot of more vegetables and meat, and these places have those two things much cheaper than big box stores.
ETHNIC MARKETS. Especially any sort of Asian market. Indian and Chinese and Korean markets specifically are very useful. Look for one. This is going to be where you get most of your flours.
If you are stuck buying your flours online, avoid Bob’s Red Mill stuff. Its overpriced and you can find alternatives for MUCH less.
Focus on the things you can have. It isn’t any consolation when you really crave something you can’t have, but it helps. A lot of the time you can find a GF food that scratches the itch of most cravings. This is why you’ll have to learn to cook. You won’t eat otherwise.
Forget about GF bread. It tastes terrible, is very delicate, has a shelf life of about 12 hours, and is EXPENSIVE for a very small amount. Its not suitable for a large amount of things that might require bread, because its delicate and spoils/becomes inedible quickly. It is not worth it. This applies to GF pizza too. There are alternatives.
Rice cakes are your friend. No, really. They’re stable enough to make just about every kind of (open faced) sandwich , have no taste so they’re suitable for both sweet and savoury applications. And, the most important: they’re common to find, and about the same price as a mid-quality loaf of bread.
Rice is a great substitute for a lot of things. You can eat stew over it. Add cheese and its cheesy rice. Etc. Rice can be the base of a lot of dishes, and its cheap. A rice cooker makes this transition easier and foolproof.
Look for the big, 25-40lb bags of rice at your local Asian market. If you can, invest in a foodsafe bucket. Put rice in bucket with lid, and just take what you need into a smaller container (I have a 5lb container I refill) as you need it. If you can’t get a bucket, then make sure you clip your rice bag closed securely to prevent bugs from getting into it.
Get flours from Asian markets. They’ll be cheaper, and better quality than you can get at a big box store. Indian markets have lots of uncommon flours like amaranth and teff, should you want to experiment.
Flours are not created equal. There is no such thing as a “cup for cup” GF mix that works for everything. Pre-mixed GF flour mixes are expensive and the results very WIDELY. Its easier if you like baking to look up a certain thing you want to make, and mix the flours yourself than it is to rely on pre-made mixes.
Find out what kinds of flours are cheap where you live. If you live in a place that has a lot of Hispanic food, then base your food on corn flours. If you have a decent Asian market, rice flours are the trick. Lucky enough to have an Indian market? Besan flour is delicious and GF. All these flours can be ordered online, but like I said above, AVOID BOBS RED MILL, its overpriced.
You will not get a result that is like wheat based bread. But you can make lots of delicious things that come close! Fried foods can be made with besan flour or corn starch and don’t taste any different! You can make many kinds of cakes with rice flours!
Expand your culinary horizons. There are LOTS of things that are GF and delicious that come from other cultures! Pao de Quejo, Arepas, Mochi, Pakora….and more!
