So many of you have been emailing me asking me how I am feeling since I announced having to go Gluten Free a few weeks ago. I got my final test results back last week, and the good news is those showed that I do NOT have Celiac Disease, but I do have a Gluten Intolerance Issue. I was soooo excited to find this out, basically what that means is that if I continue to eat Gluten my intolerance will turn into Celiac (I am still trying to understand all of this medical stuff, and was very confused when they told me I did not have Celiac anymore…WHAT?!?!)
That was good news, but really doesn’t change my new diet at all. I had my 6 year old son tested and his test game back negative, which means that I don’t have to feed my whole family Gluten Free right now! We all ate Gluten Free the first week and I think that I spent over $200 on groceries that week, that is way over our $100 per week budget.
I have been starting to feel much better though, many of my medical symptoms have disappeared or are almost gone 
I have more energy and can think a lot more clearly.
I wanted to say thank you to all of you, you have no idea how much all of your sweet emails, recipes, and personal stores have helped me make this transition a whole lot easier!
A few tips I have learned from foods I have tried:
Amy’s Organic Foods are not all Gluten Free- I almost ate one today for lunch that was not Gluten Free, thankfully I checked the package right before I ate it.
Glutino Breakfast bars are disgusting! I couldn’t even swallow it, yuck!
Udi’s Double Chocolate Chip Muffins are A-MAZING!
Anyting made by Udi’s that I have tried so far is great!
Rudi’s Hamburger Buns are not that great…my family wouldn’t eat them 
I thought they were easy to eat!
Pamela’s Products Wheat-Free & Gluten-Free, Amazing Bread Mix, 19-Ounce Packages (Pack of 6)
Pamela’s Baking Mix is awesome!
What fantastic news for you! I know what you mean about being over budget though. I had to buy some “emergency” groceries for my in-laws and spent about half our budget. Then MIL told hubby he needs to lose weight and to try Atkins, which is great but I had to go out and re-shop just for us (I figured I may as well join him) and ended up going way over budget :C I guess you can’t put a price tag on your health though. Again, grats and glad to hear you’re feeling better!
Thanks Amanda, I was in sticker shock the first time I went shopping $3 for a box of pasta??? I haven’t paid for pasta in 5 years!
That is A-MAZING
I am so happy to hear this news…especially about your son. Isn’t it nice knowing how many people you have to fall back on though for support. wow, what a great community of readers you have here!
Thanks Charla! I agree, what a great community of readers! I am blessed!
Lauren,
I am glad that you don’t have celiac disease. I didn’t realize that you still could be gluten intolerant. I took the celiac test a while back and it was negative. However, I feel better when I avoid gluten product. I am glad that you posted on this issue and that you told us what you liked.
P.S.
I mentioned your website on my blog, “groundedbyaccident.com” recently. I wrote a post called “Boarding the Coupon Train, ” telling my experiences with couponing. I enjoy your website and check it every day. Your sensible approach to couponing mirrors my philosophy as well.
Thank you for what you do.
Wendy
Thanks Wendy! I am very happy about it too, even thought it didn’t really change anything. I still feel better GF!
I’m gluten intolerant too. Which means that if I get “glutened” I don’t keel over but I sort of pay for it the next day. For the first year I was eating GF with the exception of pie. Pie in my family is what cupcakes are to the rest of the world. And from top to bottom made from scratch. But I’ve recently come up with a really really close second best to my regular gluten homemade crust and I can even roll it out (rare in the GF baked good world).
I STILL have not put together an email for you so I really stink. But a tip I have for you/anyone is to try (if you don’t already think you will like them) rice cakes. Be careful of the flavored- many do contain gluten. But I love the store brand plain rice cakes (totally budget friendly) with any number of toppings. PB and/or J. Chicken salad. Apple butter. Turkey and cheese. Melted chocolate. Or with any sort of dip. They are low calorie, low to no fat and a very inexpensive cracker/bread alternative. And easy to find- unlike GF breads that taste good (my list only includes Udi’s there).
Also, while I am not a big fan of Bob’s products (though many GF-ers are), I think their pizza crust mix is to date my favorite. Really yummy and even “normal” eaters like it. Do you have a Christmas Tree shop by you? You can sometimes find Bob’s products there at better prices. I am doing a post about that tip tomorrow AM actually.
I will have to check the Christmas Tree store! I have one about 45 minutes away from me. I love Udi’s White Bread, actually better than regular bread which is weird!
Most “health” items on the shelf are pure garbage, especially drinks and bars. Vitamin waters use as much sugar as sodas and those bars are pretty bad too. Eating healthy is simple, shop in the fruit & vegatable section, skip as much as the center lanes as possible. These days 10% or less of the stuff I buy is from those center lanes, I prepare most of the food I eat and often buy it organic from the farmer’s market on Thur or Sat because organic at the market is cheaper than pesticide laden stuff in the grocery store.
Have you watched Food Inc.? We just watched it and proceeded to order a 1/2 a cow the next day from a local organic farm!
I am very happy to hear the great news!!
Thanks
That’s great to hear! At the very least, you found an answer. I’ve had Crohn’s for over 20 years and while I’m fairly fortunate to be able to eat most food, I’ve learned what to stay away from and how my body reacts. If you’ve never had to deal with any kind of digestive issue its really hard to understand what daily discomfort/pain does. I manage my Crohn’s with minimal diet changes and medication, wanted to of course not be on meds at all! Someday!
Again, glad to hear your good news for you and your family!
Lauren, I am so happy to hear you are doing better! I want you to know that your story has made me rethink some things in my life as well. I haven’t been feeing very well at all lately no matter what I do. I have been trying to steer clear of gluten for almost 2 weeks now, and while my wallet is hurting I am not! I havent felt this good in almost a year! Thanks for sharing
I am sure you have already found this, but Amazon has an excellent selection of special dietary foods in their Subscribe and Save program. You can use your swagbucks gift cards!
While not GF, I had to be dairy, egg, soy, and nut free while nursing both of my boys as they had severe protein intolerances for the first years of their lives. We are all on a mostly regular diet now, although I am lactose intolerant. Good luck!
Funny you should mention this, I just scheduled a post about it. I use Swagbucks all the time to pay for my food on Amazon!
So glad you got some answers. Something to think about with your son, you might want to keep an eye on how he “feels” when he eats gluten. When I had my daughter tested for celiac and gluten intolerance, she came back neg. After talking to a few friends they said sometimes the test will sometimes give a false negative. She feels better when she doesn’t eat it so we’ve let her body be the judge instead of the medical field. She also feels it more when she has had a lot of gluten in one day vs 1 piece in 3 days, if that makes sense, almost like a build up in her system. But for me, I can’t do any or I’m paying for it
Kinda funny though, when I do have something with gluten, it doesn’t taste as good as I remember it 
It does take a little more work to prepare 2 “different” plates for dinner but for us the time far outweighs the cost so its worth it. And the way I feel of course
Quick question, did you use any of your Betty Crocker coupons on GF items? Ive wanted to use them but since the coupon doesn’t say GF on it, I didn’t want to pay full price plus have the coupon not go thru. Thanks!
Yes, I used the Betty Crocker cookies coupon just the other day and it worked fine!