Gluten-free info for a student?

[taratru]

A kid on my caseload has recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant.  Her family is very poor; like, barely hanging on and she doesn't have a winter coat in Colorado poor (among other bigger issues *sigh* - so sad).  Anyway, I wanted to find some resources for her to find affordable food and also easy-to-prepare options.  She's good for lunch, because our cafeteria always has an option, but home is an issue.  She also has a job at McDonald's, but I really want to encourage her to stop eating that.  Anything I can print out and give her is going to work best, as internet access at home is nonexistant.

Thoughts? 

[hannahb]

There's celiac.org. That may have some info on it. Many restaurants have gluten free menus now. You just have to ask. I'd tell you to give her my email and she can ask me questions. The best advice is to read labels and know gluten can be hidden in many things (soups for example). I wish had more info for you. If I think of something I will let you know!

[AAM2012]

Celiac.org is a good place to start, there are a lot of recipes and info on the message boards.

Do you think she would buy a recipe book? There are quite a few out there that provide easy recipes. Being GF isn't that expensive...in fact it's a lot cheaper if you don't try to replace your foods (i.e. buying GF cookies is expensive) with more processed foods.

[zoidberg]

Rice and tapioca flours at asian markets are a million times cheaper than similar items that are marketed as gluten free flours.

Likewise asian rice noodles. Not quite the same texture, but WAY cheaper.

Aside from that, if they are financially struggling then they really can't buy any of the specialty replacement foods because they are just so costly. They often cost 3-4x as much as comparable normal foods.

[zoidberg]

Beans and rice, stir fry, fried rice, burgers with no bun, salads, rice pasta dishes, anything with potatoes, etc. unfortunately convenience foods are not really an option. The ones that exist are super expensive and there aren't many to begin with.

[hannahb]

For gluten free pasta, pretzels, and cookies, walmart actually has pretty decent prices. Granted still expensive. Wegmans actually has the best around here but Walmarts are everywhere.

[winecat]

Polenta/grits is cheap (you can buy it in bulk easily) and GF.

[gilly]

Dec 13, 2013 14:04:58 GMT -5 taratru said:

A kid on my caseload has recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant.  Her family is very poor; like, barely hanging on and she doesn't have a winter coat in Colorado poor (among other bigger issues *sigh* - so sad).  Anyway, I wanted to find some resources for her to find affordable food and also easy-to-prepare options.  She's good for lunch, because our cafeteria always has an option, but home is an issue.  She also has a job at McDonald's, but I really want to encourage her to stop eating that.  Anything I can print out and give her is going to work best, as internet access at home is nonexistant.

Thoughts? 

Sorta off topic...but where in CO are you?  What size coat would she need?

[taratru]

Dec 17, 2013 0:29:22 GMT -5 gilly said:

Dec 13, 2013 14:04:58 GMT -5 taratru said:

A kid on my caseload has recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant.  Her family is very poor; like, barely hanging on and she doesn't have a winter coat in Colorado poor (among other bigger issues *sigh* - so sad).  Anyway, I wanted to find some resources for her to find affordable food and also easy-to-prepare options.  She's good for lunch, because our cafeteria always has an option, but home is an issue.  She also has a job at McDonald's, but I really want to encourage her to stop eating that.  Anything I can print out and give her is going to work best, as internet access at home is nonexistant.

Thoughts? 

Sorta off topic...but where in CO are you?  What size coat would she need?

I work in FoCo; she's probably an XL.  We've got her hooked up with our program here that helps with coats and things, so hopefully she'll get that soon. 

[gilly]

Dec 17, 2013 10:23:25 GMT -5 taratru said:

Dec 17, 2013 0:29:22 GMT -5 gilly said:

Sorta off topic...but where in CO are you?  What size coat would she need?

I work in FoCo; she's probably an XL.  We've got her hooked up with our program here that helps with coats and things, so hopefully she'll get that soon. 

Well, let me know if that falls through.  I'm also in FoCo and wear an XL, I'm sure I have a coat I can get you if you need.

Do you live up here too?  I don't think I've seen anyone else on the boards up here.  

[taratru]

Dec 17, 2013 23:10:36 GMT -5 gilly said:

Dec 17, 2013 10:23:25 GMT -5 taratru said:

I work in FoCo; she's probably an XL.  We've got her hooked up with our program here that helps with coats and things, so hopefully she'll get that soon. 

Well, let me know if that falls through.  I'm also in FoCo and wear an XL, I'm sure I have a coat I can get you if you need.

Do you live up here too?  I don't think I've seen anyone else on the boards up here.  

That would be awesome!  I'll check on it tomorrow.  

I live just south of you in the Land of Love.    pixy0stix posts over here sometimes and she's a local.  There are a ton of us around the boards, but I think she and I are the only ones here.