Friday, September 25, 2009

Saving Money on a Gluten-free Diet

For those of you who don't know, I am gluten intolerant, so I have to be on a gluten-free (GF) diet. It's been almost 3 years since I've started on it, and boy is it still tough to this day!

Not only is seemingly everything I grew up eating has gluten in it, so therefore was thrusted into a totally foreign lifestyle that I did NOT enjoy (I still have dreams of cakes and cookies and pizza and mac 'n cheese). But it also took a hit to my wallet. A significant hit. Where I was completely satisfied with living off of ramen noodles (supplemented with veggies and an egg dropped into the boiling pot) and mac 'n cheese (extra cheese, please! and pass the Sriracha sauce!) before, I had to go to health food stores to look for ready to eat, prepackaged gluten free alternatives, like frozen dinners, breads, baked goods, snacks, etc. But it was EXPENSIVE. It was a struggle to realize that I wasn't as limited as I thought - it's just that I had been eating a horrible (and typically American) diet of processed foods and junk food.

I still treat myself to a gluten-free frozen meal (for work), a rice noodle bowl, or some GF cookies. But through the years, I've learned that there is an unlimited GF menu at my disposal, and it doesn't have to cost me 90% of my earnings (after bills)! The article link below PRETTY much sums it up. But if anyone has any questions, comments, etc. for ME, just add a comment and I will try my best to answer them!

5 Tips to Optimize the Financial Sustainability of the Gluten-Free Diet

~Jenny Bunns <3

Monday, September 7, 2009

Extreme Frugality

My friend, Liz, sent me a link to this interesting website: www.gourmet.com/extreme frugality

If you're a foodie, this has great articles, and if you're a frugal foodie, this is even better! :)

~Jenny Bunns