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I am looking for frugal advice for Allergy Free Foods. My oldest son (Grand age of 3!) has been dealing with severe food allergies diagnosed at only 7 months old. He's allergic to Dairy, Wheat, Egg, Nut and Soy..among a few other things that we just ignore (not as severe). We are pretty in the loop about some of the great products out there, love the "Enjoy Life" brand and are members of the FAAN....but
I am at a breaking point in my grocery budget! He was just tested again, and is ok'd to eat Almonds, so I went to get him some almond butter. The jar was $10! A loaf of his bread is over $5, and "milk" is $8 a gallon, I have to give him Elecare infant formula to the tune of $400 per month just to name a few things.
A PB&J lunch with milk is pretty pricey, and my mom makes the jelly for me!
Anyone know of any discount sites, or great deals for these specialty foods? I am very glad to have my baby healthy and he's a great eater, but I'm sad to think I may have to go back to work full-time just to afford to feed him.
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Anyone have any advice on saving $ on these specialty foods???? How about any great "make your own" recipes for the allergy free bread etc??? I'm pretty desperate to save a few dollars on the groceries!
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have you tried searching for some of these products online i think my brother and his wife got there egg replacer and stuff first online before a local grocery started carrying it. also look for a bulk whole foods grocer in around your area we have one thats called pioneer food co-op you might google to see if there is one near you. all you can do is your best and if in the end that means working to keep your son healthy than that might be what you need to do. feel blessed your son can eat multitudes more than my niece! oh also they use tapioca flour and buckwheat flour those are actually not wheat derived so check into stuff like that...(she is allergic to corn soy wheat rice all dairy gluetin almost everything she can eat only 7-9 things total) so if you are looking for something specific let me know my sister in law may have a suggestion for you. keep your chin up i know it can be a challenge when they are allergic to alot of things.
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Thanks, I do need to think about looking at some alternative products. I really don't want to sacrifice my time with him to pay for his meals, so I think that means I need to get very creative. Thanks for the thoughts, I will do some searching (internet and soul...)
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You've probably already done this, but just in case you haven't, a good dietician may be able to help you find some good recipes and work with you to find homemade things your ds can eat. Have you looked at almond milk for him (as a change from rice milk or whatever you're currently using)? It's really good in cereal and smoothies; I have a recipe for a pumpkin banana smoothie that uses almond milk. I don't buy almond milk often, just as a treat every now and then. (My family is vegetarian, and we pretty much just do soymilk around here, though I like rice milk too.) My only other idea is to google it.
Here's a site I found that may or may not have some ideas for you...
This site has an oatmeal pancake recipe:
This one has a recipe for Rice Bread:
I hope this helps!
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My recommendation is to get him re-tested. It is possible he isn't really allergic to everything he tested positive for before.
I have severe allergies, to some things, and I know when I'm in a heavy allergic cycle, just the little thing can make me react. It is called the 'allergy waterfall'. In essense it is as though an allergic person's body is a drinking glass that is filled up to the rim with water. As a matter of fact, the glass is so full the water is slightly above the rim and one more little drop will make a lot of the water spill over. That's how we are when we have an untreated allergy - any little exposure will make us spill over.
I have a girlfriend whose son was like that when he first got tested. He reacted to almost everything on the prick test. They lived allergan free for a year, treated his allergies with medication, and then retested again. He reacted to far fewer things the second time.
I know it is scary when you have a little one who reacts strongly and has so many allergies.
Good luck.