Hello Fairy Followers.
I have a couple new followers this week – wooo hooo! 
Thank you for your interest everyone.
From my buddy Tom, who feeds me info from the Am College of Gastroenterology, here are their tips on how to eat GF a little cheaper.
Sales of GF foods in 2010 were $2.6B. By 2015 they are expected to be $5B. The cost of some GF foods is high because of the specialty ingredients like amaranth, quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, agave, coconut sugar and honey. Wheat is very cheap and that is why it is used as filler. Cheaper GF alternatives are corn, rice and GF oats.
Some price gouging is going on due to its recent popularity, and most GF producers are small compared to the big cereal and bread companies, so they don’t have the economy of scale. By 2015, more companies will surely throw their hats in the ring to get a pc. of that $5B pie, creating more competition and lower prices (hopefully).
Avoid buying packaged GF foods. They are expensive and some are highly processed and should be eaten moderately, anyways.
Eat more foods that are naturally GF – like nuts, fruits, veggies, beans, dairy and meats.
Make your own GF baked goods. HA – easier said than done!! Steep learning curve here.
Make large batches and freeze 1/2. Nothing new here – that goes for any food, GF or not.
Buy in bulk…but not necessarily from the bulk bins. Cross contamination highly probable!
Change over the whole family to GF, so you don’t have to make 2 versions of everything, and you don’t have to stock specialty items in your pantry. I disagree on this one. Walmart vs Vitacost pricing: Regular macaroni = $1.46/16 oz. GF macaroni = $3.89/12 oz. GF bread = $4.50/loaf. Regular Snyders pretzels = $2.98/16 oz. GF Snyders pretzels = $6.39/14 oz. Flour tortillas = $ 1.60/10 med. Food for Life brown rice tortillas $5.20/6 large. Bisquick baking mix = $3.28/40 oz. Bobs Red Mill baking mix = $9.58/44 oz.
Changing the whole family to GF will also boost the morale of the celiac, so they don’t feel different. I don’t know any celiac kids to ask, but maybe this statement was meant for them. We gluten intolerant people are special, and I would guess that most of us eat a lot healthier than the average person because we read labels and try to keep inflammation out of our bodies. If a person’s morale needs boosting because they have to eat gluten free, hopefully it’s short lived, and their GF diets eventually lead them down a path to a healthier and happier life.
Shop around. Trader Joes has $1.99 brown rice pasta. You can find GF snack foods at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
Create easy 1-pot meals (that’s pretty much the only way I know how to cook anyways).
Internet shop for GF foods. Vitacost always sends E-coupons, and both Amazon and Google advertise GF foods.
OK, to the wrinkle part now. 
This info is from the health column in my local newspaper.
Foods that spike blood sugar (carbs and sugar) create inflammation that produces an enzyme that breaks down collagen, resulting in wrinkles. Stress releases the hormone cortisol, which elevates blood sugar, resulting in inflammation. One of the main causes of stress is lack of sleep. High levels of cortisol lead to decreased bone density, breakdown of muscle (including heart muscle), weight gain and collagen breakdown. And we all know that smoking and exposure to ultraviolet light causes premature aging.
Collagen is a protein, so a diet supplying ample protein is necessary to regenerate the skin. In just 3 days, a diet rich in protein can produce noticeable differences in skin appearance, including improvement in dark circles, puffiness and fine lines. This article says a vegetarian diet does not supply enough protein, so by age 50, a vegetarian’s skin will show accelerated aging. Not sure if I believe this last sentence because look at Christie Brinkley, who looked smashing on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 50 Year Anniversary Show last month. Still GORGEOUS at age 60.
No mention of good fats in this article, and how important they are for your skin.
3 more famous vegetarians who have nice skin for their age.
From the American Diabetes Association website: 10% of type 1 diabetics also have celiac disease.
Did you know that rickets has made a comeback in the UK? Rickets is a childhood disease that once caused an epidemic of bowed legs and curved spines during the Victorian era. It is caused by a severe deficiency of vitamin D. It used to be a disease of poverty because poor children toiled in factories instead of playing outside in the sun. The disease largely disappeared from Britain in the 1950’s due to mass programs to feed children cod liver oil. In the last 15 yrs. British hospitals have seen a 4 fold increase in cases – from 183 in 1995 to 762 in 2011, but may be higher because there is no formal surveillance system in place. Cultural changes are likely to blame: children spending more time inside on computers and video games, the stringent use of sunscreens, and religious beliefs that skin needs to be covered.
In the US, there has also been an increase in rickets, tho there are no solid figures to confirm it. Dr. Tosi at Children’s Medical Center in Washington DC say kids stop drinking milk as soon as they are weaned, and some public health campaigns are trying to eliminate flavored milks from school lunches, which could hurt children’s bone health. Flavored milks…hmmm. Would the drink described below actually help a child’s bone health, or would the sugar, colorings and processing be more hinderance than help? Those are the types of decision we all have to make every day, unfortunately.
Flavored milk is a sweetened dairy drink made with milk, sugar, colorings and artificial or natural flavorings. Flavored milk is often pasteurized using ultra-high-temperature treatment, which gives it a longer shelf-life than plain milk. Wikipedia
Get the kids off their bums and scoot them outside, force-feed them wild-caught oily fish once in a while, organic eggs, and other dairy products like organic yogurt, cheese, cream cheese (on celery – yum), sr. cream, and plain old milk how it tastes right out of the cow. Don’t let them do the shopping!!
My son, who is 26 now, used to come home from grade school with stories about green hotdogs at lunch. Instead of eating them, they would have contests to see how high they would bounce. I tried to get on the nutrition board for the school district, but I’m sure they sensed a renegade before they finished listening to my voice mail. They never called. I really only wanted to get ketchup re-classified from a vegetable to a condiment.
Quote of the week: “Hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and french fries are my favorite foods.” Betty White. OK, one of the websites I consulted for this post is lying. Or maybe she eats tofu hotdogs, or maybe this is an old quote. Gotta love her either way.
Until next time, stay healthy. The Gluten Free Fairy
Gluten Free Fairy 