I’ve been working on a project these past couple of weeks that has forced me to pay even more attention to the cost of food during these tight economic times. This article on what a modern depression would look like suggested a possible upswing in eating fast food and starchy, processed food because they are cheaper, and I couldn’t help but think even more about the future of healthy eating.

As a patient with celiac disease, I’ve grown used to the fact that eating gluten-free is expensive. Whether it’s dining out or cooking at home, there’s no way around the fact that many of the cheaper items out there are off-limits.

The trade-off, of course, is that fresh and/or whole foods are healthier, and my meals are higher in fiber, lower in sodium, and much more diverse than they would be were I not gluten- (and dairy) free. While sticking to this lifestyle will never be inexpensive, there are definitely lots of things GF shoppers (or anyone with a limited diet) can do to maintain their diets without breaking the bank. Here are some strategies to keep in mind as budgets shrink and costs increase—none of them are earth-shattering and they certainly aren’t the only ones out there, but they are things I think about and try to practice regularly:

1. Personally, I try to stick to foods that are naturally gluten-free, rather than buying specialty pre-made items (bread, pizza crusts, pasta, etc) that approximate products with gluten and cost more. I’d much rather buy a bulk bag of brown rice or risotto and have that with my stir fry or as a side dish. Same thing with polenta—it’s cheap when you buy it in bulk and is really versatile in terms of spices and mix-ins.
(Note: I’m not much of a bread/baked goods kind of girl, but I know celiac patients get good results with breadmakers, and that it’s cheaper than buying pre-made GF bread).

2. We like to make soups and turkey chili a lot, and buying dried beans and lentils makes a lot of sense if you’re going to use those ingredients often. Certainly store-brand canned beans aren’t too expensive, but they can have more sodium than I’d like and they’re still not cheaper than dried beans. (Just make sure you give them plenty of time to soak. The infamous “crunchy” turkey chili of July 4, 2008 taught me that lesson.)

3. Plan meals around vegetables in season—not only does it make for more creative meals but you’ll spend less. If your recipes call for vegetables not in-season, frozen vegetables are more affordable and have many of the same health benefits as the fresh kind.

4. Make the most of every ingredient you buy and purchase items that can work in several different meals/recipes. For example, we’ll buy a whole chicken when we see it on sale and roast it, using some meat for that night’s meal and setting aside portions to use in soup and on salads later that week. Then we take what’s left and make a huge pot of chicken broth out of it. We use some of it for soups that week, and depending on how much we make, we freeze containers of it to use when we make risotto or polenta and want the depth of flavor broth adds over water. (You can find store-bought broth that is gluten-free but it’s often too salty and I really prefer the taste of homemade broth.)

5. Lastly, it sounds obvious, but pay attention to sales and specials. If you’ve planned out meals with one type of protein and another is one sale, think about substituting. And of course if you see GF specialty items or proteins on sale, stock up on them and keep them in the freezer. Take-out can really add up and is often limited in terms of GF-availability, so give yourself options.

While they are not major changes they can really make a difference for anyone dealing with dietary restrictions. If you’re looking for more ideas, Gluten-free Mommy has a great post on eating gluten-free frugally.

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Clearly I’m not the first one to quote the opening lines of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, or to see the logic in his argument that eating food is much different than eating the processed products that line most of the shelves in our grocery stores.

But I probably wouldn’t have been attracted to those lines—I might not have even read the book—if I hadn’t gone through such a major transformation in terms of what I think of as food and how it relates to health.

I thought about all of this when I came across a post from someone on a celiac listserv. The author said he would never go back to eating gluten, celiac disease or no, because his attitude towards food and cooking was so much healthier now.

I couldn’t agree more. I’d always been conscious of eating “healthy”—low-fat versions of everything I could find, heart-smart butter-like spread, even fat-free cheese (which, I admit, is an affront to the institution of cheese and consistently melted into an unappetizing pool of gooey yellow sludge. It was probably a subconscious part of my decision to give up dairy.) I bought pre-packaged, powdered low-calorie soups I added hot water to, convincing myself they made me full.

And then I was diagnosed with celiac disease and processed, pre-packaged foods were the first casualties.

Thank goodness.

I’m a label reader by proclivity as well as necessity, ever on the lookout for hidden sources of gluten in my foods. As such, I can’t help but notice how little time I now spend standing in grocery store aisles, poring over labels—after all, fruit, vegetables, fresh herbs, and meat/fish have pretty short ingredient lists.

Without being conscious of it while it happened, I became one of those people who, with the exception of canned beans and dog food, only shops the perimeter of the grocery store. Buying fresh, whole ingredients isn’t cheap, but since I’m not spending money on fake foods, the bill evens out each week. Now, we cook, rather than re-heat, a distinction I never would have thought about before.

Sure, I miss the sensation of biting into a toasted bagel, and the aroma of pizza baking can get to me. But going gluten-free forced me to look at what I eat, not just how much I eat or how many calories I ingest, and I wouldn’t go back to my outdated notion of “healthy eating” for anything. My life after diagnosis began as an odyssey of food exclusion, but I no longer see it that way.

After all, I take enough medications and put enough foreign chemicals in my body as it is. I certainly don’t need to add anymore into the mix.

I haven’t written about celiac disease or related food allergy issues recently. (Remember that three week stint of chicken broth, pureed food, and sparking water with a straw? That made it pretty easy to avoid gluten or dairy.)

Liquid diet aside, I haven’t had too much to say about living with dietary restrictions. I’ve figured out ways to make home recipes tasty and safe, and I’ve learned what–and more importantly, how–to ask when I’m dining out. (Remember that whole selling one place and buying another? That transaction has certainly cut down on our dinners out, anyway).

But for everyone out there who is gluten-free, dairy-free, or suffers from any type of food allergy, I do have something to report. This week, Ming Tsai, nationally known chef and local celebrity and owner of Blue Ginger, was at the Massachusetts State House with his son, who has suffered from multiple food allergies, to urge legislators to pass a bill that would make dining out a lot easier for patrons and employees alike.

I’ve eaten at Blue Ginger, so I can vouch firsthand for its highly acclaimed food. It was one of the more memorable meals we’ve had. But I can also vouch for the fact that when I informed the waiter about my condition, he snapped into action, heading back to the kitchen and returning with a list of appetizers and entrees that were completely gluten-free. He also said that in the future, if I give the restaurant 24 hours notice they can usually prepare something special (and safe).

I was impressed with the service and the thoroughness, not realizing at the time that Ming Tsai is the national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). I found out later that he keeps a sort of “Bible” of recipes and ingredients in his kitchen, even including the ingredient lists for whatever prepared foods (think soy sauce) his dishes may require.

I think it’s great that such a well-known chef is putting himself out there and advocating for awareness of food allergies and dietary restrictions. The real story, though, the one that affects so many people who don’t live close enough to Blue Ginger to bask in its food-safe abundance, is the bill itself. It would require restaurants to:

–Prominently display a poster about food allergy awareness in a staff area
–Put a notice to customers on the menu that it is their obligation to inform their server of any food allergies
–If the restaurant serves 50 or more, obtain a master list of all ingredients used in each recipe that is available to the customer upon request

For more details, check out the language of the bill here.

As customers, it is our job to advocate for ourselves, ask questions, and disclose relevant information, just as it is the responsibility of servers and kitchen staff to try to answer our questions as thoroughly as possible and accommodate us as much as can be reasonably expected. This bill makes that process a lot easier.

I spent a lot of time in a hospital cafeteria over the past week, and each entrée and side dish had all the ingredients listed, including a bolded section that highlighted any of the major allergens, like dairy, nuts, soy, wheat, etc. It made such a difference, and the fact that I was able to zip through the line without pointing and asking about every item made it a lot more effective for all the non-restricted people in line, too. Win-win situation all around.

The key here is knowledge—people can do so much more when they have the right facts at their disposal. Not every restaurant can be a Blue Ginger, but with the right basic protocols in place, they can certainly be as prepared.

I’m no economist, but simple notions of supply and demand seem to dictate that if you offer a service to a captive market and meet with success, an inevitable increase in demand (and then more supply) will follow.

As logical as this sounds, I have to admit that for awhile I didn’t think the restaurant industry would take notice of what I already knew to be a clear demand for gluten-free dining—or at the very least, increased understanding of what gluten is and how it is incorporated in dishes.

Check out this interesting NYT article on GF dining in NYC. Turns out, savvy GF diners are proving that if restaurants cater to their needs, they will come. In droves, apparently. Long-standing mecca of gluten-free goodness Risotteria is mentioned (I am still dreaming of the breadsticks and chocolate frosting-stuffed cookies from last April), along with other restaurants that offer separate GF menus ripe with two things long absent from the GF dining experience: options and variety.

We’re a loyal lot, this band of celiacs who refuse to give up on eating out, and as the article illustrates, I’m not alone when I say that if I know of a restaurant that caters to my dietary needs, I will go out of my way to try it, and I’ll spread the word. Win-win situation, yes?

This has been a good week for me in terms of GF tolerance. I’m still adjusting to a dairy-free existence (I admit, I am a bit frightened to try the dairy-free, soy-free “cheddar flavored rice product” my well-meaning husband brought home from the grocery store today, but I’ll try it at least once), so knowing the GF horizon is a little less bumpy makes that easier. It can get somewhat daunting to plan a meal or peruse a menu when there are so many ingredients to avoid. I’m energized about the decision to go dairy-free—anything that even marginally reduces the mucus that chokes me is well worth it—but like going GF, it is still an adjustment.

The same day a friend forwarded me the NYT article, I had a more local encounter of the celiac-friendly kind. I think I’ve mentioned The Fireplace before for its gracious, accommodating nature and abundant native produce, but they’ve upped their GF game a bit since I was last there. They now offer a menu for celiacs that lists every item on the “regular” menu with a bold YES or NO next to each entry—yes meaning it is totally safe from cross-contamination and has no gluten, and no meaning it is not an acceptable offering.

The food and the menu were fabulous. And I think offering something like this is just as helpful for the servers, too—after all, if you don’t have celiac disease, it’s hard to keep track of all the things that contain gluten, especially if it’s a crowded night and there’s an extensive menu to check. It takes the pressure of both parties—I could make an informed order without needing to flag down our waiter with questions, and he could spend his time extolling the virtues of the great wine list with us instead.

Of course, at the end of the day it is my responsibility as the consumer to be educated and prepared, whether that means calling restaurants ahead of time, looking over the menu online, or being willing to be flexible when it comes to ordering off of smaller menus. Gluten and dairy will always have a large presence in most mainstream establishments, and it’s up to me to make sure I choose a restaurant where I can eat something.

But I’m not going to lie; when I walk into a restaurant and open up an entire menu where every single item is safe, it translates into one thing: a celiac foodie’s heaven.