Gluten Free...

[Illy603]

Hopefully this is posted in the right place...

I want to try a couple weeks eating gluten free as I’m finding myself having trouble with stomach problems.
I’m usually a very cheap shopper and can feed myself for a week on less than £15.
Gluten Free products don’t seem very cheap in places like Tesco and Asda. Does anyone know of anywhere that has a good selection that won’t cost me a months good budget?!

TIA x

The easiest and cheapest thing to do is just eat stuff that is naturally gluten free (potatoes, rice, lentils etc). However most gluten free supermarket pasta is pretty good these days if you want to sub that in for more variety.

What are you usual meals?

If you think you might be coeliac you have to eat gluten for 6 weeks before they can do the blood test so it might be worth getting the blood test before you start your experiment.

Oh and just forget about bread. It's expensive and all of it is rubbish (although marks and Spencer's are making some good ground).

Aldi sometimes does....
Most of the supermarkets now sell buckwheat / green pea/ lentil pasta that’s gluten free (Napolina brand)

What do you normally eat? What makes you suspect it's gluten? Any rashes, extreme fatigue etc? I don't find being GF any more expensive really unless I am buying 'treats' or bread. Lots of things are naturally free of gluten. Just have rice instead of pasta, although to be fair gluten free pasta is fairly cheap these days, millet etc instead of cous cous. Potatoes as the carb if you feel you need one.

Have you seen your Gp though? It might be worth doing that or seeing a dietitian instead as I'm not sure 2 weeks will make much difference. Exclusion diets to determine intolerances are quite a lengthy process, plus GF dedicated products generally contain higher levels of sugar and various other crap so it's not really a benefit unless you are actually intolerant. Gluten sneaks into quite a lot of things, chocolate, oat milk (most oat products are not GF), instant coffee, even makeup- eradicating it for a true test involves a lot of googling and label checking or you'll be having it anyway. You can be tested for gluten intolerance and coeliac disease.

I think the low FODMAP is the go-to for unspecified IBS symptoms so maybe look into that if not but it is better done under medical guidance.