When I started my journey of living with food allergies, my main resource of safe foods was shopping at health food stores. I have mapped and explored all the stores in my area and have learned that gluten free, dairy free, soy free, organic or at least GMO free foods are much more expensive than buying at the regular grocery store. Have you find that too? Did you get any advice from your family physician or dietitian how to afford foods that cost much more? I didn’t.
I was the one who had to cover increased expenses, more frequent trips to the store and also more miles driven, as I wasn’t able to get everything I needed at one store. So the start was harsh and expensive. One of the factors could have been that my husband shared the same diet as me, which helped with cooking time and increased safety in own kitchen for me, but surely added to the grocery bill.
However, with time we were able to explore other options and stared checking our health food isles in regular grocery stores, such as Co-op, Sobey’s, Safeway and Canadian Superstore. Even Walmart offers some allergen free foods at very reasonable prices. Lately I love going to Costco again, due to their fairly significant section of organic foods and allergen free snacks.
If I was eating regular foods there is so much to choose from, but I am glad for what I can find. I have made friends at local farmers markets and I can get fruits and veggies free of pesticides and GMO free. I can also buy a great gluten free cakes, cookies or whole lunch – those small changes coming with time make my life so much better.
I haven’t given up on health food stores. They are still a significant source of great and safe foods, but I save money by buying online, researching options at other stores and even making my flour purchases at Bulk and Barn. Once again, they are getting better at listing allergens and going organic with some of their products. I find that more resourceful I am, more enjoyable my life can be and I can even get my foods at the reasonable price. Happy shopping!