Making Gluten Free Affordable

Nope, I don't have all the answers on this one, but...  I have a few things to suggest...

1.  Look for sales on things that have no generic brand...and stock up.  Maybe you will have to go without that particular item for a bit.  (Thinking about snack crackers, pasta)

2.  You don't need to have the most expensive flour.  Yes, it may be nice at times to try something fancy, but...  This combination (Gluten Free Flour Mix) has worked for everything I've tried so far, along with Xantham Gum (initially expensive ~$10, but I've had mine for months because you use it a teaspoon at a time).

3.  Switch pasta-based meals to rice-based meals so you don't have to buy the special pasta.

4.  Corn tortillas are very inexpensive, and make excellent quesadillas.  Quesadillas are very good "vehicles" for veggies too.  My girls liked them with broccolli, peas, cauliflower, avocado...

5.  Tostadas are great for dipping in (traditional) salsa, and (nontraditional) peanut butter/nutella/agave nectar/sunflower seads (or any lesser combination...homemade jam works too).  The possibilities are endless...just think of what you would put on a bread sandwich and use your tostadas to have the same. 

...I will add more as I think of it...

My Theory - Switching Recipes to Gluten-Free

The theory that I am testing in my baking...

1. Looking at "regular" or "glutenous" recipes, they seem to all have even measurements for the flour, and the gluten-free recipes seem to have odd measurements. Such as, 1 cup + 2 T. So, my idea for converting was to use 2 heaping cups of gluten-free flour in place of 2 cups flour.

I had previously just converted cup for cup and things seemed a bit doughy.

2. The next thing I am testing is baking time. I use the longer time because it seems like the gluten free things don't "solidify" as well. Or after a couple days they start to get soggy.

Using the combination of these 2 theories as well as this guide from on Gluten-Free basics:

• Bread and pizza dough recipes: Add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per cup of gluten-free flour used in bread and pizza dough recipes
• Cake, muffin and quick bread recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup of gluten-free flour used
• Cookie and bar recipes: Add 1/2 teaspoon (or less) xanthan gum or guar gum per one cup gluten-free flour used

I have had success 2 times! Zucchini Bread, and Applesauce Muffins.