The high cost of convenience/ inclusion

[Philliefan33]

Today is DH’s birthday, and coincidentally DD and her husband will be visiting us for the weekend. Since there will be others to help eat it, I decided to bake a cake for the occasion. Since the SIL recently switched to a gluten-free diet (and it’s helping ), DH suggested I look for a gluten-free cake mix.

I was thinking that SIL would just enjoy the ice cream and pass on the cake, but went looking for the cake mix anyway.

The grocery store had a Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix for $4.29. Ouch! That’s almost four times a regular cake mix. But I decided to get it, because otherwise I’d be buying rice flour and other things to try to make a gluten free cake from scratch and who has time for that?

So this afternoon as I’m baking the cake I see that the mix makes one 8”x8” cake instead of the typical 13”x9” from a cake mix. So that effectively makes the cost of the gluten free cake mix eight times that of a regular cake mix.

Good thing we like the guy.

 

[audreyh1]

Hah - we just skip the birthday cakes. Costs less and more convenient!

 

[Spock]

I had a gluten free cake in a restaurant.
once.
It tasted like it needed gluten.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

I enjoyed tiramisu today for my birthday. I have no idea whether it had gluten, but it sure was yummy.

 

[Aerides]

He may well have passed on the regular cake completely, but will probably be incredibly appreciative of your efforts to include cake for them. Most anyone with Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, would.

When my FIL visits I make sure we have GF snacks and meals. Thanksgiving is a challenge but I make it work! I know he's just happy to be here, and would eat dry turkey by itself. But I get GF gravy, stuffing, even pumpkin pie (and regular versions for everyone else).

 

[stargazer08]

I have been gluten free for 15+ years. The price of gluten free cake mixes is insane but I personally like the Betty Crocker mixes best.

It's wonderful that you're willing to do this for your SIL. My only advice is don't overcook the cake...especially if it's the yellow cake mix.

 

[skipro33]

GF brownies taste better than the regular stuff.

 

[Philliefan33]

I have been gluten free for 15+ years. The price of gluten free cake mixes is insane but I personally like the Betty Crocker mixes best.

It's wonderful that you're willing to do this for your SIL. My only advice is don't overcook the cake...especially if it's the yellow cake mix.

It was the yellow cake mix. I baked for the shortest suggested time, which may have been a couple of minutes too long because the cake was a little dry. It almost has the consistency of angel food cake.

SIL was very appreciative of the effort and enjoyed the cake. He said he hasn’t had anything “cakey” since he went GF so it was a real treat.

The next challenge will be Thanksgiving dinner. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’m not going to try to make GF stuffing or pie, he will just have to fill up on the many other options. I think the only changes I’ll have to make is not putting the stuffing in the bird*, and thickening the gravy with cornstarch instead of a roux.

*I know the experts say not to put the stuffing in the turkey, but we’ve been living dangerously for over twenty years.

 

[Jerry1]

We have a very good bakery near us that only does gluten free. Their goods are very tasty but they are also very expensive. But for the Holidays, we splurge and get the gluten free, dairy free cherry pie. DW cannot do dairy and we both stay away from grains but if we do have grains, we at least go gluten free. And since DW can’t have dairy, we found some goat milk ice cream to go with the pie.

 

[trirod]

My wife has Celiac disease so has to eat gluten free every day for the rest of her life. She bakes her own GF bread as well as cakes and cookies. We do also buy GF items, like crackers, pretzels, pasta etc. and the prices are kind of ridiculous. Not sure how celiacs on a low income manage.

 

[Bestwifeever]

That is really thoughtful of you and I’m sure your DD appreciated that you considered her DH’s restrictions. DS’s DW is vegan and if GF gets added I don’t know if I would know what to cook!

Just compare the extra $2 or $3 for the GF cake mix to a GF bakery cake or taking everyone out to a restaurant for dinner and cake and paying for them.

 

[audreyh1]

Convenience is very valuable to me. Sometimes I’m willing to pay quite a lot.

 

[candrew]

I think the only changes I’ll have to make is not putting the stuffing in the bird*, and thickening the gravy with cornstarch instead of a roux.

*I know the experts say not to put the stuffing in the turkey, but we’ve been living dangerously for over twenty years.

Here's a suggestion for a yummy GF stuffing option that we've used - influenced by our having lived in the Southwest for 40+ years. Try stuffing the cavity of your turkey with green corn tamales! Trader Joe's has delicious frozen green corn tamales as does Costco. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with the tamales in their frozen state, husk and all. The flavor that the turkey drippings impart to those tamales is amazing!

 

[audreyh1]

GF stuffing is easy - just use GF cornbread. Cornbread makes a delicious stuffing anyway. But it does have to be gluten free - several cornbread mixes aren’t.

The biggest challenge for me when baking is that I also avoid dairy (milk, butter, cheese). Eggs are OK.

 

[Philliefan33]

The other DD would be very sad if I didn’t make my usual stuffing recipe. It’s her favorite part of the dinner. (It’s nothing special, just the recipe on the back of the Bell’s Seasoning box). Maybe I’ll make two stuffings, the regular and a smaller batch of GF.

 

[Texas Proud]

He may well have passed on the regular cake completely, but will probably be incredibly appreciative of your efforts to include cake for them. Most anyone with Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance, would.

When my FIL visits I make sure we have GF snacks and meals. Thanksgiving is a challenge but I make it work! I know he's just happy to be here, and would eat dry turkey by itself. But I get GF gravy, stuffing, even pumpkin pie (and regular versions for everyone else).

OP never said there was a disease or intolerance involved...


This also seems to be a fad that a number of people are doing...



When we have family get togethers it is the responsibility of the person who has the 'problem' to bring anything that they want that is not considered normal.... me, I hate nuts in food... my family puts nuts in off and on... if there are nuts I do not eat it... simple.. when my DW had food restrictions due to her religion, she brought a dish that she could eat... simple...

 

[pjigar]

I had a talk with DW on this topic last night. She asked me to taste a dish that typically has onions as a main ingredient. It tasted terrible. By the way, that dish is her winning dish so asked what's up? She said that dish was cooked without onions since one of the guest CHOOSE not to eat onions. Go figure, no dietary restriction, just volunteery choice that ruined the dish for everyone.

 

[audreyh1]

OP never said there was a disease or intolerance involved...


This also seems to be a fad that a number of people are doing...

The OP did say that the switch to gluten free was helping. That’s significant enough.

Why label it a “fad” when some folks are finding their health improves when switching to gluten free?

 

[Philliefan33]

The OP did say that the switch to gluten free was helping. That’s significant enough.



Why label it a “fad” when some folks are finding their health improves when switching to gluten free?

It is not a fad for SIL.

He has had autoimmune issues for ten years but the doctors haven’t been able to put a name to it. They can only tell him what it is not. He takes medication, but the meds don’t fix everything. Despite the health issues, he leads a very active lifestyle and doesn’t complain.

Enter DD, a biochemist who did her Ph.D. work on gut bacteria. Seeing his symptoms daily (mouth sores, digestive issues) she convinced him to give GF a try. He now has much fewer digestive problems, very few mouth sores (and they heal more quickly when he does get one), and just generally feels better. It isn’t just a case of eating a healthier diet by replacing gluten-containing processed baked crap with fruit, because they had a very healthy diet before going GF.

I don’t see it as a big deal to accommodate his restrictions. My OP was just in reaction to the shock of how expensive a GF cake mix is.

I’m making beef stew for dinner. The only change necessary to make it GF is skipping the step of coating the beef cubes in flour. That’s easy.

 

[Sojourner]

OP never said there was a disease or intolerance involved...

This also seems to be a fad that a number of people are doing...

When we have family get togethers it is the responsibility of the person who has the 'problem' to bring anything that they want that is not considered normal.... me, I hate nuts in food... my family puts nuts in off and on... if there are nuts I do not eat it... simple.. when my DW had food restrictions due to her religion, she brought a dish that she could eat... simple...

+1

The incidence of celiac disease (as opposed to those who are choosing to eat gluten-free for the perceived benefits) is around 0.7% of the population. According to what I've read, there are no tangible digestive or physiological benefits to avoiding gluten for those who don't have an actual condition like celiac. My guess is that the majority of those avoiding gluten are doing so based on the faulty assumption that it's inherently harmful to the human digestive system. Obviously, it's their right to do so, but to what extent should that obligate others in their social circle to "play along" and indulge their somewhat questionable choice?

OTOH, I'm mostly vegetarian (completely by choice), and I always appreciate whenever someone goes to the trouble of having at least one non-meat entree at a holiday party or other social gathering. But there have been many, many times where this wasn't the case, and I had only a fairly small number of side dishes to choose from. It never really bothered me, for the most part, since I was fully aware that my dietary habits were something I chose and therefore shouldn't oblige people to go out of their way to accommodate them. Sort of like if I showed up at a family reunion and announced I was following a strict "organic raw foods" diet... would I expect for a special dish of expensive, organic, raw broccoli, quinoa, and kale salad to be there just for my benefit?

 

[audreyh1]

+1

The incidence of celiac disease (as opposed to those who are choosing to eat gluten-free for the perceived benefits) is around 0.7% of the population. According to what I've read, there are no tangible digestive or physiological benefits to avoiding gluten for those who don't have an actual condition like celiac. My guess is that the majority of those avoiding gluten are doing so based on the faulty assumption that it's inherently harmful to the human digestive system. Obviously, it's their right to do so, but to what extent should that obligate others in their social circle to "play along" and indulge their somewhat questionable choice?

Celiac disease is NOT the only condition that means gluten should be avoided.

There are links to autoimmune disease, but understanding causes of autoimmune diseases is still in its infancy in western medicine, and will likely take decades to shake out. In the meantime, wheat is a well known allergen along with several other common foods/ingredients.

Great if you personally are not dealing with autoimmune disease, but please don’t be so quick to judge others who are dealing with it.

 

[brett]

GF hash brownies will make everyone happy.

 

[Chuckanut]

GF brownies taste better than the regular stuff.

Recipe please.

 

[kgtest]

Today is DH’s birthday, and coincidentally DD and her husband will be visiting us for the weekend...
Good thing we like the guy.

I might crack a joke to DSIL that after the 8x price of the gluten cake you blew the rest of the weekend's gluten free budget lol.

Or just never buy anything gluten-free again, don't set the bar so high!

Usually people with dietary restrictions plan around the changes needed to live life, or else they suffer IMO.

Or else, claw-back by cutting that cake 1x1" squares, you eat 7, he eats 1 and you call it even lol.

I feel like if a person hat to eat gluten for a short while it might be bearable, tolerable, and not life or death.

 

[audreyh1]

Recipe please.

King Arthur flour makes an excellent GF brownie mix that might be available in your grocery store as it is in mine.

I avoid baked goods anyway.