Being Frugal With Special Diets

I am the proud mother of a son with Down Syndrome. Our son is almost 16 years old and over the years we have bought special car seats ($$$) special toys (we just bought him a switch enabled glow worm at around $60) enough diapers to fill a landfill (feel guilty about that--try to recycle in other ways), and for the last few months we have been on the gluten free diet. Believe me, gluten is only "Free" part of that. Still, though, I'd pay for all of it again just to provide for my son. We have seen some progress with him since going on the diet--he is following routines better and feeding himself more successfully. He is enjoying doing puzzles and that is something he NEVER did before. Someone asked us "How long are you doing this diet for??" It's a lot of hassle to begin with, but after a while it seems to be worth it, so my answer is as long as we see such good results and it is healthy and safe for our child.

Note: Please check with your doctor before going on any special diet.

Here are some ways we've found to be frugal and provide for special needs:

Special Diets: Cook it yourself
Thankfully you can find some convenience foods at your grocery store for special diets. It is so wonderful lately many products are coming out corn syrup free and you can also find gluten free bread, sugar free sweets, lactose free milk and butter. You pay so much more for the convenience--a loaf of gluten free bread runs about $8.00. You can make this bread yourself at home for $3-4. It really helps if you have a breadmaker. I make my son 1-2 loaves of bread a week and use the bread for him whenever the rest of the family has biscuits, bread or garlic bread.
Here are some items we now make that we used to buy in "convenience" form".

Bread
Pancakes
Biscuits
Cookies
Breakfast Foods Like Coffee Cake, Muffins, etc.

It takes more time and it's still not as cheap as the vending machine but when you don't have a choice, taking the time to cook makes all of the difference in your budget. If you don't have time during the work week to cook then try to double up on weekends and pack lunches for the week. The really good part of this is you know exactly what went into your meal. Your food is simpler and without the extra salt and additives.

Search For Ingredients at the Grocery Store First
There are many wonderful websites online where you can find special foods but again the prices can be high. Many grocery stores including big ones like Walmart are stocking natural foods at lower prices. Some stores have a special aisle for these foods while others stock them next to the similar non-natural items. Work on your shopping list there first then head to the health stores and online.

What all of this comes down to is--if you are frugal in other ways you can certainly be a wise shopper for a special diet!