This is part 2 of a 3 part series on eating gluten free without spending a ton of money. You can find part 1 here.
Go down the gluten free aisle in the grocery store, and you’ll see that there are plenty of options nowadays to eat gluten free. But those ingredients and pre-packaged foods are expensive! How can you eat gluten free on a budget? Here are 5 ways.
Stock up when your favorites are on sale. It may not happen as often as with other grocery items, but gluten free products do go on sale. Watch the grocery ads, and make sure to grab a few extras when they do.
Use coupons! While my mass-couponing days are over, I still use at least a few on most of my shopping trips. If you always eat Udi’s bread or Van’s crackers or –fill in the blank-, check their websites to see if they have any coupons available. If they do, great! Print those off and use them. If they don’t, find the contact form on the site, and send them a quick email letting them know you appreciate their gluten free products. Sometimes they’ll send coupons as a thanks!
Keep pre-packaged snacks and expensive ingredients as extras, not the norm. Yes, it’s nice to be able to just pop a frozen pizza in the oven, hand out a small bowl of crackers, or grab a snack bar for the road, but those conveniences add up fast! Buy them occasionally for a treat, but focus on simple ingredients for the everyday meals. Which brings me to…
Use simple ingredients. This will save you the most money no matter what type of food you eat. Look for recipes with short ingredients lists, made up of things you already keep in your pantry. Beans, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and dairy are all naturally gluten free, and they don’t come with as big of a price tag. Rice and quinoa are great gluten free grains. Oats are one of our favorites (although some have possible gluten contamination if you have an allergy – check your labels!).
Buy in bulk. Whether you place an online order for 40 pounds of chicken, or go to your local Costco for a big bag of popcorn and a tub of spinach, you can save money by buying a bunch at a time. Even setting aside $5-10 of your grocery budget each month for a bulk purchase will add up to savings!
Eating gluten free doesn’t have to mean expensive. By keeping it simple and watching for good deals, you can feed your family well for less.
Next week we’ll be talking about what was the hardest category for me when planning gluten free foods for our family: snacks. If you missed part 1, How I Cook Mostly Gluten Free, you can find that here.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I receive a bit of a commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you for your support!
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Hi, a couple of my brothers and nieces stay with gluten free diets. I have found I feel better too on a gluten free diet. I have been trying to keep gluten free for over a year now. I like the recipes and stories. Locally Grocery Outlet has a big variety of gluten free products. Always have to watch for too much sugar, etc. Keep up the good work!
We checked out Grocery Outlet the other day, and yes, they do have quite a bit! It’s nice to have a few options for shopping.