Smart Tips for Going Gluten-Free on a Budget

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One of the first things many people notice about the gluten-free diet is the cost. Suddenly, groceries can’t necessarily be picked up for cheap, and the price of bread alone will make you want to rethink your morning breakfast. However, there are many ways to be gluten-free on a budget. It just takes some planning, and you’ll be off in no time.

Something important to understand about gluten-free foods is that you’re not necessarily being ripped off by their cost, which is so much more. To make something gluten-free, there is usually a lot more that goes into it. Ingredients tend to cost more money; there typically are a few more of them to achieve the same texture and they are a little bit harder to find depending on where you are at.

In addition, to be a certified gluten-free kitchen (or factory), additional steps need to be taken, steps that sometimes require more equipment and prevent brands from creating any type of gluten-filled food. With all of that being said, you absolutely can eat gluten-free on a budget.

Gluten-Free On a Budget Starts With a Plan

A weekly meal plan will be the foundation of your gluten-free diet on a budget. Meal planning is beneficial in many ways, but it can help you save a lot of money in the long run. Without a meal plan, you will find yourself taking extra trips to the grocery store, relying on takeout or fast food (that might not even be gluten-free), and buying more food than is needed when you go shopping weekly.

How To Meal Plan For a Gluten-Free Diet

A meal plan is just that—a plan for your meals. It doesn’t have to be complicated, or all have to be home-cooked, either. Having a meal plan means having food for dinner that works for your family.

It goes something like this to break it down at a high level.

1. Find recipes and food that you love (or your family loves).
2. Look at your schedule for the week ahead.
3. Figure out where the recipes/meals fit.
4. Shop for your plan

That’s your meal plan. As I mentioned, this is a very high level. To learn more about how I find recipes that don’t suck, how to make them work, and all of my meal-planning secrets, make sure to watch the free gluten-free meal-planning workshop. Inside the free workshop, I teach you everything you need to know to create a gluten-free meal plan that works for your schedule and family.

Why Does a Meal Plan Save You Money?

There are a variety of ways having a meal plan will save you money. For starters, having a meal plan means knowing exactly what you need to buy as you go into the grocery store each week. It can also save you from extra trips to the grocery store.

Admit it, you know what happens when you take those extra grocery store trips. You go in for one item and come out with six. Sometimes, forgetting the item you went for in the first place.

On top of fewer trips to the grocery store, meal planning can help you plan for overlapping ingredients. For example, instead of buying a box of pasta and using ⅓ of it for one meal during the week, you can get 2-3 different out of a single box of pasta. It’s a cheap way to expand your options throughout the week.

Last but certainly not least, going into the grocery store with a plan means not buying items you may or may not eat before they go bad.

Budget-Friendly Gluten-Free Shopping Tips

Prices will vary from store to store when it comes to gluten-free food. There is no fixed price that all retailers have to follow, and it can often become frustrating when you compare prices. However, when it comes to grocery shopping for a gluten-free diet on a budget, there are some shortcuts you can take.

For starters, don’t turn your nose up to shopping at multiple stores. It’s likely going to take a few different places to ensure you find everything at a reasonable price. Not all stores carry the same products or the same brands. Be patient, especially when you are working on finding gluten-free options.

Finding Gluten-Free Food Online

Shopping on websites like Thrive Market and Amazon is one of the best ways to save money on a gluten-free diet. Both offer subscription services that allow you to get a discount on gluten-free foods.

From personal experience, Thrive Market can be paid monthly or yearly (a very minimal fee) and is about 25% cheaper than my local grocery store on snacks, bread, and gluten-free flour. Once I discovered this, we started planning a monthly Thrive Market box covering the basics. This includes:

• All Purpose Flour
• 2-3 Loaves of Bread (to freeze and use as needed)
• Gluten-Free Pasta
• Gluten-Free Snacks

Another option is Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program. It’s a monthly program where you can have additional basics delivered to you. You can save 15-20% on each item if you order five or more items. Before discovering Thrive Market, we relied heavily on this for the basics.

Using Seasonal Produce

Don’t hesitate to use seasonal produce when building your weekly meal plan. Due to its higher availability, seasonal produce is often cheaper at the grocery store. Including produce in your meals is often a recommended foundation of the gluten-free diet. Fruits and Vegetables contain one ingredient, and that ingredient is not gluten. This makes them naturally gluten-free and a great base for your meals.

Start by finding a list of seasonal produce in your area. Use this list to research recipes that meet your dietary needs.

It will help you stay on track with the gluten-free lifestyle and save money in the long run.

Cooking Gluten-Free on a Budget

It’s no secret that the gluten-free diet requires cooking more at home. Restaurants are harder to find safe options at, pre-made food is not always the healthiest and buying gluten-free food is simply not cheap.There is nothing wrong with cooking at home, and the more you do it, the more you will find yourself trying new recipes, branching out, and enjoying it more.

Homemade Spices and Sauces

Early on in our gluten-free journey, we quickly realized that many of the spice packets and sauces we were using contained gluten. Gluten is often used as a thickening agent, so it made sense.

Since then, we started making our own steak seasoning, taco seasoning, spaghetti sauce and more. I realized they were not hard to make and we have found ourselves enjoying them now more than a store bought seasoning.

It might take a few different recipes to find one you like but don’t give up on the idea of making your own spices and sauces. You can make them in bulk, save them, and freeze them for future use.

Don’t Make Complicated Meals

If you’re going to keep your gluten-free budget in check, it’s best to focus on simple meals and recipes. Things such as tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf, etc.

When you get into the more complicated recipes, you will find yourself buying more and more ingredients. By focusing on the simpler recipes, there will be less and more cost-effective ingredients to buy.

Don’t give up on complicated recipes altogether, but always keep an eye on the ingredients needed when you’re planning your meals for the week. Less is more (money saved).

Use Overlapping Ingredients

One of the best pieces of advice I have heard in regards to maintaining a gluten-free diet on a budget is to use overlapping ingredients throughout the week.

For example, your protein. When you are picking your meals for the week, pick meals with similar protein options so you can buy the protein in bulk and cook it all at once. One week is chicken, where you buy the family pack of chicken breasts and cook them in different ways throughout the week. The next week is turkey, etc.

The same goes for spices & sauces. If you can overlap what you need throughout your week, it will ultimately save you money at the grocery store

Budget Hacks for Gluten-Free Living

Between shopping online, visiting different stores, and cooking more at home, it is possible to be gluten-free on a budget. Here are a few additional hacks you can use to keep costs down.

Shop In Bulk

Stores like Costco and Sam’s Club can be overwhelming when you think about buying a gallon of peanut butter, but they don’t have to be. They tend to be very budget-friendly for a gluten-free diet and help you stock up as needed.

One thing to keep in mind is that many of the bulk shopping stores don’t always have the same options from month to month. This can make it hard to rely on, but it also means you might be surprised at what you can find.
Make room in your calendar once a month to browse Costco’s (or Sam’s Club’s) aisle and see what gluten-free items are available. You may quickly find some of your favorites at a better price simply by buying it in bulk.

Double Your Recipe & Freeze Leftovers

As you get more familiar with cooking for a gluten-free diet, you might quickly realize that some recipes make more than others. You might also find that you can freeze things such as soup and sauces to use down the road for the same recipe or another one. This becomes extremely helpful if there are leftovers of any of the ingredients you purchased specifically for this recipe.

Don’t be afraid to double a recipe to have leftovers to freeze for another time. Not only does it make for a quick and easy meal one night, but it also saves you a few dollars on groceries in the future.

Get Creative With Leftovers

Similarly, don’t hesitate to use pieces of one meal for another. For example, taco night might become stuffed pepper night a few days later. Keep this idea in the back of your head as you build your gluten-free meal plan.

At the end of the day, it is possible to maintain a gluten-free diet on a budget; it just takes some work. Creating your gluten-free meal plan, knowing where to shop, and cooking at home might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Give yourself time to adjust to the idea of a new grocery budget, and each week, you will find things that make your new lifestyle easier. In my free Gluten-Free Meal Planning Workshop, I help you create a realistic meal plan in easy steps. Sign up now to get started eating gluten-free as soon as possible.

Start with a plan; then, you’ll be rocking the gluten-free diet on a budget in no time.