Going
gluten free is a big job and it can be expensive—I know that first-hand. I was
diagnosed with wheat/gluten allergies in midlife, when I was a single mother
with two teenagers to feed and a strict budget. I was afraid of adding gluten
free food into the mix and upsetting my struggling budget even further. With
time, patience and practice I learned how to save money on our entire grocery
budget.
Here are
some of the ways I’ve learned to save money on my gluten free lifestyle. Keep
in mind we’re all different with different circumstances—not all of these ideas
may work for you. However, maybe these tips will spark an idea that will work for you!
1. Buy staples on sale and in
bulk: staples include beans, rice,
canned tomatoes, canned fruit, gluten free flour, gluten free pasta, etc.
Keeping your pantry stocked with the staples you use most often saves money and
enables you to stay on a gluten free diet. If you run out of staples, you may
be tempted to use the non-gluten free version. That type of behavior will hurt
your health!
2. Look for regular products that are
naturally gluten free, such as some yogurts, cereals, etc. You’ll avoid paying
extra for the gluten free versions, and as a result saving a lot of money on
your grocery budget. Be sure to always read the labels to make sure you’re
buying a gluten free product.
3. Cook from scratch and avoid
convenience foods. You can grind your own gluten free flour, buy dry beans
rather than canned, make your own snacks and more. Cooking from scratch saves
money, and your meals will be more nutritious as a result. I used to think
cooking from scratch took too much effort; however, with a little organization
it doesn’t take much longer than using convenience foods. Cut up onions in
advance—it’s easy to chop up onions for your week ahead and then store them in
an airtight container in the fridge, ready to use when you need them. The same
goes for lettuce and other ingredients.
4. Eat more meatless or vegetarian
meals. Cut down on the amount of meat in your diet and replace it with healthy
vegetarian ingredients. Beans (legumes) are a great source of protein and
they’re filling. Quinoa is a grain full of protein and lots of important
nutrients. Noodle and pasta dishes can be filling and nutritious, while saving
your grocery budget. You might consider dishes such as vegetarian lasagna, mac
& cheese, bean enchiladas…peanut butter and jelly sandwich (served on gf bread)—all of these main dish
courses can be made healthy and cheap.
5. Make your own snacks and desserts. You can make your own chips, crackers,
cookies and cakes from scratch. Mixes are expensive, but cooking from scratch
saves a lot of money. Plus, you can control the amount of fat, salt, etc. in
your creations, while avoiding preservatives and other chemicals.
6. Eat breakfast for supper. This is a fun change for any type of diet and
it can be filling and satisfying. Omelettes, quiche, pancakes and waffles are
all good examples of versatile breakfast foods that make a great dinner. You
could fill omelettes and quiches with lots of vegetables; include bacon and
sausage as sides with pancakes and waffles, etc.
7. Eat more pasta. This one word,
alone, says it all. Pasta is versatile, satisfying and filling. Here, again,
you can combine pasta with vegetables, smaller amounts of meat—combined with
different sauces and served with a small green salad on the side, making a
healthy and filling meal.
8. Make a main dish soup. Soup is
another dish that’s versatile, filling and satisfying. You can make it with
most any vegetable and meat ingredients you have on hand. You can make it in
the crock pot, in the oven or on the stove—making just the right amount needed
for your meal. Soup can also be fixed ahead and stored in the fridge or the
freezer, making it a great meal to have on hand for those days you don’t feel
like cooking or you need a meal in a hurry.
9. Use leftovers creatively. Rather
than reheating last night’s meal for tonight’s supper, why not take your
leftovers and make something new? Leftover roasted chicken is wonderful for
soups or salads, leftover ground beef can be used to make spaghetti meat sauce,
etc. Leftovers, creatively used, will have a new taste and you won’t get tired
of eating the same thing again the next day.
10. Watch for sales and specials on the
products you typically use.
11. Use cheaper cuts of meat. Using
cheaper cuts of meat will leave the protein in your diet, while saving money.
Slow-cooking is a good way to cook cheaper cuts, leaving them fall-apart tender
and full of flavor.
12. Create gluten free main dishes for
your whole family. Cooking one meal, rather than two separate meals, saves both
time and money. You can make a batch of gluten free spaghetti sauce, and then
cook one pot of gluten free spaghetti for gluten free family members and fix
regular spaghetti for the rest of the family, with all of you eating the same
spaghetti sauce.
13. Cook with foods that are naturally
gluten free: fresh fruits, vegetables,
eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds, meats, poultry and fish. Not only are
these foods naturally gluten free, they are also packed with nutrition. Be sure
to avoid fresh foods that come in any type of sauce, such as marinade, etc.
14. Use the cheapest flours in the
beginning. Until you get the hang of cooking and baking gluten free, buy
inexpensive flours, rather than more expensive alternative flours. Rice flour’s
one of the cheapest. When you feel more comfortable and confident, then move on
to more expensive alternative flours. You can even try grinding your own rice flour.
15. Never throw away mistakes. Bette
Hagman says this in her cookbook, The Gluten Free Gourmet. The ingredients you’ve
bought are too expensive to throw away. Instead, save failed breads, cookies,
etc. You can use dried bread crumbs to make meatloaf, hamburgers, meatballs and
even use it as breading on chicken or vegetables. Failed cookies can be used to
make a pie crust or cheese cake. You can even use crumbled cookies in ice cream
recipes. You can also save crumbled potato or corn chips to use in your gluten
free cooking. I keep a bag of bread crumbs and one of cookies crumbs in my
freezer, so they’re fresh and ready to use when needed for a recipe.
16. Adapt your favorite recipes to
gluten free, as you gain experience and confidence, it will become easier to
adapt your favorite recipes to gluten free versions. Keep recipes organized in
a notebook or binder. You can also keep a digital version of your recipes on
your computer or tablet. Find the method that works best for you and stick with
it. In no time you’ll have your own go-to gluten free recipe cookbook.
17. To start out, you don’t need expensive
kitchen gadgets to cook or bake gluten free foods. I cook and bake with no
bread machine, no powerful mixer or food processor. I don’t even own a blender.
This has more to do with my moving overseas. I had a grain mill, bread machine
and a blender before moving, but these all had to be left behind. I was in a
new marriage and we were in effect just starting out. So, expensive gadgets
were not possible and I had to relearn how to cook and bake without these
kitchen wonders. You can make wonderful creations with only simple tools. The
tools I currently have are:
·
Two
whisks
·
Wooden
rolling pin
·
3
mixing bowls (2 glass and one 1 metal)
·
Knives,
forks and spoons (a set of sharp knives, regular dinner silverware)
·
Measuring
spoon ring, one set of measuring cups
·
Microwave/convection
oven (counter top)
·
Crock
pot
·
Hand
mixer (yes, like the old fashioned kind!)
·
Misc.
other kitchen items—wooden spoons, skewers, cookie cutters, baking pans, cookie
sheets and jelly roll pan, muffin pan, stick blender.
·
Electric
frying pan and an indoor electric grill (small—on counter top)
I’m the first to agree that a food processor would make a wonderful addition
to my kitchen tools, to say nothing of making it easier to create some gluten
free foods. But it’s not necessary. A hundred years ago, people didn’t have these kitchen gadgets available, and yet they managed to create
fantastical food creations of all types.
18. Look for free gluten free cookbooks
on Amazon and other sites. You can also find many gf recipes online at recipe
sites and on blogs. Checkout this blog every Thursday when I share free gluten free cookbooks from Amazon! You can also find free recipes on blogs and other sites on the web.
19. Cook and eat at home, rather than
eating out. This saves an enormous amount of money—gluten free diet or not.
20. Relax and have fun experimenting
with your gluten free diet. With practice you’ll gain more confidence and your
cooking will be so good that even your gluten free family and friends will
enjoy eating it with you!
These are
some of the things I’ve learned living a gluten free lifestyle. It’s important
to set yourself up for success. You can do this by starting out with simple
ingredients and tools. As you gain confidence and experience, you can begin
experimenting with flour mixes, recipes of all kinds and even adding kitchen
tools that make cooking easier. Do what works for you—so you'll stay on your
gluten free diet and end up being healthier and happier, while also saving
money!
Enjoy!
