Gluten Free budget question

We are a gluten/dairy free family of 6, and we spend about $700 a month for groceries.  It is a terrible struggle to stay within the budget; and we aren’t buying any prepared gluten free foods. I have a large garden and can alot of what we eat for a year during the summer.  I finally found a grinder that can handle our alternative flours, so I will start buying the grains in bulk for that.  I have learned how to can my own beef and chicken, buying it on sale in order to afford it.

We are not completely gluten/dairy free but do rotate out grains as we can and don’t do much dairy (mainly, we love cheese and can’t bring ourselves to give it up).  A big money saver was making pancakes using a flour recipe combo of rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch (these flours are cheap from the Asian market and they work well for pancakes, but wouldn’t hold together well for more dense cooking because  its a “light” gluten free combo).  We invested in a Vitamix which has saved us much money for the long haul in making our own almond milk, dairy free ice creams (adding raw cashews for creaminess), grinding some grains (popcorn kernels into cornmeal and uncooked garbonzo beans into flour).  We buy expensive GF or Ezekiel bread, but keep it in the freezer until ready to use so it doesn’t mold, and because GF breads are more dense it takes less of it to fill you up.  Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you?  Their polenta and their brown rice pasta is reasonably priced. Also, I started buying their organic popcorn kernels for a good pricecccc and we make our popcorn (much cheaper and healthier than microwave and its gluten free). I hear that polenta is easy and inexpensive to make from cornmeal, but haven’t tried it.  We eat lots of brown rice, corn tortillas, quinoa, and either sweet potatoes or white potatoes.  We do have a Costco membership which costs $50/year, but buy our quinoa, brown rice, rice milk, soy milk, almond butter, organic spinach, organic carrots, maple syrup, bananas, large bags of frozen fruits, and gas there to save $$$.   For a family of 4 (dc are only 5 and 3), we spend around $500/month….that includes eating some regular  “SAD” cheaper options, not all gluten free, and a small selection of processed food.  Before I started buying lots of fresh fruits and veggies, more expensive bread, some organic, some GF, nitrate free deli meats, uncured bacon, dairy free milk substitutes, local unfiltered honey, maple syrup, and such we were spending closer to $400/month.   In that budget, we try to eat a couple meals/week meat free (searching for more filling healthy meat free meal options to rotate in my menu planning) and dh takes leftovers from dinner for work the next day.  We eat out about 2-3x/month which is in a separate budget slot.   Also, the kids drink calcium enriched OJ in the am instead of milk, and drink water the rest of the day unless I make a green smoothie with fruit and spinach.  

When we were eating gluten-free, I typically spent $80-$100 per week for our family of 4. When we started the GAPS Diet, my grocery budget went up to $550 per month! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! That’s one of the mains reasons we’re taking a break!

We still have not added wheat back into our diet, but when we do, I will be soaking and sprouting to break down and pre-digest gluten. I found my son was able to tolerate wheat when it was prepared this way, and I was able to eat it too without a tummy ache later. 

Our biggest food expenses are: grass-fed beef ($4.80/lb from a local rancher), raw milk ($9/gallon from a local dairy), raw cheese ($5.40/lb), soy-free eggs ($4.19/dozen), pastured chicken ($3.99/lb) and organic produce (which I try to order from our co-op to save even more money). 

Food is SO stinkin’ expensive!!!!

Our Walmart just replaced the large bags of xanthan gum with individual pouches for $.44/pkg.  I wish that they had both. =(

I have a family of 6…my oldest 3 eat like adults…lol.  I am GF and have 3 dc with allergies to various things.  At the end of last year I tried to keep groceries to $250/2 week time period (some weeks we had to get by on much less).  Did that for a several months.  That was attainable with eating lots of beans and lentils, though not easily sustainable in the long run.  If I can have $300-$350/2 weeks I am a very happy shopper. 

We eat alot of meals from scratch, stretch meat with beans.  In general, I don’t buy much GF stuff.  I don’t buy GF bread often…it’s just too expensive.  I will buy GF oats through Amazon’s subscribe and save program.  It comes out cheaper than in store prices and is my breakfast most days. Snacks are fruit, yogurt (for those that can have it), nuts, veggies, hummus, roasted chickpeas. Lunch is salad or leftover soup for me. We still do alot of beans/lentils even at $300/2weeks, but now we also have a bit more lean proteins added in.  I cook soup alot..usually twice a week…its inexpensive and makes for an easy breakfast or lunch for me.

I can relate to the stress of trying to keep within a tight grocery budget.  There are times when the fridge is empty, times when you pull random odd things out of the cabinet to make a meal, times when your children are wanting more food than you have at the moment and that is all very stressful to a mama.  Hugs to you ((amama5)).