She Strengthens

Gluten-Free on a Budget: My Month-Long Grocery Challenge

As someone who’s been living with Celiac disease for over a year now, I’ve had to get creative with my meal planning and grocery shopping. In an effort to cut back on my spending, I set a goal to spend only $100 on groceries for the entire month of June. Here’s how I did it.

Week Two: Using Up Leftovers

After a strong start in Week One, I slacked off on meal planning during Week Two. With a 10-day trip coming up, I wanted to use up the groceries that had been lingering in my pantry. I gave myself a budget of $20 for the week and managed to score some great deals on fresh mozzarella, ground turkey, onions, and gluten-free soy sauce. I whipped up a fried rice dish using eggs, onions, and soy sauce – a recipe that only cost me $5.42 to make!

Breakfast on the Cheap

For breakfast, I added some chicken sausage to my scrambled eggs, along with chopped onions. This hearty breakfast cost me just $0.56 per serving, a significant savings compared to the gluten-free breakfast bars I used to rely on.

Gluten-Free Pizza and More

I reused some leftovers from Week One to make another gluten-free pizza, along with a delicious avocado salad. I also froze some ground turkey for future meals. When I returned from my trip, I used that turkey to make two Caprese-style burgers, which cost around $4.50 per patty.

Weeks Three and Four: Planning Ahead

After my trip, I set a budget of $50 for groceries and got back to meal planning. I made a batch of crockpot taco soup, which yielded six servings for just $11.74 – that’s only $1.96 per serving! I also made pasta with meat sauce using Ragu’s traditional spaghetti sauce and Barilla’s Gluten-Free Penne Pasta. This recipe made two servings for around $4.30 each.

Snacking on a Budget

For snacks, I munched on cashews, dried cranberries, yogurt, granola, tortilla chips, and picante sauce. These snacks were not only delicious but also budget-friendly.

The Final Tally

In the end, I spent $105.53 on groceries for the month – just $5.53 over my goal budget. I learned the importance of taking stock of what ingredients I already have on hand and planning recipes around those ingredients. This exercise in self-control has inspired me to continue keeping a modest grocery budget while trying new gluten-free recipes.

Recipes

Here are some of the recipes I used during my month-long challenge:

• Fried Rice with Eggs and Soy Sauce
• Caprese-Style Turkey Burgers
• Crockpot Taco Soup
• Pasta with Meat Sauce

These recipes are not only delicious but also budget-friendly. By planning ahead and using leftovers, I was able to stay within my budget and still enjoy some amazing meals.