Gluten Free on a Budget

I love that there are more gluten free products (every day, it seems)...but, they all come at a cost.  The cost of better ingredients can be daunting, especially for frugal moms like me!

Here are a handful of pointers that might help:

I have made my own pizza crust (thank you, "Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day"); but, when I don't have a few hours to let it rise, the next best thing is, "Pamela's Bread Mix" (also for pizza crust and bagels and more).  There are a few different Pamela's products (I get mine from Kroger); so, be sure it is the one for pizza crust.  We recently tried it and it is about half the price of buying Udi's crusts (for the same quantity of pizza, you would need 2, 2-paks of Udi's).  Be careful when baking though...the 2 times I have made this, it takes much less time to cook than it notes on the package.  Another money saver:  I also make my own sauce...almost always...it takes like a minute (I buy the Private Selection Organic canned tomatoes from Kroger) and is always super yummy.  I always start with olive oil, then fresh garlic, then tomatoes, then salt (sometimes I add basil and/or oregano, fresh or dry, to taste)...whizzed by my handy dandy immersion blender (or, with a potato masher when we are on vacation and there isn't one!)

I always buy dried beans and rice, cook them and freeze them in batches.  They taste so much better and are much, much cheaper!

I try to always find gluten free bread on sale and stock the freezer!  I do the same with waffles and the like.  But, bread is what I buy the most...the other stuff, I prefer to make from scratch. 

I find the store/s that sell the products I like (sometimes online) at the best regular price and get it when I am there.  If I happen to find my favorites on sale, I always stock up.

I have lots of recipes within my blog that are gluten and/or dairy free and I like to find recipes and inspiration for new ingredients on others' blogs, too.

For nuts and dried fruit (usually plums and cranberries), and freeze-dried fruit (no sugar, easy to take anywhere, awesomely delicious), we stock up at Trader Joe's.  They keep adding to their gluten free cache.  They also sell unrefined coconut oil for an outrageously low price (perfect for granola or raw cookies or anything, really).  They have gf pasta for less than most places and it is delish!  They also sell Udi's bread there for about a dollar less than other grocery stores.

That is all I can think of for now.  Do you want to share any ideas?  My youngest brother and his family are going to try going gluten free to see if it helps their allergies!  Say a little prayer.  Frugally good eating!