Are you wondering how to stick to a gluten-free diet without breaking the bank? Are you looking for ways to save money on gluten-free products?
Going gluten-free can be a great way to improve your overall health and well-being, but it can also come with a significant increase in grocery costs. But eating gluten-free on a budget is possible.
In this article, we’ll share 7 tips for saving money when you buy gluten-free products without sacrificing taste in Pakistan. Keep reading to learn more!
Why Eating Gluten-Free is Beneficial?
Buying gluten-free products in Pakistan can be beneficial for people who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, as gluten can cause damage to the small intestine and lead to nutrient deficiencies in these individuals.
It can also help to alleviate symptoms in people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity such as abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea.
Additionally, some people choose to eat gluten-free and buy products like Organic+ Diabetic flour to improve gut health, reduce inflammation and promote weight loss. Here are seven tips for eating gluten-free while you’re on a budget:
1. Plan Meals Monthly
2. Use Cash
3. Eat Less Meat
4. Make a List
5. Save Scraps
6. Shop Your Own Kitchen
1. Plan Meals Monthly
Planning your meals, a month in advance can help you efficiently use your groceries, reducing both waste and costly trips to the supermarket for last-minute items.
Create a detailed spreadsheet of all your meals and snacks, focusing on fresh, whole foods like buying gluten-free bread instead of packaged products with gluten-free markups.
Place a copy of your weekly meal plan where it’s easily visible to keep you on track and remind you of what needs to be defrosted for dinner.
2. Use Cash
To keep your grocery budget under control, determine the amount you have for your budget and withdraw that amount in cash. This step is crucial as it ensures you won’t exceed a set amount and forces you to pay attention to prices.
Your budget will be essential in creating a monthly meal plan when you buy gluten-free products in Pakistan.
When shopping, bring a calculator to avoid overspending. If your running total starts to surpass the budgeted amount, decide on items you can do without for that week.
3. Eat Less Meat
When grocery shopping, it’s important to keep in mind that a serving size of meat is roughly the size of a deck of cards.
By consuming reasonable portions, you’ll be able to save money while also maintaining a healthy diet. To get the most out of your meat purchases, try to stretch it out into multiple meals.
For example, prepare a whole chicken and use the breast meat and legs for dinner, then save any unused chicken for later use.
It could be used for quesadillas for lunch the next day.
Additionally, you can make use of the chicken bones by placing them in a slow cooker with vegetables to make a flavorful stock. Once cooled, transfer the stock to freezer bags and freeze it for later use in soups or stews.
Also, consider purchasing cheaper cuts of meat such as chicken thighs or skirt steak which can be used in a slow cooker or on the grill. To further stretch your meat, consider using it in stir fry, soup, stew, or pot pies.
4. Make a List
Creating and sticking to a grocery list when buying gluten-free products like All Purpose Gluten-Free flour is crucial to avoiding overspending in Pakistan. Based on your meal plan, make a list of gluten-free products you need to buy and stick to it while shopping in Pakistan.
To save money, try to limit your trips to the store to once a week.
The more frequent your trips, the more likely you are to overspend. If possible, try to avoid bringing your kids to the store as they may be tempted to ask for extra items which can increase the cost of your groceries.
5. Save Scraps
Making your own broth is a great way to save money and reduce food waste.
Keep the cut-off ends of your vegetables and put them in a zipper-top freezer bag. When the bag is full, use the vegetables to make a broth by filling a stock pot with water and simmering the vegetables.
Broccoli can be stored separately and used to make stews or soups such as cream of broccoli. Meat scraps and bones, other than chicken, can also be used to make broth.
Skim off the fat as it cooks down and freeze the broth for future use as a flavorful addition to meals.
Another tip is to freeze any leftover wine or tomato paste in an ice cube tray, these small cubes can be used to add flavor to stews, stocks, and dinner dishes.
6. Shop Your Own Kitchen
To reduce food waste and save money, it’s important to regularly check what you have on hand. One way to do this is by visiting supercook.com.
On this website, you can select the “Restrictions” button and highlight the “gluten” option. Then, enter the items you have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
The website will then generate a list of recipes that you can make with the ingredients like gluten-free baking flour which you may already have, plus recipes that only require an additional ingredient.
This is a great way to use up ingredients you already have and plan your meals accordingly.
By saving a little each month, you can put that money towards groceries for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays.
Managing a budget while following a gluten-free diet can be difficult, but with the right strategies, it can be accomplished. By following the simple tips above, you can save money on groceries while still sticking to a gluten-free diet.
