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Grocery List Comparison Shopping?

Ksee

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Ksee Rookie
Ksee
Posted

I'm wondering if anyone maintains a list of safe foods and where they can be found? I can do web searches but then find products that are not available locally. Lots of items can be ordered online but then comparing costs gets complicated.

If this isn't a resource currently available, how could it be suggested to a reputable celiac organization? I don't think it would require lots of research, the community can contribute.

I find myself getting confused because there isn't a way to see products like this:

Manufacturer, Item, Retailer, Cost comparison by appropriate size or weight w/ shipping and tax.

I have to keep costs down. So with my bad eyesight, I search with one window open to find if there is a gluten free product, another for the manufacturers information, cost and ordering information, and several more to comparison shop. Then I have a window to find if it's available at the local store. Oh yes, and I have to have the calculator open at all times along with notepad so my brain can keep track but that doesn't account for shipping and tax variations.

To quote Charlie Brown... "Aaarrgghh!"

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Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

The problem inherent with this idea is the shipping cost. What it costs to ship to you is not always what it will cost to ship to other people. Where it is shipping matters. Additionally, prices change so frequently, as do products and availability that maintaining any resource of reasonable size, lets say even 100 common products would be absolutely mind bogglingly time consuming.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

Thinking abot this sort of problem as a programmer, I can say that it would certainly be doable, but it would not be super simple and would require regular maintenance, and the time it would take would probably mean that it would cost money to have an application or website like that.

Ksee Rookie
Ksee
Posted
  • Author

I understand. I should rephrase. I know there are others who have to watch what they spend, How do you keep costs down?

Ksee Rookie
Ksee
Posted
  • Author

Oh my berry dear friend... do you think there could be a gluten free app 4 dat?

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

There are some apps that tell you if things are gluten free, but don't deal with prices.  That's the hardest part - gluten free status changes often, but prices and availability change even more often than that!

 

As for how to keep costs down?  Buy whole, unprocessed, naturally gluten free foods.  Buy a 5lb bag of bulk dried beans - gluten free, good source of protein, cheap, and a long shelf life.  Buy a 20lb bag of brown rice - gluten free, good source of complex carbs, cheap, and a long shelf life.  Buy fresh/frozen vegetables and fruits - not a long shelf life if fresh, but very important for a healthy diet, and frozen ones don't have to be expensive.  Buy a bulk bag of nuts - gluten free, good source of healthy fats, not terribly expensive on a per-serving basis, reasonable shelf life.  Buy eggs - gluten free, price efficient source of good protein, and easy to cook.

 

Simple shopping (mostly sticking to the perimeter of the store), simple cooking (or pairing - nuts and dried fruit make a great snack, for instance, or even lunch if you add a little something more), and sticking to basics helps a lot.

Ksee Rookie
Ksee
Posted
  • Author

LOL berry, now you sound like me. Gluten problems are new but using whole foods is the only way. That is exactly how I eat so I'm looking for the same nutrition and hoping to find a healthy pasta that is affordable, a cornmeal and something like a whole grain flour if that is possible?

I found gluten-free Bisquick but it's expensive, highly processed and refined. For lack of other ideas, I went ahead and bought it but then added 3 to 4 oz of flax meal for each 8 oz of mix. Rice noodles are highly processed as well so I'm only using thai jasmine brown rice for now.

I have to limit beans and cruciferous  vegetables because they don't agree in large amounts or to often. I know better than to fill up on potato starch. If that weren't the case, I would have a lot more to fill the gaps with.

I don't know where to find bulk nuts if anyone can make suggestions. Whole Foods is long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I make my yogurt and fresh cheese at home so I know what is in it. Everything else is fresh and frozen veggies and fruit.

It's upsetting that everything I do find at the grocery is on the bottom shelf, below products full of gluten. If only one package has broken then everything is contaminated. If the grocers understand so little when stocking shelves, what's gone on before with stacking and shipping? 

 

So here is the list of what I can currently find that is healthy: 

Protein - homemade yogurt, eggs, milk, occasionally beans

Carbs - Fresh/frozen veggies (limited cruciferous), fresh/frozen fruit, whole grain rice

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tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

Honestly, I mostly skip the flours/breads.  What I do use I buy in bulk and have shipped.  (I use almond meal and oat flour, since I can tolerate gluten-free oats, for most things.  They aren't cheap, and if I were tight on money, I'd skip the flours.)  We also mostly skip the pastas.

 

Can you do lentils?  Those have lots of uses and are also cheap.

 

Rice isn't the only "grain" you can do - quinoa is more expensive, but keep it in rotation with rice and buckwheat, and that can help.

 

Sweet potatoes are a good carb source too.  But just because you don't want to fill up on potatoes doesn't mean they can't be a part of a meal.  (In, for instance, a stew, with other root veggies and maybe some meat.  Or mixed with curry spices, cauliflower (on a day you do cruiciferous veggies) and garbanzo beans.  Or as a carrier for chili.)

 

I generally buy my nuts from Trader Joe's, in the one pound bags.  Not bulk cheap, but one pound lasts a long time!

BSVD Rookie
BSVD
Posted

I'm wondering if anyone maintains a list of safe foods and where they can be found? I can do web searches but then find products that are not available locally. Lots of items can be ordered online but then comparing costs gets complicated.

If this isn't a resource currently available, how could it be suggested to a reputable celiac organization? I don't think it would require lots of research, the community can contribute.

I find myself getting confused because there isn't a way to see products like this:

Manufacturer, Item, Retailer, Cost comparison by appropriate size or weight w/ shipping and tax.

I have to keep costs down. So with my bad eyesight, I search with one window open to find if there is a gluten free product, another for the manufacturers information, cost and ordering information, and several more to comparison shop. Then I have a window to find if it's available at the local store. Oh yes, and I have to have the calculator open at all times along with notepad so my brain can keep track but that doesn't account for shipping and tax variations.

To quote Charlie Brown... "Aaarrgghh!"

Publix has been the best I have found locally. On their website they have a pretty long list of gluten free products. I printed a copy and take with me when I shop

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