Gf Speciality Foods, Breaking Budget!?

[dbuhl79]

Does anyone else find, for those of us that are budget conscious that, a lot of the gluten-free items, such as gluten-free flour mixes etc, tend to be a bit more costly than your mainstream products?

I've always shopped at Whole FOods or other health food stores and found because they're considered more "speciality products" (being organic or what not) that the cost of them is an increase in what you'd find at your mainstream grocery store.

What do the rest of you think of that, and do you struggle with the cost of your increased grocery bill too?

[tarnalberry]

During the holidays, when I do some baking, then yes, I do see my grocery bill go up, but other than that, I pretty much stick to naturally gluten-free foods (so I do soups, chili, stir-fries, stew, veggies, baked items, etc.) and they don't need to be any more expensive ('cause they're not specialty foods!). :-) Depends on your cooking style, of course.

[lovegrov]

gluten-free specilaty foods are going to cost a lot more no matter where you buy them. But I don't struggle with my grocery bill because I decided a long time ago I wasn't going to spend time trying to replace most of the things I couldn't have. When I want a "sandwich" I use corn tortillas (also use them for mini pizzas). I do buy gluten-free pasta but I just don't eat it that often. I keep some flours around for when I do need a flour, but I don't do a lot of baking. Don't get me wrong, I do have some gluten-free specialty items, but I use them very sparingly. I have the money to buy them if I want, but I don't think most of them are worth it.

And my food bill has dropped because I don't eat out as much. And we eat better than we did because I've improved my cooking abilities.

richard