College: Living Off-campus

[quantumsugar]

Hi everyone,

I've been gluten-free since the end of May, and I noticed a HUGE increase in the amount of money I spend on food. I was checking through my bank statement, and I spent $500 last month on food (and I was trying to be cheap)! Does this happen to everyone else? And do any of you have ideas for foods that will help me stay closer to my college student budget?

Thanks!

(PS: I've been browsing the boards for a while now, and reading them has really helped me out. So thank you to all you guys that post.)

[Jnkmnky]

Here are some foods that are gluten free that you can get at your local -regular store. Avoid WholeFoods and their kind. I've heard tales of Walmart carrying the Thai kitchen meals. Many are gluten free. AND Walmart instituted a policy of labeling their brand name products GLUTEN FREE *when they are gluten free* and no one beats walmarts prices!!!!

Corn tortillas/chips/nachos/tacos

Manwich sloppy joe sauce Make "sloppy pizzas" on gluten-free bread or gluten-free pizza crusts

rice

Bushs baked beans

hot dogs

Thai Kitchen meals lots are gluten free, but not all

Cold cuts

Hormel pepperoni

Chili

tacos

Emeril's sausages are gluten free and very good! We like the chicken/apple

Tuna

mayo

Chicken salad

ham steaks (read lables. I actually found my first ham with gluten last week!!)

Split pea soup with ham.

Lentil soup with sausages

Stuffed peppers *add rice, chopped meat, spaghetti sauce, garlic salt.

Eggs

bacon

Old el paso taco sauce in a jar

sour cream

lays stax potato chips

The only things you really might NEED to buy gluten free are Tinkyada pastas *won't break the bank* and bread. NOW, I'd buy from Kinnikinnick on line because you can order a lot and keep it in a freezer. Shipping is only $10 for orders up to $200 and you can get sandwich bread, bagels, donuts, pizza crusts. It's worth it. Eat half sandwiches and suppliment the meals with cheaper, regular gluten-free foods from the regular store.

Good luck. I actually starved for a wee bit of time in college. Due entirely to poverty, not celiac disease.

[Rachel--24]

Thanks for the ideas Jnkmnky,

I'm having the same problem with all of a sudden spending tons of money on food. I used to eat all the cheap stuff like Top Ramen, mac & cheese and Taco Bell. I'm only buying the specialty gluten-free foods plus organic meats and veggies. I hardly get any food for the amount of money I'm spending. I used to get a whole cart full...now I'm only getting one bagful for the same price.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Try buying and eating more fruits, vegetables, and eggs. You can do soups, salads, hashbrowns, and eggs yummie. Some health food stores have student discount cards which come in handy, too.

[Jnkmnky]

More regular store items that are gluten-free:

Post fruity and cocoa pebbles

Classico alfredo sauces...all are gluten-free!!

Progresso white clam sauce

Velveeta cheese- for mac and cheese

Cozy shack rice puddings

Cozy shack tapioca puddings

Hunts chocolate pudding cups Non-refridg

Prego spaghetti sauce

Garbonzo beans

olives

pickles

Pam regular cooking spray

ketchup

twice baked potatoes with cheese and bacon are easy-microwave- and filling and cheap!

spinach salad-toss on bacon and eggs and other veggies. Filling and cheap.

Lots of breyers Ice cream is gluten free.

chicken rice soup- add garlic salt,pepper, onions, celery for flavor

beef stew

corn starch for gravy and thickening

peanut butter

lots of rice cakes

egg burritos with bacon etc

Hope this helps with the $$$$ Do well in college so you can afford the diet!

[Kingschild]

My daughter and 2 sons are having friends over after school today and I'm going to serve tacos. It's so nice to cook something they all can eat together.

Mysti

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Keys to cheap eating in college for gluten-free folks

1. Lays Stax Chips (just like Pringles without the gluten)

2. Carl Buddig Deli Meats

3. Kinnick Breads (Most expensive item -- order a loaf a week)

4. Milk/OJ/Gatorade/Water

5. Mrs. Leepers lasagna, beef strogonoff, chicken alfredo mixes (all gluten free and AWESOME!!)

6. Potatoes, potaotes, potatoes, rice, rice, rice

7. Classico Spaghetti Sauce

8. Manwich

9. Thai Kitchen ready to eat soup bowls www.thaikitchen.com

10. Every Sunday I make baked chicken. (Just get a deep oven safe casserole dish, Put the frozen chicken breasts (smaller tenderloins) in the dish with carrrots, garlic, salt and pepper, celery (chopped), onions (chopped), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, some of Annies Italian dressing (on the chicken). Cover in foil and bake covered for 1 hour at 375 degrees (or until center of chicken is cooked).

#10 has gotten me through college, law school and in the real world (I save money since I rarely eat out for lunch now).

Hope this helps

[laurelfla]

quantumsugar, this is a very timely topic .

i just entered in the latest staggering grocery bill into microsoft money last night and it told me i'd spent $300 this month on groceries! i can't keep this up, i'm just a lowly grad student!! i'm not sure where it all goes... last night i only bought fruits and veggies and meat and it was $50. i guess i've been replacing some basic stuff, too, though (soy sauce, pasta, etc) -- things i already had on hand, with new stuff. hopefully the costs will settle down soon.

thanks for the ideas, everybody!

[quantumsugar]

Thanks for all your help! That's definitely given me ideas for foods, especially mainstream products. The student discount cards at health food stores is definitely something I have to look into, too. I was really a Top Ramen/PB & J type of girl before, so this is a lot to get used to (and probably a whole heck of a lot healthier).

Oooh, side note: I went to visit my parents this weekend, and had Wellshire Farms chicken nuggets and sausage. They were both so good I almost cried.

[CeliacMe]

The other posts are very good, after my first few trips to Whole Foods, I realized how much I was spending and started looking elsewhere for gluten-free info. I contacted my local grogery (publix in FL) and they sent me a huge list of their store brand and deli items that are gluten-free. You can also contact food manufacturers. Oberto Beef Jerky (Original, Peppered and Hickory) is gluten-free.

Also, you can invest in a lot of seasonings and olive oil. You can season the heck out of some meat and veggies, and serve with plain rice or potatoes. I use olive oil to coat the meat so that the spices stick. I make really good pork chops, I season them with Chili powder, paprika, ground bay leaves, and ground cloves. I either grill, bake or sautee them until they are cooked. I also put fresh chopped vidalia onions in the pan with the pork chops. If I grill I satuee the onions separately and top off the pork after. You can make homemade apples by chopping apples into slices (i like to use different types of apples mixed together). Just add a little water and cinnamon and cook on a low heat. This is a great addition to the pork chops! I serve it with baked sweet potatoes (or alexia sweet potatoe fries). And green beans! YUM!

Hi everyone,

I've been gluten-free since the end of May, and I noticed a HUGE increase in the amount of money I spend on food.  I was checking through my bank statement, and I spent $500 last month on food (and I was trying to be cheap)!  Does this happen to everyone else?  And do any of you have ideas for foods that will help me stay closer to my college student budget?

Thanks!

(PS: I've been browsing the boards for a while now, and reading them has really helped me out.  So thank you to all you guys that post.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[tarnalberry]

There are cheap ways to do a lot of things. For instance, instead of buying expensive gluten-free bread, you can have PB&J (or just PB) on rice cakes (for me, I might have three rice cakes in the morning ($0.50), and two tablespoons or so of peanut butter ($0.67?) for a cheap breakfast). Or apples. :-) Rice and corn are good, inexpensive sources of carbs, but so are beans, and they provide protein and fiber (to keep you full) as well. I tend to buy organic, so for me the estimation calculation might go:

making, for instance, bean burritos, with a $0.99 can of organic pinto beans, 4 organic corn tortillas (out of a $2.99 package of 12) for $1, one $0.75 organic roma tomato, a quarter of a $1.50 organic onion, and about $0.25 in organic spices, and you've got two lunches (for me, anyway) for $3.35.

or, two corn toritillas ($0.50, as reference above), a can of tuna ($1.50ish), half an avocado ($0.75), and a quarter cup of fresh salsa ($0.75), gets you a very filling $3.50 meal.

alternatively, two cups of rice (uncooked) ($1.00 for organic brown), a bell pepper ($1.50, organic), an onion ($1.50 organic), a carrot ($0.75 organic), a broccoli bunch ($1.50, organic), a pound of chicken ($6.00, organic, thighs), some canola oil ($0.15?), some red chili flakes ($0.10?), and some soy sauce ($0.20?), and I've got enough food for at least six meals, for $12.70 (or just over $2 a meal).

or two cans of beans ($2.00), half an onion ($0.75), a zucchini ($0.75), a bell pepper ($1.50), two carrots ($1.50), three tomatoes ($2.25), a can of corn ($1.00), and some spices ($0.75), and I've got a huge bean salad I can eat for a week (or serve for eight people!), for $10.50 (or $1.30 for each of eight meals).

a lot of it is about stretching the cheap ingredients (corn, rice, beans), and combining less expensive ingredients together in ways that make them taste better than just getting more expensive ingredients.

[num1habsfan]

Yeah I can tell you all right now theres no way I could afford to ever live on my own right now. As it is, my food costs me at least $150 a month (mostly just for bread) .. I am still living at home, 1/2 hr away from the college here, and I eat a lot of sandwiches--easiest way to feed yourself in school .. I've spent over $1300 this year already (as much as I did for all of last year). Its just sad to think that my gluten-free food expenses in the last 2 years could have paid for my next year of college.

I applied for a student loan, but they told me I cant get one because my contribution would be less than theirs

I swear, its like I'd have to rob the bank or win the lottery or get some big inheritance within the next year, or else i'm gonna end up owing the bank money for the rest of my life!

I dont have a point to this post, just wanted you to know that you arent the only one maybe running out of money quick trying to feed youself through college!!

~lisa~

[Noelle126]

I'm new to this also but a lot of people have told me to just eat more foods that are naturally gluten-free like fruits and veggies instead of always substituting.

[gfchef]

Well... although I'm not currently in College here is some advice from someone who survived College and Culinary School. Granted I like to cook!

If you sacrafice a little time to cooking and making things yourself you'll save lots of dough. If you are a bread eater buy a good gluten free bread cookbook (I like Betty Hagman's) and then take a little time to make it yourself. The gluten free pantry has a good sandwich bread mix that is good and you can buy it in bulk then making the bread isnt hard. Personally I think the homemade stuff is far better, not as heavy and actually tastes good.

Make friends with someone who LOVES to cook. They will take the Gluten free thing as a challege and you'll have a new best bud you can share expenses with. You also might get some great food that you never would have thought of.

Adjust your budget and understand that Gluten Free is more expensive. That sounds scarey, but it can be done.

Take your time in the grocery store, and think Bulk, I know college, not much money, not much space. But a larger amount may save you some money in the long run. Look and compaire cost per oz or item instead of just the price tag. You may find that something that is a quarter more will make it so you don't have to purchase the same product in two weeks. Bulk is also something you can usually get a discount at most health food stores. So if you find a pasta you like, order a case, more upfront but usually a 10% or more discount is applied so you save in the long run.

Good Luck...

Enjoy the good stuff...

gluten-free Chef

[Guest gfinnebraska]

You could always do what MY two college sons do: Get food and money from Mom and Dad!!! I am taking one shopping tonight at Sam's. Eeeek! NOT a fun experience for MY checkbook!!

If that is NOT an option... I agree with those above that said just eat normal, gluten-free items. That is what I do. I save the special gluten-free items for special occasions. I am buying Kinninnick donuts for Christmas! Yum!! Day to day I eat: meat, veggies, cheese, fruit, nuts, etc.