One of the first things I hear from people when they are newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease is the shock at how expensive gluten-free foods can be. A big reason is that you have to go to specialty stores to get these foods, and these types of stores have a smaller market, so they have to charge higher prices to stay in business.
I think in time specialty stores will continue to become more popular and competition in the gluten-free foods market will continue to grow, which will ultimately force prices down to a more manageable level. In the meantime, I usually recommend people begin to plan ahead and do much of their gluten-free shopping online. Buying online, combined with buying in bulk, will go a long way toward keeping food expenses down!
Where Do I Buy Gluten-Free Foods Online?
In my experience, there are currently two great places to buy gluten-free foods online. The first is shopping at Amazon. Their prices are already the best online and you can get free shipping if you purchase $25.00 or more (easy to do if buying in bulk).
If you prefer having meals already made when they arrive at your door, then you’ll want to check out Gluten-Free Meals. Order online and when the food arrives, throw it in the freezer. It will be ready to eat whenever you don’t feel like cooking!
Where do you buy your gluten-free foods? Online? Health food store? Let us know in the comments below!
My wife bakes commercial quantities of gluten free goods up here in Canada, so buying in bulk is a must. However, even in bulk sizes GF products are up to 3 times as expensive as regular products.
Xantham gum, a miracle product when baking gluten free, is a good example. Retail price is up to 65.00/kg, we were able to get it bulk ( I mean bulk)for much much less.
H.Peter
@ H.Peter – Great point! Yes, buying in bulk is still very expensive, but is much cheaper than buying individual supplies regularly.
Budgeting has been a key for us lately and buying in bulk has helped us to save a good amount of money over time.
iv herd people talk different things about Xantham gum what is the scoop on it
Mike – xanthan gum is a type of binder that helps give gluten-free baked goods a “normal” texture. Many pre-mixed gluten-free flour blends already contain it so when using those no extra xanthan gum is needed. However, if you mix up your own flours from plain gluten-free grains, it helps to add xanthan gum. How much to add depends on what you’re making and how much of it.