The following post is a guest post by Jeanine, from The Baking Beauties!  Make sure you check out her fabulous blog!

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease, are gluten-intolerant, or are eating a gluten-free diet for your own health benefits, you will know that it is not a cheap diet to be on. I’m going to try to list some points that helped me to stay within my budget while being on a gluten-free diet.

• Eat real foods.Vegetables, unprocessed meats, most dairy, and rice do not contain gluten. By staying away from processed foods, which may contain gluten, try to cook a meal using ingredients in their natural state. For example, use potatoes instead of frozen hashbrowns.
• Buy your flours in bulk. By buying your most used flours in bulk, you will get a better price per pound than if you buy the smallest packages you can find. If you are in Canada, you can purchase a wide variety of gluten-free flours at Bulk Barn for a fraction of the cost compared to health food stores. Flours can easily be stored in zipper seal bags in the freezer for months.
• Learn to cook & bake. When you are on a gluten-free diet, eating gluten-free is usually a life long commitment that you have to make to keep yourself feeling well. Since it is not just a faze, you might as well learn to make the best of it. By learning how to cook and bake, you open your kitchen up to endless opportunities. The gluten-free doughnuts, bread, granola bars and muffins that you can buy in the store may be good for convenience, but that is about it. Nothing beats home baking, and with some practice, you will be able to replicate nearly all your favourite gluten-filled goodies using gluten-free flours. You will just have to trust me on this. I have been eating and baking gluten-free for nearly 3 years now, and I am definitely not “living without”.
• Plan ahead. When you go out for the day, you should take a gluten-free snack along from home. Some gluten-free crackers, nuts, and dried or fresh fruit are all some ideas. Once you are out and about, you may not be able to find a suitable snack for your diet, and having something to munch on is better than going through a drive-through for french fries.

These tips, combined with all the great menu planning and grocery shopping articles provided on Simply Frugal, will help you to eat well on a gluten free diet without breaking the bank.

Jeanine Friesen authors The Baking Beauties, a blog dedicated to recipes for those on a gluten-free diet, because she believes no one should have to go without.