While I am a big couponer, I often find the most inexpensive meals come from whole foods. Here is a week of budget friendly menus that are both friendly to Gluten & Dairy Free diets.
Be sure to buy your veggies at a vegetable stand to save money. And remember make your meal plan for the week based on the sales that week;-).
1. Baked Tilapia, Yellow Grits in Rice Cooker , Roast vegetables. Cucumber salad. (Tilapia frequently goes BOGO).
Note: Simple homemade cucumber dressing is quick. Vinegar, Sugar, Oil, Salt, Pepper.
2. Salmon Patties (using canned salmon), Coleslaw with homemade dressing, Corn on the Cob.
Note: Throw oatmeal in your bullet blender for quick budget friendly yet Gluten-free bread crumb substitute. ( I personally can not bring myself to buy expensive Gluten-free flours.)
Note: Publix frequently has coupons for canned salmon.
3. Ham and bean soup. Cornbread. (Soup can be served over rice).
Note: An instapot pressure cooker allows me to cook with inexpensive dry beans that come out perfect everytime.
Note: Smithfield ham steaks are frequently BOGO, which work great in this recipe.
Note: Cornbread mixes often go BOGO. If you have an actual gluten allergy, there are Gluten free corn bread mixes too.
4. Venison or 1/2 lb Ground Meat Burritos/Tacos (Corn Tortillas) with leftover beans and leftover coleslaw.
Note: Pick up peppers for cheap at a Mexican grocery or Veggie stand. Sautee peppers and onions to add to ground meat to stretch half a pound for a full meal.
Note: For big families, add potatoes to meat mixture to stretch it further. Potatoes are actually really good in burritos.
Note: I don't use taco seasoning packets but you can. But
DIY Taco seasoning is very simple to make a big batch of.
5. Spaghetti with 1/2 lb meat. I usually add veggies to jarred sauce.
Note: Ground Breakfast sausage also works great in Spaghetti sauce for tight budgets.
Note: I fix gluten-free noodles only for myself if I have them. In a pinch, I just eat the sauce over rice while my family eats regular noodles. Or I eat the sauce over Zucchini if I'm being xtra good).
