Question

I see a lot of posts about what does everyone spend on food per month but I’m curious to know those that have special dietary needs - what’s your budget? Like gluten free or keto or paleo etc.  

Answer 1

Vegan and we spend a buttload of money on food. ‍♀️ it’s our biggest budgeting hurdle.  

Comments

@leid951 do you do a lot of alternatives? We are vegan also and I cut back on all the alternatives we were using to save money but occasionally we splurge still!  

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@shavonneshaw yeah I think that’s a big part of it. Which alternatives do you still buy?  

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@leid951 like once a month I’ll buy beyond sausage, my husband loves it but it’s way too real for me sometimes. Gardein meatballs and crispy tenders are big in our house though! Also cheese slices.  

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@shavonneshaw yes we do the tenders and cheese. Also yogurt, milk, justegg.  

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@leid951 omg justegg is so damn good! I just hate the price tag  

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@shavonneshaw I know! It’s just so convenient!  

Answer 2

If I was to keep full kosher meat, its soooooo expensive. I keep my apartment dairy/vegetarian. Makes like on many levels much easier and cheaper and the nicest grocery store to me in walking distance is whole foods!  

Answer 3

Just plants. Buddha bowls, veggie stew, kale salad and bean soups, sweet potatoes n chili. Breakfast is smoothies or qui “oatmeal” with fresh fruits.  

Answer 4

My son is gluten free and we spend about $400-500 a month for a family of 3

Answer 5

I'm gluten/dairy free. I budget just for myself and can keep at 50 a week.  

Answer 6

Canadian keto family of 4 and I budget $300 a WEEK! That's groceries and household

Answer 7

2 adults and a toddler | Toddler is on a vegetarian diet | 280 a month (doesn’t include household supplies)

Answer 8

I spent 300 every 2 weeks how do yall doin it n its just 2 adults n 1 child

Answer 9

We do between 350-500 a month keto carnivore and we make our own baby food so organic produce etc. also I’m gluten free. I have a separate category for formula and diapers though. $42 a week. But we cloth diaper except overnight.  

Answer 10

Severe gluten/dairy/pork allergy in the fam here! It’s me and my ten year old and our grocery budget is $400 mo for grocery and household.  

Answer 11

Gluten Free we spend a ton of money  on food. Around $1000 a month for 3-4 people

Answer 12

I spend $450 a month for a family of 3 and keto rules the house

Answer 13

I am vegetarian and mostly buy fresh food. We spend about $120 a week for food for me my husband and toddler.  

Answer 14

Keto. Super low budget. One meal a day.  

Answer 15

We are Paleo, type 1 diabetic/autoimmune household with lots of special needs and spend $300 a month on two adults (1 baby). We’ve tried all the tricks to lower food costs, but being on top of our health is costly either with groceries or medical care if we neglect our care. ‍♀️

Comments

@magnanimity97256 I’m a type 1 diabetic too!  

Answer 16

2 Celiac littles over here and spend about USD250/wk on groceries (food only, not household stuff)

Answer 17

House of 4 - 2 adults, a teen and a toddler. 2 with gluten/dairy allergies. One Paleo and one keto. We spend about 1k including household stuff/diapers.  

Answer 18

Gluten free family of 2: $300 including diapers, wipes

Answer 19

Diabetic T2 so I try to stay low carb, fresh/whole and my husband literally wants to live on junk food lol. We were spending easily $250/300 in a week, I’ve been pulling $100 cash, meal planning, shopping our freezer/pantry and we have been coming in right around $80.  

Answer 20

Hubs and I are keto/low carb, I do 350 a pay period so 700 a month. It includes all of my keto snacks, eating out 2-3 times a month, my daughters non keto food, and my gas station Diet Coke stops a few times a week.  

Answer 21

Good question! I always wonder this too! We eat gluten free because of my Celiac & lactose free, so far I’ve been able to keep it at $150 per week for me, my husband and 4 year old daughter. I’ve been meal planning and using the Flipp app which means shopping at multiple stores but it’s been working. I’d like it to come down a bit more. Oh and this includes a week of HelloFresh (3 meals for 2 ppl) once every 3 weeks just to switch things up.  

Answer 22

We try to avoid gluten, dairy, soy, and eggs. I use the Eat This Much app to plan our meals according to our dietary preferences and I spend about $500 a month for a family of 5.  

Answer 23

Keto/paleo/gluten free. $200 a week

Comments

Family of 5. Folsom ca. Mostly organic everything. Grass fed, grass finished. Hubby, me, 3 boys ages 10, 13, 3

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@sewan this sounds like our exact same way of eating. Do you have tips on where to get the lowest meat prices, and do you buy many specialty items for convenience such as Paleo/keto bread etc?  

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@tolly we buy meat from ButcherBox. We get the big chunks of beef, pork, ground beef, and whole chickens. We also buy meat from sprouts, and Trader Joe’s. The ButcherBox we get small box, one per month. It’s $149. Then we supplement if we need other meats. Also, salmon from Costco or sprouts. We barely ever buy keto bread or convenience foods. We follow Tastes Lovely on Instagram. I try to eat similar to her and her family.  

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@sewan thank you for the tips! One of the things I've wondered about trying is ButcherBox so good to know about that. I'll definitely check out that Insta profile!  

Answer 24

I am vegetarian and spend about $80/week. I was vegan for a year last year and spent a little bit more just because I found myself substituting cheese and mayo and things like that but otherwise it would have more or less been the same. Been vegetarian for 12 years so can’t really compare that to meat eating but I suspect it’s much less when I see everyone else’s budgets.  

Comments

This is for my and my 2 year old btw. My husband buys his own meat because he eats it but besides that he eats the same groceries as us.  

Answer 25

I am allergic against eggs (normaly children can get that but extremly rare adults can get that too ‍♀️) Means i cant eat anything with eggs in it and oh my lord that is soo much! Thats the reason why i have to cook fresh every day so i know whats in there. Also sweets  impossible to eat for me, i always have to buy vegan when i wanna have sweets and convinience. Since one month i am 95% vegan  now (sometimes frozen yoghurt or in the cinema nachos with cheese sauce) My food budget is €200. Pretty thight but not impossible  

Answer 26

$180-200. We allergic to life, so I get multiple things when they’re on sale and cook most of everything from scratch. Frozen veggies are great!  

Comments

@morey22969 aww man! Yea I had an onset of mostly protein allergies and literally my body was attacking itself. Crazyyyy.  

Answer 27

I am losing weight with 2B mindset. Tons and I mean tons of fresh veggies, lean protein and high fiber sprouted bread that cost $7 a loaf. There are two adults (1 is my 16 year old) and I run a daycare from home. I spend $100/week on groceries including household supplies and personal items (not makeup). I live in Southern Ontario. I don't buy items that are "gluten free" they are too expensive. We don't eat pasta but my daughter will eat rice and potatoes. I make 95% from scratch and eating out is for special occasions. Processed food is so expensive and not good for you. You may find you are saving more money ;)

Answer 28

My goal is around $100 a week.  

Answer 29

I feed two grown children and myself, a healthy diet and am able to keep my bills under $75/week. I live in the Midwest and shop almost exclusively at Aldi. I find things (like pesto) at Dollar Tree and stock up. When chicken goes on sale, I stock up. Both kids will be moving out this summer and I'm anxious to see if I can keep it under $50/mo.  

Comments

@ugly aldi’s is a life saver.  

Answer 30

I just did a gluten free sugar free menu and it was $425 for the first two weeks.  Thank God I love my kids. Family of 6.  

Answer 31

Family of 4, husband is Keto, kids and I are not. We live in SoCal and spend $600/month.  

Answer 32

Family of 4, Paleo for me, low carb & healthy for the rest of the gang, organic for everyone; $700-800/ month.  

Answer 33

Family of 6 and 4 dogs . $300 a week . and i have to be careful for my husband has crohn's and some food can make him sick

Answer 34

Vegan family here and our budget is 300 per paycheck(every two weeks). If I’m getting fancy/crazy and making new recipes I usually use all money. If I’m making simple meals then I end up having leftover.  

Answer 35

I'm allergic to gluten & was on keto for a year. There are 4 of us, we spend between $4-500 a month.  

Answer 36

Lactose intolerance/ Dairy allergy 5 people (2 adults, kids 10, 2 and 11mths) Food allowance is 500, but we only typically spend 450 Meal planning helps ♥️

Answer 37

I have mast cell activation syndrome. That means I'm allergic to different stuff at different times, depending on my exposures. So I need to have different food options, in case I'm in a reactive state. My absolute avoidance are wheat, rye, barley. Rice is kept at a minimum. Most raw fruits and veggies are out. Cheeeeeeeese is all ok! My family eats what I do, for the most part. Our budget is $150/week.  

Answer 38

I'm doing keto my son isn't I just spent less than $50 for this weeks of groceries

Answer 39

GF, DF family of 7. On a good month we spend $1000 a month.  

Answer 40

Two of the four of us are gluten free and one that doesn’t tolerate milk well. I spend $250 a month. I buy one ingredient in bulk and then use it as the base in multiple meals. I cook from scratch almost daily. Today I bought 5lbs of chicken breasts for $9. 50 I will make cashew chicken for my bf and myself which will make lunch for the next day. Then I will put a few chicken breast into crockpot with bbq for lunches. I will cut another one or two into tenders and bread with gf Panko and into the air fryer. Last week I bought a 5 lb tube of ground beef. One night I used 1/2 pound and made taco meat and mixed in a can of refried beans as a filler. Next night cooked up two pounds with Italian seasoning and one night made spaghetti put the other pound inthe fridge for a few days later lasagna. Made hamburger patty’s with the rest.