Grocery shopping with restrictions

Grocery shopping with restrictions

For the sake of comparison, we created the following "menu" for each type of diet:

• Sandwich: Bread, cheese (or non-dairy alternative), deli meat (or non-meat alternative)
• Pasta: Noodles, sauce, protein
• Pantry staples: milk (or non-dairy alternative) and flour
• Packaged meal
• Packaged dessert
• Packaged drink

Gluten-free

Non-restricted

$35.01

$50.99

Low-sugar

Alpha-gal

$72.67

$56.41

Non-restricted diet

Total: $35.01, three stores: Walmart, Hy-Vee, Aldi

Pasta:

• Great Value spaghetti — $0.98, Walmart
• Hunt’s Traditional Pasta Sauce — $1.69, Hy-Vee
• Cargill 73% lean/27% fat ground beef frozen roll, 1 lb. — $5.44, Walmart

Sandwich:

• Great Value White Bread — $1.48, Walmart
• Happy Farms sliced mild cheddar cheese — $1.65, Aldi
• Deli sliced honey ham, 8 oz — $3.45, Aldi

Pantry staples:

• Great Value AP Flour, 2 lb. — $1.32, Walmart
• Great Value 2% milk — $3.53, Walmart

Packaged meal:

• Mama Cozzi’s cheese pizza, 13.8 oz — $3.09, Aldi

Packaged dessert:

• Oreos, 13.29 oz — $3.96, Walmart

Packaged drink:

• Coca-Cola 12 pack — $8.42, Walmart

Gluten-free diet

Total: $50.99, two stores: Walmart, Aldi

Pasta:

• Bettergoods Gluten-Free Spaghetti, 12 oz — $2.48, Walmart
• Prego marinara sauce, 23 oz — $2.48, Walmart
• Cargill 73% lean/27% fat ground beef frozen roll, 1 lb. — $5.44, Walmart

Sandwich:

• Schar Bread (white) – $5.96, Walmart
• Happy Farms sliced mild cheddar cheese — $1.65, Aldi
• Hormel Natural Choice Applewood Smoked Turkey Deli Lunchmeat, 8 oz — $4.97, Walmart

Pantry staples:

• Divided Suset AP flour, 24 oz — $5.12, Walmart
• Great Value 2% Milk — $3.53, Walmart

Packaged meal:

• Bettergoods Gluten-free cauliflower thin crust margherita pizza, 11.8 oz — $5.97, Walmart

Packaged dessert:

• Oreos Gluten-free, 12 oz — $4.97, Walmart

Packaged drink:

• Coca-Cola 12 pack — $8.42, Walmart

Alpha-gal diet

Total: $72.67, three stores: Clovers, Hy-Vee, Target

Pasta:

• Cadia Spaghetti — $1.99, Clovers
• Cadia Marinara — $3.49, Clovers
• Beyond Meat Beyond Beef, 16 oz — $12.99, Hy-Vee

Sandwich:

• Dave’s Killer Bread — $6.39, Clovers
• Violife Cheddar slices — $6.25, Clovers
• True Story Sliced Turkey — $6.99, Target

Pantry staples:

• Cadia Flour — $7.99, Clovers
• Oat-Ly Oat Milk, 64 oz — $5.89, Clovers

Packaged meal:

• Kite Hill mushroom ravioli — $8.99, Clovers

Packaged dessert:

• Siete Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies — $4.45, Clovers

Packaged drink:

• Zevia, six cans — $7.25, Clovers

Low-sugar diet

TOTAL: $56.41, three stores: Walmart, Target, Hy-Vee

Pasta:

• Barilla Red Lentil Pasta, 8.8 oz — $2.92, Walmart
• Newsman’s Own Marinara, No Sugar Added, 24 oz — $2.96, Walmart
• Marketside Atlantic Salmon Fillets — $8.61, Walmart

Sandwich:

• Great Value Whole Wheat, 20 oz — $1.97, Walmart
• Great Value Low-Moisture Part-Skim Sliced Mozzarella, 8 oz — $1.67, Walmart
• True Story Sliced Turkey — $6.99, Target

Pantry staples:

• Great Value Superfine Blanched Almond Flour, 16 oz. — $6.68, Walmart

• Great Value 2% Milk — $3.53, Walmart

Packaged meal:

• Quest Thin Crust Pizza 4 Cheese, 11 oz — $7.26, Walmart

Packaged dessert:

• VOORTMAN Bakery Zero Sugar Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies, 8 oz — $3.83, Walmart

Packaged drink:

• Coco-Cola Zero Sugar, 12 cans — $9.99, Hy-Vee