If are like my family, eating fresh vegetables, fruits, good quality fats, humanely raised animal products…. It can get expensive. And since there is no processed food… the usual coupons are not an option.
So, I hear you, healthy eating can mean spending more money on groceries and Harvard School of Public Health’s study backs your gripe that healthier diets may cost about $1.50 more per day than the less healthy options.
Without getting into a discussion that eating healthier over a period of time would reduce the cost of diet related chronic diseases such as Obesity, Diabetes , improve productivity and bring down overall health care cost etc…..Let me share what has worked for my family in keeping the bottom line under check: {if you looked at our monthly grocery bills it will be very similar to family making less healthy choices. (Yes, I have kept track of our grocery expenditure for the last five years!)}
- Making a weekly meal plan– prevents wastage and saves a lot of time. It allows me to batch cook or what I like to call “cook once and eat twice/thrice”. If quinoa with veggies is on the menu Monday night and quinoa salad for lunch on Wednesday – I can prepare quinoa for both the meals at the same time. When I know what we are eating each day during the week, I don’t end up buying too much of a produce that will not be used and end up rotting in the vegetable crisper.
- Use every part -of the vegetable. When I buy the beets, I use the tops in lentils, stews or smoothies. When the broccoli florets are used, we make a slaw or a soup with the stalks. The peels and trimmings of the vegetables can be saved and made into to veggie broth or added with some bones for a bone broth. The broth can be used as a base for a curry, soup, or enjoyed on its own.
- Grow your own– Herbs add a lot of flavor to meals and have some medicinal property or the other. I love to use fresh herbs in my cooking, but I find these are exorbitantly priced at the grocery store. Herbs are fairly fuss-free to grow and don’t take too much space. Growing microgreens and sprouts is another straightforward way to get a burst of nutrients without stretching the wallet. One more thing, I have recently started growing is salad greens. Organic Salad greens can seem pricey, and for the cost of about a box of green ($4) you can buy a packet of seeds for mixed salad greens. The packets have 500 seeds and will plant a 30-foot long row of greens.
- Eat with the seasons Read more here
- Shop in bulk –buying staples in bulk either from Costco, bulk bins at health foods stored or online helps me save the dollars. When buying from bulk bins, I don’t end up paying for packaging cost; also I can buy the quantity I need rather than the quantity that comes prepackaged. This is great for ingredients, I might not use too much of or too frequently. I find bulk buying health food online to be economical and great way to save $$ and the time. My go to online stores are
Thrive Market; this is a membership community where you can buy health foods at whole sale prices. Using this link will give you 15% off first purchase.
Vitacost this link gives you 10$ off your first purchase.
iherb a good place for groceries and things like sprouting jars, use this link and receive 5$ off your first purchase .
Bulk herbal store, I like to buy lose teas, herbs, spices here. I love their cinnamon and turmeric.
What to become a savvy food shopper, know where spend to and where to save? Come along for a fun and informative healthy grocery shopping tour and hone the skills for shopping healthier.
What is your strategy to keep the monthly grocery bill under check?
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