Real Food On a Budget

Real Food on a Budget – 12 tips

So, you want to eat real food on a budget, but you fear that this is impossible?  This was our automatic response too. But we are here to tell you that it is possible to eat real food for every meal and still not break the bank. It took us some trial and error, and maybe even a bit of a budget crisis for a few months, to figure out a system that allowed us to purchase only the healthiest foods and not exceed our budget.  We want to help you avoid our beginner mistakes and get on track with both eating real foods and adhering to your budget.  Therefore, we have collected twelve of our best tips to help get you started eating real food on a budget.

Twelve tips to eating real food on a budget

1.  Meal Plan - Plan your menu based on what is in season and what is on sale.  Consider using a meal planning service such as That Clean Life (one of our favorites) to help you create and adhere to your plan and therefore your budget. Before you actually start your meal planning service, try to accumulate some of your typical food budget money by spending less for 2-3 weeks. For that short time, challenge your family to a “pantry eat down” or “cupboard clean out”. Try to make meals using up all the things you have in the pantry, the fridge and the dark places of your freezer.

2. Make it yourself – One of the biggest cost savers and keys to eating real food on a budget is making food from scratch. Feel intimidated by having to make everything yourself?  Just pick the highest cost pre-prepared items on your list and try to make those. Even if you have to purchase cooking equipment, like a stand mixer, dehydrator, or food processor, those items will quickly pay for themselves as long as you do not go back to purchasing pre-prepared foods.  If a new small appliance isn’t in the budget right now, focus on simple recipes that don’t require new tools. Start saving the money you save by making your own food and put it towards quality kitchen tools that will save you time.

3.  Nix going out to eat and use that money for real food – Even though we rarely went out to eat, I realized that the once or twice a month that we did was damaging our food budget.  With our family size, it is difficult to feed everyone and pay less than $50.00.  When I looked at how much my $50.00 would cover in real foods, I knew that we had to limit our eating out to only when absolutely necessary.

4. Find a co-op or buying club – Co-ops and buying clubs allow people to combine their buying power and enjoy group and bulk discounts.  Check out these links to see if you can find some groups in your area and learn about these options to buy real food on a budget

Azure – Azure gives you access to organic farm-fresh veggies and dry bulk foods, grass-fed dairy and frozen meats, raw honey and non-GMO oils, packaged foods, nutritional supplements and beauty products. Check out their website to see if there is a drop near you.

UNFI – This is a bulk group purchasing option for many food options to include refrigerated and frozen. Contact UNFI to find a group near you so you can join and enjoy the savings of purchasing with a group and in bulk.

Real Milk – This resource is primarily to find real, whole, raw milk and dairy.  But often groups that offer these items also offer access to other real, whole foods.

Frontier – A co-op that contains many foods, herb, household, and personal care items. Join and save 10% off and an annual 5% rebate.

Coop Directory – A directory that lists many co-ops and markets in various states.

5.  Buy in bulk – if your budget will allow, stock up on dry goods, nonperishables, and frozen items while they are on sale. Check to see if purchasing in bulk can bring any savings.  Grains, beans, and other dry goods are good examples of items that are often more affordable purchased in bulk.  Don't want tons of bulk in your pantry?  Try to team up with friends and split up the bulk items so you can all enjoy the cost savings.

6. Learn the Clean 15 and decide if those items can be purchased as conventional produce – Conventional produce is more affordable. Some conventional items test for very low pesticides and you might wish to save some money by choosing to purchase those items conventionally instead of organic. There are still certain items on the clean 15 list that might not have high levels of pesticides but are still sprayed with anti-sprouting agents or irradiated.  It is important to do a bit of research to determine which of the clean 15 your feel comfortable with.

7. Visit the local farmer’s market and shop for deals/sign up for a CSA -Find your favorite, trusted farmers and ask them if they offer second grade or #2 produce at discounts. Often if it just looks different, farmers will discount a produce item.   Ask the farmers if they discount produce at the end of the market day instead of taking it back to the farm. This is a risk, however, and you may not end up with any of the produce you need especially if your favorite farmer is popular. If a farmer offers a CSA (community supported agriculture), you can often pay up front for your produce and enjoy considerable cost savings. Check out Local Harvest and Eat Wild to find out more great tips and leads on your local farms and markets.

8. Grow a garden or simply just herbs – A garden can be a huge cost saving especially if you grow heirlooms and can save your seeds year after year.   If you do not have room for a full garden, start a herb garden. Herbs often tolerate being planted in poor soil or dry conditions.  Some herbs actually thrive under stressful conditions.

9. Purchase groceries online — Thrive market and Vitacost are our two online shopping hubs that offer substantial savings for purchasing real food on a budget.  Not only can you save on groceries, but also gas since you never have to leave the house. Thrive market costs $5 a month and gives you access to high-quality organic items well below retail prices.  You can see more about how to save money with Thrive as well as a price comparison on some items here.   Vitacost is another favorite for online grocery shopping. You can almost always get at least 10% off your cart, and often even 15%.  If you don’t have a coupon code, just put your items in your cart and hold it for a day and Vitacost often sends you a 10% off code to encourage you to finish your order.   For even more savings, sign up for an Ebates account and click through Ebates to get to Vitacost.  You will earn 4% cash back on your purchase from Vitacost.  This quickly adds up and they deposit the refunds directly into a PayPal account.

10. Maximize leftovers – Your family might not love leftovers, but they are a way to cut down on costs!  I was amazed at how much less food we wasted and how much money we saved once we stuck to our meal plan and emptied out our fridge and freezer.   There are creative ways to use up your foods so your family won’t even notice that they are eating leftovers.

11. Never make emergency grocery runs – While we shop for produce weekly, we never go to the grocery store for one or two items that we forgot.  Instead, we just make do and get creative.  We found that we blew our budget every single time we made emergency runs.  It is far too easy to end up picking up extra items that add up.

12. Eat cheap, but nourishing, foods – To maximize a food budget each month, focus on some of the most affordable real foods.  Bone broth/soup is a weekly staple in our home because it is a very affordable meal that is incredibly healthy and healing. Purchase only fruits and vegetables that do not carry a high cost.  If you do not have access to quality fruits and vegetables at affordable prices, look to produce like carrots, celery, and bananas that you can find organically at lower prices than some of the other organic produce. Beans and mushrooms are great ways to eat less meat which is often one of a family’s biggest expenses. Chopped mushrooms in ground beef help stretch the meat at a low cost. Beans can replace meat in many dishes and purchasing organic dry beans in bulk can add up to considerable cost savings.

Remember these twelve tips… and you will be able to eat real food on a budget.  It may take some time to find the right resources for cost savings, but don’t give up!  Avoid the overwhelm by just taking one small bite, one crunch, at a time.          

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