Money and Buying Healthy

smashingroses

I would like to hear how you healthy eaters are managing to buy items, such as organic, at the grocery store and still have money left over for toilet paper and other necessities. I feel as if our media and celebrity fit gurus are pushing us to eat this "hard to find food", or only "farm raised chicken", etc.

Most of America today is not wealthy and some of these products are outrageously priced. What do you think? How do you deal with it?

atomdraco

Buy bulk, bigger quantity and freeze it. Look for sales, etc

Time2Thrive

I agree buy in bulk. Fruit and vegetables we typically will get frozen to start with. Do not have to worry about preparing and any spoilage issues.

awkwwward

Well, this is just for me, but we cut our grocery budget by more than 60% as soon as I went vegan and we stopped buying fish, chicken, meat, milk and cheese. Those are the big spenders at any supermarket. We went from about $500 - $600 a month to around $200 - $250. That made it a LOT easier to get organic fruits and veggies (not really as big of a concern for grains, beans, etc.).

We also buy the "dirty dozen" organic and try to get most of our produce from the farmer's market (to both support the local economy and get better food cheaper; win-win for us! lol). Perhaps more meatless meals? I know that works for a lot of people....

We also plan our meals. Unless you're loaded in the bank (and we surely are not!), planning meals makes it so much easier to "shop the pantry" in our apartment and only get what we need - not everything that looks yummy at the store. We also pay attention to what's running low. If we're 3/4 of the way through a bottle of EVOO, we put that on the list so we know it's "coming" in the next few weeks and plan for it.

Good luck!

amelia_atlantic

It's tough but like anything else, things must be planned and budgeted for.

Many stores offer "store brand" organics now which is a good way to cut back. Also, even WAL MART has jumped on the organic bandwagon.

I'll usually think up my dinners (left overs for lunch) and only buy THOSE items wth the intention of cooking meals. Produce is the most expensive so make sure you plan to use them. Spoiled food is just throwing money away.

I also buy staples like: oatmeal, popcorn kernels (pop it yourself!), eggs, tofu, frozen veggies and frozen fruit. All of those things are only about $15 and will last me about 2 weeks with many options.

Pandorian

Buy at your local farmers market, support the farmer, their prices are better usually if not at least on par with the grocery store, and they obviously get a bigger cut of it. I'll support my local buffalo farmer by buying a half instead of paying "premium" prices at the grocers when the farmer gets $0.20/lb and we're paying $4/lb even for ground...

Buy in bulk, buy more of the sale items, like when canned soup is on for $5 for the 12 pack case and regular price is $1.39 a can... you're getting 8 cans free by buying the 12 cans....

And for the most part ignore the organic labelling, it doesn't mean much when they can label something processed as organic when 75% of the contents are organic.

Choose where you can though, don't buy "Stewing beef" at $7/lb when you can buy a decent roast for $5/lb and know what cut you're getting and cube it yourself, the stewing beef could be just about any cut!

Stick to the least amount of processed food that you can and benefit, do most of the processing yourself, it's not that labour intensive to buy a family tray of ground beef and break it down into individual portions for packing and freezing...

EDesq

I would like to hear how you healthy eaters are managing to buy items, such as organic, at the grocery store and still have money left over for toilet paper and other necessities. I feel as if our media and celebrity fit gurus are pushing us to eat this "hard to find food", or only "farm raised chicken", etc.

Most of America today is not wealthy and some of these products are outrageously priced. What do you think? How do you deal with it?

This subject has been covered extensively on here...but as for Me, I don't think there is such a thing as "organic". And clearly neither does the FDA. Surely, it is a BIG marketing ploy; there are no studies that say people who eat "organic" vs the rest of the food are healthier, wealthier, wiser, or have more and better sex than the rest of us. In FACT if this was shown to be true, then ALL of our Food Sources would have to be "organic" because that is the job of the FDA, to give us, ALL Americans access to the BEST/Healthiest food sources. If that food source was "organic" then it would become the "norm" NOT the exception. So as it stands, if some people want to eat "organic" let them, it's their dime, but that does NOT mean that they are eating BETTER. I think one has to do more research relative to whether adding hormones to meats and meat products are healthy. BUT get real about this "Free range" stuff...do you really care whether a chicken or cow was "happy" before they took a big ol' knife and CUT its head off! These are animals for the slaughter...keep their habitat clean, keep them well fed and healthy>>>then slaughter and butcher for human consumption!

"Organic">>>NO Such Thing. It's a conversation for the STATUS SEEKING to indulge at a wine tasting...How do I know>>>BEEN there, done that, GOT A T SHIRT!

msarro

Honestly, organic is a waste of time. The process to actually be labelled "organic" is extremely expensive, full of red tape, and opens farmers up to legal exposure most of them would rather not deal with. That means the only people who can afford an organic label in a supermarket are big agribusiness companies who are probably using legal loopholes to get the label.

So, instead of focusing on eating organic, look at buying local. Farm markets are cheap, plus they tend to only feature what is in season so they're better for the environment.

As for supermarkets, buy from the perimeter of the store.

Its not expensive. Promise.

denapand

I try to buy what is in season and what I can't I will buy frozen. I stock up when I can and I don't buy organic. Organic to me is exspensive and with my budget I try to go with local. Food prices are increasing and it hurts!

kellylou1367

I live in the UK and I buy from the local fruit and veg store rather than a supermarket, at a supermarket my fruit and vegetables cost between £15 and £20 but by buying it all from the proper grocery shop I can get all I want for under £10 and it is much better quality too, it's not organic just local farm suppliers.

lilRicki

http://www.brokeandhealthy.com/category/recipes.


and as a farmers kid...organic IS a crock of crap...buy locally and buy happy. Cook and freeze foods in bulk. chicken with the bone in is cheaper than the skinless, boneless breasts. i'm thankful I know people that hunt, I have half a deer in my freezer right now (roasts, steak, "burger", sausage). store your squashes in a cold and dry place so they last longer, same with potatoes. Buy the "just picked" mushrooms, you pay more for fancy packaging. when your fruit looks like it's about to spoil, freeze it to make smoothies (great for after sports or when you're not hungry but need the calories). frozen veggies don't spoil like fresh ones do, either buy what you need so they don't rot in your fridge, or buy frozen. Eggs are cheap, and very versatile. buy "no name products" they're just as good as brand name. buy your dry goods in bulk (rice, oats, nuts)

Black_Swan

http://www.brokeandhealthy.com/category/recipes.


and as a farmers kid...organic IS a crock of crap...buy locally and buy happy. Cook and freeze foods in bulk. chicken with the bone in is cheaper than the skinless, boneless breasts. i'm thankful I know people that hunt, I have half a deer in my freezer right now (roasts, steak, "burger", sausage). store your squashes in a cold and dry place so they last longer, same with potatoes. Buy the "just picked" mushrooms, you pay more for fancy packaging. when your fruit looks like it's about to spoil, freeze it to make smoothies (great for after sports or when you're not hungry but need the calories). frozen veggies don't spoil like fresh ones do, either buy what you need so they don't rot in your fridge, or buy frozen. Eggs are cheap, and very versatile. buy "no name products" they're just as good as brand name. buy your dry goods in bulk (rice, oats, nuts)

I agree with this. Also fruits and veggies are sometimes cheaper at the end of the day, when they try to sell the last pieces.

smashingroses

This has been a very big help! I don't eat that much meat to begin with, and I guess I had just forgotten about frozen fruits. I think I'm going to keep sticking with the fresh produce as well as reading more labels! Did you know that a serving of regular cornflakes with lowfat milk, has the same calories as buying the slightly more expensive Special K cornflakes and using low fat milk? You're guys are helping me pay more attention!

Espressocycle

Dry beans, bulk quinoa, cabbages.