It's expensive eating clean! help me budget better.

Happyme2009 · July 2013

I lost the weight, now working on building some muscle....
I got greedy.....
I want to look like a fitness model now..... I am exercising like them too....

Anyhow, I find that I am spending so much more money on food now!
I mean, granted I have a huge appetite.... and I eat usually 2000- 2500 cals a day., sometimes more... but it's pricey!
I need to fill up with something healthy.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive. I don't eat 1 apricot, I eat 8-10 in one sitting.
Greek yougurt is expensive too... I eat 500 grams with a spoon without stopping.
Chicken breast and lean steak too.... I need at least 1 chicken breast if not 2 in one meal.
Kale or lettuce, well, I eat the whole head, not a couple of leaves...
Avocado - 2- 3 of them... with 5-6 red peppers.....
Protein shakes too......
Dark chocolate - entire Lindt bar for desert....
All bran cereal fibre, 1/4 of a box.....
etc.....
The only cheap, healthy food is peanut butter.
Everything else is expensive, especially for a person with a big appetite like mine.
But I burn it off.

And yes, if I fill myself up with bread, corn and potatoes, beans or rice, and other stuff, I immediately gain fat and weight!
What to do?

As you can see , I want to eat healthy. For me healthy means unlimited amounts of these: fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, yogurt and cottage cheese, eggs and egg whites, nuts, chocolate, protein shakes.
Everything else make me fat.
And I also hate cooking. I only cook "real" food in the weekend..... the rest of the week is mostly salads , steamed or fresh veggies , and proteins ( eggs, meat, cheese, yogurt) and fruits and nuts.

How to budget ?????
Help me!

herblackwings39 · July 2013

Eat in season? Buy on sale?

glin23 · July 2013

Eat in season? Buy on sale?

Pretty much this. If you haven't all ready maybe join a warehouse club? You'd have to crunch some numbers if the money is worth it to you. I tend to a buy a mixture of cheap and expensive things. Now you don't have a public food diary but assuming what you're listing is representative of one mean I can definitely see why you're spending so much. So I guess perhaps my advice is buy in bulk and in season. Either that or learn to redistribute your finances if you can.

mahanaibu · July 2013

It looks like you live without reasonable distance of an H-Mart:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/h-mart-richmond-hill

If you're not familiar with H-Mart, be prepared for a fantastic new discovery. It's a Korean grocery chain with the most wonderful prices on produce. Not everything is tremendously cheaper than the supermarket--but a whole lot of things are half the price or less. I was there this week and among my purchases: Two big heads of green leaf lettuce for a dollar, organic fuji apples for $1.49 a pound, organic bing cherries (oh, were those good) for $1.99 a pound, onions, 3 pounds for a dollar, grape tomatoes, three pint packages for a dollar, white peaches, 79 cents a pound. Fresh wild yellowtail, whole, for $1.99 a pound, cantaloupe 15cents a pound. I knew some things about Korean food before I went there, but I've been introduced to so many more things there. And most of the produce is beautiful as well.

Can't swear that all the H-Marts have even pricing across the chain, but reading on yelp, it looks like shoppers in your area are having a similar experience.

Any ethnic market is almost certain to have much cheaper prices than regular supermarkets. We're blessed with Middle Eastern, Indian, pan-Asian, Korean, Hispanic. And I visit them all from time to time, but H-Mart is my solid produce place.

JollySnidge · July 2013

I'm a poor student, so learnt the benifits of cheap cuts. Try switching chicken breast for chicken thighs - they taste a lot better and they're cheap. Frozen fruit, or canned fruit in natural juice is sometimes a little cheaper than fresh, if not, try a market where you can buy seasonal and save money. By own brand at supermarkets to save money, and you can order protein shakes from the internet far cheaper than you can buy them in stores. I got mine from Amazon.

GrouchySprout · July 2013

Is there anywhere you can buy in bulk? I know it's a big spend in one go but will save you money over time.

fatmommy2013 · July 2013

Here's some things I can say. One, coupon. If you've a dollar tree, get the Sunday paper there. Keep the lions you don't need, swap for the ones you do. There's tons of fb groups for this. Message me if you want to be fb friends and ill add you to mine.Dont forget most stores layer their coupons.family dollar deals and dollar general take coupons. I haven't paid for fabric softener in about three years.or cat food. I have, due to a neighbor moving in a frantic,four cats. (Ps want a cat?).tArget clearance can be a gold mine for garbage bags . It's a little time consuming in the beginning,but worth the money you save.
2.aldis clean fifteen. There are fifteen clean produce products you can get from them.save your money there
3.learn your stores. We have a Meier .we know what day they mark down their produce and meats.
4.buy in season. Know what you can freeze. Don't overbuy your produce.if its a great price, but you won't finish it, it wasnt a great price.

I rock at saving money, and Im happy to help people out with that. I need help staying motivated and smart in the nutrition and exercise world. People have been so helpful and Im absolutely willing to help you be über frugal too

Confuzzled4ever · July 2013

i just got 4 boxes of cascadian farm cereals for 8.50. (they were 4 for 10 and I had a 1.50 off 2 coupon, i wish I had another one!)

Check out sales!! Get in season fruit and veggies only! Go to farmers markets! Look for co-ops or farm shares in your area. These are typically cheaper.

Bigger containers are usually cheaper. Look at unit price, rather then total price. I often have to get different stuff each week. (like this week cereal, next week something else)

Also the Asian and Mexican markets here are typically cheaper then other places.. just check everything throuhgly.. plus you'll find some interesting new stuff to try there.. LOL

It's harder and more expensive if you also eat organic like I do.

I spend a ton on food now.. since I eat clean and organic and I have a teenage boy who eats everything and I have to make sure to have more food for him and food that will meet the needs of a growing teen.

fun fun

sunshyncatra · July 2013

If they have a warehouse club like Costco where you live, you can get deep discounts on bulk bags of organic greens, tubs of greek yogurt, etc. Also check if there is food co-op around you. I am about to join a local farmer's co-op where I can get a box of organic produce every week for $22. Shop around, buy in season.

kherrons · July 2013

See if there is a CO-OP in your area for locally grown produce and meat. I get about 15lbs of ORGANIC produce for $17. For 30lbs it's like $27. Free range eggs and organic meats are much cheaper from here, too. My co-op has a pick up every two weeks but you might have one that is weekly.

People also tend to think ALDIs is cheap as in bad, but as long as you read labels it actually just quite affordable. I try to avoid Walmart at all costs.

Happyme2009 · July 2013

I want to say "thank you" for all the good suggestions....
K Mart we don't have in Canada.....
I do go to Costco and a Chinese store nearby.... I buy eggs, milk, yogurt, meat , nuts, chocolate, cereal, etc in Costco. Fruits and vegetables from the Chinese store, sometimes I even buy "reduced" stuff, if it still looking fresh to me.....
And of course, I look for sales.... I can't buy too much in bulk because my place is very small the freezer on top of the fridge is quite small....
truth be told, I never throw anything away. I have a dog that loves to eat just about anything, and who will choose an apple over a bone. I know, strange.... so nothing goes to waste.
Believe me, I am trying....
I guess I am mostly venting here.....
Did any of you noticed how much more expensive is "clean" eating versus "normal" eating?
I think many people are getting fat simply because they cannot afford to eat healthy.... ( or course, not all, everyone has a choice - but people will usually go for what is tasty, and cheap - and often unhealthy - rather that choose expensive and tasty and healthy)

Foodiethinking · January 2014

I don't know why everyone is suggesting buying bulk- I find that fresh food get spoiled if I do that. I think the supermarket in question is a factor too- a bigger brand will obviously stock fresh fruit and vegetables that isn't quite ripe yet such as bananas, avocados or strawberries. Smaller supermarkets that are cheaper tend to have riper produce and therefore goes off quicker. Either way there's no money to be saved because you're either making multiple visits, buying in bulk and food going off, or buying at the bigger supermarket which is more expensive anyway.

I have trouble because I have limited fridge and freezer space so the majority of what I buy has to be able to sit at room temperature but still disintegrates at the same rate, since I don't have room to freeze much stuff.

mamma_nee · January 2014

Eat in season? Buy on sale?

That , Its way cheaper if you purchase fruits and vegetables that are in season.

ScientificExplorerGirl · January 2014

Also:In the Sprint, start a garden, rent an allotment if no space, and/or go to local farmer's markets in the Summer.
Preserve the excess harvest (or purchase) by freezing/canning/drying.

You mention freezer space is an issue. Small chest freezers are pretty inexpensive anymore. We just purchased one for meat (we purchase sides of beef to save $) and veggies from the garden. Freezing doesn't have to be very time consuming--many fruits and veggies can be placed into freezer ziplock bags and frozen without any additional preparation.

Also, I don't find that eating "clean" is any more expensive than eating otherwise.

skinnyinnotime · January 2014

Buy in bulk?

BenjaminMFP88 · January 2014

I can't remember the website, but where I live there's this club you can join. and for I reduced price, you get organic in season fruits and veggies delivered to your door. Working out the price it ends up saving a good amount if you get the full size. I'll see if I can find the site, I have it saved at work so I'll post to this on Monday if I remember.

It's expensive eating clean! help me budget better.

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