Those with kids, how much is your monthly grocery bill while eating clean?
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Please forgive me...what's a CSA? Coop of some sort?
A CSA stands for community supported agriculture, so yes sort of a co-op. Here is a link to a blog where I describe what it actually is: http://itsalifestylenotadiet.com/2015/04/what-is-csa/
It is an amazing way to eat more fresh and delicious fruits and veggies. I love getting mine so much!0 -
Ah ok...I already shop at a bunch of them...Bountiful Baskets and Zaycon Fresh to name two.
LOVE them! 0 -
For me it changes monthly depending on other bills due. We're a family of 2 adults and 2 kids who eat like adults. The months that are tight I will spend around $500/ month and the months with extra cash I'll spend up to $900/month (salmon, nice steak, kelp noodles, plus extra basics to stock up etc). Not inc in this amount is a 3-4 monthly bulk order of grains, flours, cacao, coconut oil etc of $200ish and supplements of around $300 every 4 months.0
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We spend on average, including household supplies, for a family of 5, $200/week plus $80/week in eating out. I buy local for as much as I can which does NOT cost less by any means. $5 for a loaf of bread, $5 for a gallon of milk, $15 for a 2lb block of raw milk cheese...it adds up really fast.0
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For me it changes monthly depending on other bills due. We're a family of 2 adults and 2 kids who eat like adults. The months that are tight I will spend around $500/ month and the months with extra cash I'll spend up to $900/month (salmon, nice steak, kelp noodles, plus extra basics to stock up etc). Not inc in this amount is a 3-4 monthly bulk order of grains, flours, cacao, coconut oil etc of $200ish and supplements of around $300 every 4 months.
Thermom, where do you do your bulk ordering from? I am looking for a good place.0 -
Please forgive me...what's a CSA? Coop of some sort?
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
For over 25 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.
This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief:
Advantages for farmers:- Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
- Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
- Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow
Advantages for consumers:- Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
- Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
- Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
- Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
- Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown
It's a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the U.S. LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 4,000 listed in our grassroots database.0 -
I belong to a local food coop. We buy in bulk from UNFI monthly, Frontier a few times a year, and FEDCO seeds once per year. One of our members raises beef, and we will occasionally split a cow. He also bring smaller packages of meat to our coop deliveries every few months.
https://www.unfi.com/Company/Pages/AboutUs.aspx
UNFI is the leading independent national distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods and related products including nutritional supplements, personal care items and organic produce, in the United States.
https://wholesale.frontiercoop.com/membershipbasics.html
You may be wondering exactly what membership in Frontier Natural Products Co-op means. In a nutshell, you provide — through your regular purchases from Frontier — the capital necessary for the business to operate, and, as an owner, you share in the profits of the business. You also have an equal vote with other members in the election of Frontier's Board of Directors and any issues that come before the membership.
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I don't know what my average is anymore because I bought a chest freezer a few months back and spent some money stocking it and also followed some sales and stockpiled pantry items. I am a teacher and during summer months I don't have as much income so I always do this prior to summer. But I wanted to say that for the most part, to keep perishables and other necessities in stock, I shop Costco first and then Aldi for what I can't get at Costco or for what is just too large of a quantity at Costco. I also go to The Fresh Market for certain things when I am wanting them. If I had to do an average, I'd say its probably about $500 - 600 a month for me, my son, my dog, and my cat. This would include household items as well as food products.0
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My household of 1 adult and 2 toddlers is ~$350-400/month for strictly groceries. I had been splurging on organic dairy products (milk and greek yogurt primarily), but my youngest now has a lactose intolerance, so I am having to shift our dairy consumption a little bit. We don't eat a whole lot of meat, but when we do it is primarily poultry (not necessarily organic, but free range, no growth hormones) with the occasional beef or pork. I only buy organic for a few produce items, and that is only if they aren't local. I meal prep on Sunday's, and we hardly ever eat out. We don't tend to eat much bread, so what I did to cut on the costs of buying a loaf and not finishing it all (and having it take up valuable space in my freezer) was I started making my own bread if we needed it. The loaf is smaller, I only make it when we need it, and we don't have any that goes to waste as a result...and let's not forget it makes the house smell SOOOO good :-) I am gong to second the crock pot idea- its a truly wonderful tool, and for families with busy schedules, it is a must, at least for 1-2 meals a week. You have to be careful with the majority of recipes you find online for the crock pot though as most tend to have LOTS of added salt and poor choices for the ingredients (highly processed, lots of additives). Be picky with what you are willing to put into the great crock pot :-)
In regards to the organic discussion that was mentioned a few times, I am honestly more concerned about ensuring the dairy we do eat is whole fat (and grass fed animals are used for producing the dairy) and that the meat is grass fed, free range with no growth hormones if possible. My thought focus tends to be on the vitamin D intake for myself and kids as supplements aren't normally in fashion that is absorbable in any kind of efficiency for a body (especially kids), and foods with added vit D tend to have the same problem. Grass fed meat and whole fat dairy help the vitamin D get into your body better. Its a huge issue in the last couple of years, and is only going to get worse in the general population as time goes on.0 -
I think I may have wrongly fallen for the organic marketing. I buy almost everything organic -- from flour, to crackers, to milk, eggs, yogurt, meat and produce. I'm not sure how much we spend monthly, but every visit to Whole Foods is at least $300, and every trip to Costco (where we buy not only paper products, but also bulk fruits) is another $300. I visit Whole Foods at least once every 2 weeks, sometimes every week, and fill my cart with mostly fruits, vegetables, and meat. I regularly go to our Farmer's market, too -- but have discovered that some items are actually more expensive at the Farmer's market than at Whole Foods.
Interestingly, most of the food I buy from Whole Foods are not even for me or my husband -- but for my 2 1/2 year old toddler, who eats 95% homemade food. We bulk prepare his food at least every two weeks and freeze them. Working full-time makes it difficult for us to prepare his food fresh everyday. As for our own food, we buy them at the regular grocery (still mostly organic, though.) So add that to the Whole Foods and Costco expenses... easily $1000 per month. Ouch!
I think I might have to change my ways... I'll definitely look into CSAs. (Didn't know about them.) This is why I wanted to join this group.0 -
I don't have kids, but was interested in this thread to see how much everyone is spending. I retired a year and a half ago, early, due to health problems. I took a 50k pay cut to do that, so needless to say it was like falling through the looking glass into a whole new reality! Gone are my trips to Whole Foods! lol (thats ok, I traded big city living to a small city on the gulf coast at the beach so its a pretty good trade!) Believe it or not, I love the change! I traded a 37 mile a day commute to a very stressful job for a peaceful existence and days of painting, yoga, and frugal living! My husband is still working, so it was not as much of a financial shock as it could have been! Anyway, I am learning to do clean living and frugal living at the same time. That means Tuesdays on Southernsavers.com checking out the local sales and learning to coupon, bookmarking the clean living and frugal living sites, cooking everything from scratch, and collecting recipes from the healthy cooking blogs. I even check the dates when 100 grass fed steaks are due to be marked down and going at the crack of dawn to scoop them up while others are working. lol Hey its challenging, but so it this whole way of living! Oh, and for two people and three animals I am spending about $700 a month0
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I spend around $900 a month and I don't purposely buy organic. I can't afford organic meat at 4X the price. I have more important priorities than to worry about organics. I just do the best I can with what I can afford. It has already been mentioned, but organics is more hype than necessary, and I agree.0
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I have a 6 and 2 year old, similar situation. The oldest is more picky and my youngest eats almost anything. I buy about 80% organic and spend about $500 a month but I try to get things I want that are ok sale or if I have a digital coupon for it. This has helped a little. I want to start buying more organic things in bulk and buy online also see if that helps cut cost.0
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I spend around $250 a week for a family of four--two adults and two teen age boys. the 16 year old is 6'2", 180, swims, plays water polo and is a beach lifeguard for the summer. he eats more food than I ever though a human could eat. we don't eat out as a family very much mainly because of scheduling, but the kids go out with their friends so they get spending money and I often meet friends for lunch or dinner, so I am not counting that in our budget. family sizes of things only feed my one oldest son. I serve fruit or veggie with each meal, what else? two boys just eat a LOT of food.0
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Family of 4. We're in Canada and food prices are just higher here. Spend roughly 150/week. I don't buy organic- just too expensive, nor do I trust that the price equals quality. But I have a plot in a community garden and can now grow most of our seasonal vegetables. OP- look into gardening- saves money, you can trust what you are eating and a great way to involve the kids in healthy eating.0
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Eating clean is very expensive for one person i couldn't imagine trying to feed a family a clean diet. My personal thoughts is that this world is so backwards it seem like the FDA dont want people to live a happy healthy life. They allow so many chemicals to be put into foods that are unhealthy for humans to consume people know this and they still eat it why because there is no immediate side efforts.0
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I can manage $100/week shopping Aldi/generic for my family of 4 in Tennessee.0
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2 adults and 2 kids (16mo and 2.5 yrs) here. We run about 800—1000/mo I would guess. No organics, but we do grass fed beef and fresh fish/poultry instead of packaged. I like to cook, so I do buy lots of good cheeses and cuts of meat. We also go through berries like there's no tomorrow.0
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ok so where do you go for best simplified recipes
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I live in the UK but I've found that buying locally sourced produced food is always cheaper, as your not paying for the transportation cost and also food which is in season and not buying food which is not.0
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