Who's got tips for making "Clean Eating" more affordable

DontThinkJustRun
DontThinkJustRun Posts: 248 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I'm really trying to eat cleaner, including more orgainic, and I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to make it more affordable. I've discovered the Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen, which is helpful. And I'm going to start planning my entire week before heading to the store so that I'm not constantly buying food that goes to waste. Unfortunately, where I live and because I live with a husband who doesn't eat clean, I'm forced to shop at two different stores and the "Health Food" store is significantly more expensive then where I usually shop - the evil Walmart :) .

Anyway, I'm really really enjoying eating clean and LOVE finding new recipies but finding that getting the ingredients I need can be difficult and expensive.

Replies

  • jpatrickwinstead
    jpatrickwinstead Posts: 43
    For non-perishables, amazon.com can be a great resource.

    Also, most "normal" grocery stores (safeway?) have an organic/natural section these days. That might be a nice middle ground between Walmart and the niche store.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
    Define clean.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I try to eat pretty clean, though snacks are getting the best of me this week. It is rather easy to do if you cook a lot at home. I don't eat out too much (with exception to this past weekend) so I just cook everything from scratch. I also use the Clean 15/Dirty Dozen to make sure I buy organic where it counts. I am a planner by nature, so my husband and I come up with meal ideas for the week, then I shop, so there is no waste. I pull a lot of recipe ideas from EatingWell.com as all of their recipes list the calories for you (many are already in MFP) and are all made from real whole foods, not fat free cream cheese and the like.
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 507 Member
    Eating clean means something different to everyone, but I'll give it a shot to help you out.

    -Buy dry beans. You can buy big ol' bags of them at almost any grocery store.
    -Buy nuts/seeds in bulk and mix them up for a nut mix.
    -Make your own granola bars. There are tons of healthy recipes here and elsewhere that usually use rolled oats, nuts, agave, flax, etc as the main ingredients.
    -You should be able to get organic dairy at a 'normal' grocery store. Likewise, you can get natural greek yogurt (I HAVE TO use agave or something like that to sweeten it because the natural is just kinda grosse to me).
    -Buying organic meats get very pricey so be warned. That's all I buy because my wife is a vegetarian.
    -You can buy big bags of rolled oats for oatmeal... just add water!
    - If you're truly going "all natural", you'll want to have go to sweeteners... honey, agave, various fruits, etc.
    -Buy flax seed oil to get an amazing dose of healthy fats (not usually very cheap).

    Hope that helps!

    Ha, thats all I got for now...

    Edit: I just read through your post again and it seems you probably know everything I just said... Ha, o'well... sorry...
  • dreanance
    dreanance Posts: 246
    Lately we've been lucky at Costco. I likely wouldn't qualify as a clean eater because I eat (mostly, I do eat honey sometimes) vegan. We freeze what we can't eat right away in terms of produce and get large containers of things like nuts/seeds/quinoa/oats/almond milk.
  • BeilaLin
    BeilaLin Posts: 189
    I haven't heard of Clean 15/Dirty Dozen, but will check it out.

    Tips:

    **I buy local and organic which cuts the cost down A LOT.

    **Farmers markets--really cheap now since fruits are cheaper in the summer. I just bought 8 pounds of grapefruit for $2.25
    http://www.cafarmersmarkets.com/index.cfm
    http://www.farmernet.com/events/cfms

    **Costco--A large clamshell container of blueberries is like $6.99-$7.99 or so...that's really cheap. Many of their other produce like big bags of spinach, bell peppers, and carts of mangos are so cheap. $0.75 for a huge bunch of bananas. Just avoid their other aisles (like the packaged foods aisles). Fish oil is really cheap there too.

    **Buy non-organic for fruits that have thick skins (ie. bananas) and buy organic only if it's thin skinned (ie. strawberries)
    **Stock up and Freeze your cheap fruits/veggies when they go on sale

    **Buy Veggie Wash brand vegetable wash to clean your non-organic foods ($2.50-$3 for a spray bottle) and save by buying the non-organic stuff

    **99 Cent stores have organic items such as organic cellery (2 stalks for 99 cents) and big bunches of bananas for 99 cents. I bought a HUGE 11 ounce box of Earthbound Fams brand of organic arugula last week. They also have strawberries and big bags cherries for 99 cents. Also bought 2 HUGE portabello mushrooms, 99 cents for both. Call them first because the produce is always varying from poor to really good in selection and quality.

    **Couponing--check out coupon sites like: (see below) ...so you can save on organic items that would cost more otherwise.
    http://www.southerncalisaver.com
    http://www.organicdeals.com/
    http://www.mambosprouts.com/
    You can also subscribe to get the sunday paper only and save w/ the coupons inside. It's well worth the $1 or so for the paper.

    **Look for Co-ops--I go to my local co-op in santa monica where they sell items in the bulk so you are also being eco friendly by reducing waste from the box/packaging and only using a plastic bag. Also they sell spices by weight so if you only want just a bit of all spice, you don't have to buy a whole jar and let half of it expire and let it go to waste and have to throw away. The co-ops work to help save you money b/c you are an owner/shareholder. You can pay a small fee and they will give you significant discounts on certain items, in addition to giving you back a percentage of your yearly purchases (based on the co-op's profits).

    **Make stews and throw in whatever produce you have and whatever type stock (vegetable or beef/chicken)...Stews are easy, and don't require any one specific thing. Just whatever you have around. This can be a weekly dinner. I like jumbo carrots, onions, celery, and barley (pearl type, from bulk foods) and lentils. Lentils are a really eco friendly source of protein (best in terms of carbon footprint) thus cheaper for you!

    **Plan plan plan....Meal planning and shopping will save you time and money by 1.) Knowing what you MUST buy and need by shopping only for what's on your list 2.) Shopping on certain days of the week when there are likely to be sales for produce (see sales inserts in your mailbox on Sunday paper and Tuesdays advertisements).
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