Written by: Breanne Brazeale
Most of us have been there. We want to feed our families and ourselves the very best and the healthiest options that we possibly can. Our doctor emphasizes fresh produce (organic whenever possible) and teaches us about the importance of healthy fats and protein. We head to the store armed with high hopes and a list of the high-quality food we need to prepare nutritious and balanced meals for the week ahead. But once we actually arrive at the store, reality sets in. That jar of organic, cold pressed virgin coconut oil we needed: $14.96 (or 28 cents per ounce). Grass-fed beef: $8/lb (and you need at least 3 lbs to adequately feed your family). A head of organic broccoli: $4.50. And recently, these prices have only increased, with no signs of slowing down. Grocery budget, along with your high hopes, blown to smithereens.
You continue through the store and are faced with another reality. Ramen noodles (those perennially delightful, nutritionally devoid ribbons of processed white flour and monosodium glutamate) 19 cents a package. Hydrogenated vegetable oil: 1 GALLON for $5.60 (that’s a little more than 4 cents an ounce). That Family-Sized package of name-brand, cream-filled cookies, $3.67 (still way cheaper than the healthy items on your list).
Every day, we are faced with a seemingly impossible challenge- attempting to afford to feed our families and ourselves healthy food when quality ingredients are at least twice (and often times MANY more times) expensive than the unhealthy choices.
Most of what I do to make quality ingredients more affordable for my family is not original, I’m just following the solid advice of many others before me. But I’ll repeat what I do in case it is helpful, perhaps to someone just starting out on their healthy food journey.
If you can, GROW IT yourself, especially the things that cost a lot to buy organically. For example, strawberries. At Walmart currently, 1lb of organic strawberries costs $7.00, and this price goes up substantially when they are not in season. I know my kids, tiny voracious little fruit bats that they are, can demolish a pound in one sitting. This is NOT conducive to keeping my grocery budget on track, so I grow them. I’m really lucky to have a sizeable garden space, much of which is being taken over by sprawling strawberry plants, and I know not everyone has this option, but I take advantage of it as much as I can. For a few weeks every May (I’m up to my neck in strawberries right now), I take advantage of my bumper crop and do everything I can to make the most of it.
Pay attention to the EWG’s Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen lists (released annually).
Find a friend and trade with them. Last fall, a good friend and her children were visiting us. They brought us a huge basket of wild-crafted paw paw fruit, and in exchange, I sent her home with some late-season tomatoes and enough lemon balm and roselle to keep her and her kiddos in tea for the rest of the month.
Eat and cook seasonally. Everything is cheaper in season.
Preserve what you can when prices are good or you have garden extras.
Make one change at a time, especially in the areas that will make a big difference. If you can only afford to switch out one “traditional” ingredient for a healthier option each week or even each month as your grocery budget allows, DO IT.
Buying in bulk.
Batch cooking. One of the most important weapons in my arsenal when it comes to not only staying within my budget, but also managing my time as a busy mom is cooking in batches. I do it ALL the time. When I have an excess of something from my garden, when there is a good, in-season sale on a normally pricier ingredient, when someone gives me a ton of stuff from their farm or garden, or when I’m making something that is freezer friendly, I double it, quadruple it even, and freeze it.
Going along with batch cooking, make it at home, from scratch whenever you can. Many organic and healthy items are MUCH cheaper when made at home. A prime example of this yogurt. A quart of organic Greek yogurt is $6.34 at Walmart (as of me writing this). A gallon of organic whole milk is $6.28, so I can make 3 quarts (after straining) of Greek yogurt for less than the price of one. It doesn’t take any fancy equipment- I do it in my crockpot and just let it sit overnight covered in a bath towel to keep the heat in. I can get the price down even lower if I use a good quality powdered milk, and I just keep some yogurt from the last batch to start the new one.
If you have any other suggestions that help keep your grocery budget on track, we’d love to hear them!
