Is it just me, or are the prices of groceries becoming more and more costly? To add to the mix, trying to buy healthy food such as produce makes it even more difficult to save money. Plenty of people’s wallets have a huge chunk taken out of them due to groceries but it’s to be hoped that grocery shopping doesn’t have to be that wallet draining. With some slight changes and planning, I believe it’s possible to eat healthy while sticking to a super tight budget.
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Courtesy of Women’s Running
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1. Look Out for Sales and Then Plan Out Your Meals
If there’s a savings card offered by your local grocery store, make sure to sign up for it and check the weekly sales. Then, plan your meals around those sales. The last thing we want to do is add another item onto our to-do lists, but already having a game plan before going to the grocery store helps a great deal. Planning beforehand ensures that by the time you get to the grocery store, you will already know what you came to buy and won’t make any impulse buys.
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2. Buy Your Food in Bulk
Effective meal planning makes it easier to buy your food in bulk. Buying a membership to Costco or Sam’s Club will really come to your aid, whether you’re feeding a whole family or just yourself. Since these membership stores are starting to carry more natural and organic foods, you won’t have to give up quality for price. Big retail markets and a majority of natural food stores also have their own buy in bulk section for rice, nuts, flours, grains, etc… Sure, your food will probably not come in as nice packaging, but you’re saving a few bucks without paying for fancy labels and more wasteful packaging.
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3. Buy in Season and Freeze or Buy Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
Who doesn’t love fresh produce? However, the cost of these can quickly add up. Continue to buy what’s in season and when you come across a good bargain, stock up on them and freeze them. Otherwise, you can buy frozen fruit and vegetables, which usually cost half the price of fresh produce, have a longer shelf life since they’re frozen, and save you preparation time as they’re pre-cut and pre-washed.
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4. Buy Less Expensive or Discounted Cuts of Meat
Eating healthy on a budget doesn’t mean you have to quit enjoying meat. Look for less expensive cuts of meat, like ground turkey instead of ground beef or chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Better yet, buy discounted meat as grocery stores typically discount meat up to 70% as they inch closer to their expiration date. To make tougher cuts of meat more juicy and tender, you can use a slow cooker or other cooking methods.
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Courtesy of Unli Tips
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5. Buy Beans and Whole Grains
Whole grains like couscous, quinoa, farro, brown rice plus quinoa are pretty cheap, can be a meal in themselves, and can easily make your meals more filling and tasty. You can even buy a package of couscous, prepare it ahead of time, portion it out into plastic reclosable bags, and freeze it all so you’ll have some on hand when you want to toss some into a soup or salad.
6. Reuse Your Leftovers
If you’re like me, you don’t like eating the same meal repeatedly. Instead, repurpose your leftovers into a completely different and tasty dish. If you buy a whole rotisserie chicken, you can use this meat in a pot pie, soup, sandwich, throw it in with some fried rice, the options are endless.
7. Grow Your Own Food
Growing your own food is cheaper than frozen, you have control over what’s sprayed onto your produce to keep insects off, and tastes a lot better. If you have a yard, you can plant trees that bear fruit, such as apples or pomegranates, and berries. You can also build your own raised bed and grown your own food in that. If you don’t have a yard, you can grow vegetables in containers and set them by your window and several cities allow you to rent out garden plots.
8. Use Coupons
Yes, couponing can take up a lot of time, but it can and will work, particularly if you have been given several of the same coupon. Also, smartphone apps are starting to get into the game so they’re becoming money savers, especially for healthy food shoppers. Some apps that make grocery shopping easier are: Checkout51, Ibotta, Mobisave, and Savingstar. A great website that offers samplings of a variety of natural food brand coupons is Mambo Sprouts: https://mambosprouts.com/