Once we decide that we want to eating healthier or make healthy changes to our nutrition, one of the biggest myths that often times comes up is that healthy eating is more expensive.
My mom & I have put our heads together to bring you our master list of healthy grocery shopping on a budget! These strategies are here to empower you to be able to make healthy choices in an affordable and attainable way.
First, we wanted to address a few things that actually can make healthy eating more expensive, so that you can know what to avoid:
Marketed health foods are more expensive: shakes, supplements, items part of a diet program, anything that falls in the “health marketing” category are created to get you to spend more money. Avoid these and try to stick to fresh whole foods instead.
Food substitutes are usually more expensive - “vegan cheese”, meat alternatives, etc. Especially if you are trying to eat plant-based, these might be something you want to add to your list, but will drive the price up a LOT.
Feeling like you have to buy mass quantities of produce, especially organic. It’s more important to be eating fruits and vegetables at all, rather than focusing on buying everything organic.
5 Ways to Nourish Yourself and Stick to Your Budget
Don’t shop hungry! Instead, go shopping after you’ve eaten a meal, and you can make logical choices. You’ll quickly notice when you shop hungry, that absolutely everything looks delicious and you end up buying extra things that you don’t really need for the week.
Shop with a list. Browsing the store without a list is another way to end up buying extra things that you don’t actually need. If you want a reference point to see the type of things I tend to keep on my list, check out my Plant-Based Grocery Guide here!
Be mindful when shopping for produce
Try to buy produce when it is in season - You can support local businesses by buying produce that is grown locally and therefore more cost effective as well! If you live in colder climates this is not always possible, but a great time to rely on frozen produce. It doesn’t go bad, it saves on waste, and usually is relatively cheaper.
Whenever possible, purchase fresh produce when it goes on sale. Great ways to look for deals are using the app FlashFoods and Misfits Market.
You don’t have to always buy organic. Choosing organic over non-organic can raise your grocery bill up significantly. I prefer to buy non-organic and just wash everything thoroughly before cooking!
It’s okay to buy generic. Don’t be a grocery store snob. ;) Go for the store-brand that will cost a little bit less, and like all things in our health journeys, those little things always add up to make a big difference.
Take inventory before going to the store. I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to do this, and ended up buying stuff I actually already had at home... Can you relate?
Assess your cart before you check out. This one might surprise you, and you might find yourself putting a few items back that you grabbed too many of, or remembered that you actually have at home!
Prefer to listen to this topic? You can, here!
Now, you have a variety of tools you can use to change your shopping experience from stressful to empowering! You CAN shop for healthy foods without breaking your budget.
Let us know your thoughts - Do you have any money-saving tips that we missed? Something new you're going to try? We can’t wait to hear from you.
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