I have been trying to lose weight. The biggest issue for me is the cost of healthy food. It seems to be much higher than junk food. How do you save money on these types of edibles. So far, I have only been able to reduce prices via coupons, but they aren't always available.
Over the summer, depending on where you live, you can find cheaper veggies and fruit at the farmer's market. Do you have any Aldi's nearby? Aldi is an awesome grocery store with very cheap healthy food. If at all possible, it also helps to grow your own veggies. I'm yielding tons and tons of tomatoes and kale this summer! Another suggestion is farmshares and meatshares. In the spring, farms usually offer something called a farmshare where you can purchase a "contract" and pay upfront, and following that, you get a weekly box/bushel of fruit and veggies for the whole summer. You can even reduce or completely the cost by volunteering for the farms.
Farmshare is a good idea. Currently I've made a mini garden out side our house which I plant 3 kinds of veges, they are moringa, lemon grass and a herb that i also add to the beef soups i always cook. I don't have to buy these veges anymore. Later I might plant more spices.
Another way is just to adjust your budget to accomodate a healthier eating lifestyle. When I adjusted my budget to cut out junk food and eating out during a month, the price basically stayed the same. So it can be done, it's just a matter of having to give up a few other things in the process. Also, farmer's are often a good idea. There always seems to be good deals when I go, although that might not be a consistent buying option
I have had the same problem. But here is what I do. I spend about $80 at a meat market, but I get enough meat for the entire month and then some. I then go to the store, and I buy big bags of frozen veggies that will last all month, I buy 4 and it costs about $20. I then buy celery and carrots each week which is like $3. I buy oatmeal x3, honey, and milk which is $15. Then there is the eggs and yogurt which is like $20. Sometimes I buy extra like cheesesticks or fiber one bars so we'll add $5. So I end up spending around $150-$200 a month. But I feed me and my husband, and some of his coworkers at least twice a week, and I have a friend who comes over to eat every Monday. Sure we eat a lot of the same things, but it's healthy and I don't have to spend $500 trying to be healthy with all this name brand stuff and diet foods.
I do think I save money by eating healthy. The thing is that I'm not a really good cook. So you wouldn't like what I ear And for some people they need stuff to taste "unhealthy" for them to be on board with eating clean... It's also like Verity Darkwaters said, you kind of eat the same thing every day, until you start to experiment a little bit. You'll also save money for a Hospital bill in the long run, which is lovely
The best and easiest way to save money on healthy food for me was actually taking stock of what things I really like to eat or make a staple in all of my meals and growing them myself. It's not only a fun activity which takes a bit more work than simply going to market but it also allows me to burn some extra calories by really getting into tending to it.
Eating healthier, to me, it doesn't mean I have to buy all organic or anything. I just buy whole, unprocessed foods. This means fresh fruits, veggies, whole grain bread, brown rice, etc. The only time I buy frozen fruits or veggies is if I'm using it in home-made fried rice or in smoothies. I would look into going to your local farmer's market for cheap and good seasonal products. However, I know that some farmer's market can be expensive. The other option would be to see if your local, most frequented grocery store has a club card (like how Safeway or Vons have it). Sign up for that and a lot of the times you get discounts and coupons and stuff.
Have you ever tried organic food delivery? The companies who deliver these organic foods claim [I've not used them though] that they sell their groceries at the same price you'd get them at the store. So they're not only convenient [saving you gas and time] but you also get healthy, organic foods. You could look up their prices if you are interested.
I've used one that Denis said. They are called CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture". The one company I ordered from is Farm Fresh to You, and their Yelp review makes them look bad but I honestly think it's a regional thing. I live in a different area than where most of the Yelp reviewers live; I found my services and deliveries to be REALLY good. I would definitely go check it out and see if it's something you're interested in trying out
Are you in the USA? The situation seemed to be that way there. Is it possible for you to search more places with healthy foods around where you live? May be farmer's markets rather than green food chains? Where I am, some healthy things are more expensive, but veggetables and fruit are definitely not(for example I could buy few tomatoes and 2 cucumbers for the price of 1 chips that's 90gr). If you can't find cheaper healthy food and you still want to eat healthy, may be it would be option if you see whether you can save from some other part of your budget and allocate that towards healthy food. Being healthy is something that could be worth such transition if possible.
The only luck I have as far as saving on healthy food is when my local farmer's market marks down produce that has spots or blemishes. A lot of the fruit that's marked down for having spots or blemishes can be used in cooking, blended into drinks or frozen for later. I never turn down spotty bananas or plantains because they are great for cooking with and they're 10 for $1 when they start getting too ripe to sell.
Have you got any farmer's markets in your area? Here, people don't just sell their organic produce at markets, but also healthy breads, jams, nut butters, oils, etc. So, you might be surprised at how much you can save by buying at farmer's markets. Another big saver is to buy in bulk. Are there any health food warehouses around you? Some of them will let you buy as much or as little as you like, while others have minimum quantity requirements. When in doubt, always google.
Bulk foods are your friend. You can save enormous amounts of money by purchasing your whole grains and beans in bulk. Yes, you will need to use your crockpot to cook beans when you buy them dry in bulk, but you will be getting a pound of dry beans for about the same as the cost of one can of prepared beans. You can also save a lot of money on things like oatmeal, whole wheat flour, millet, amaranth, quinoa, rice, rice flour ect. by buying all these things in bulk. You can then use the money you have saved on these items to be able to buy more produce or frozen vegetables.
Some supermarket now sells mixed vegetables for small amount. These are fast moving items and are sold very very cheap. I bought them and steam it along with my rice. No salt added. The flavor of the vegetables are enough. sometimes, I open a can of tuna or sardines for extra and different taste. It's healthy and cheap.
Luckily for me, fruit and veg isn't that expensive where I am! Meat is very expensive, although you do get value for money. I also save money by not buying the so-called organic produce. For that I go to the local Farmer's Market, which sells fresh organic stuff at very affordable prices! I don't feel the pinch at all.
I don't save by buying different products, but instead I just spend less on the same products because. When I'm trying to keep fit or cut down I'd usually just keep eating the same things but I try to portion it out a bit better. This way, I don't consume too much while still satisfying my cravings, and because of this my food lasts longer and I end up spending less.
I don't believe it's more expensive at all. I spend a lot less on eating now than I did when I ate a majority processed foods diet. Most people also need way more food when eating processed because it tricks the brain into thinking your hungry more often and for far more than you need. That's expensive in the long run. Maybe some places are different though, but personally.. I would rather cut back in other ways than on my healthy food. Produce is so cheap. If you're talking about processed "healthy" foods though, yes, always more expensive. It's also not healthy and you likely won't lose all the weight. Do it for your health though. If it truly is more expensive where you are.. try to cut in other ways. If you were to get sick, it would cost you a lot more than a bunch of bananas.
You know, a lot of "healthy" food doesn't even have to be expensive these days. Where I live, you get a full bag of bananas for the same price as one microwave ready-meal, so the majority of people who say that healthy food is more expensive simply don't take the time to have a look around and see what is out there and available for them. It can also help if you buy things and cook them in batches; freezing the portions that you don't need for the meal you're eating, and then having them at any time during the next week or so. That can be great, and it also means that you don't have to spend as much money on the cooking, either, which is brilliant news for people who are often too busy to be bothered with it all.
Generally you would only be able to save a lot of money with foods if you would cut down your food intake and if you would cut down those foods that aren't necessary to be eaten which are those that are nutritious.
