While whole foods can be expensive, you can use these tips for saving money while eating real food to include more wholesome foods in your meals.
As you step out on a journey to improve your health and feed your family real food, your budget can quickly get out of control. We have some great tips for How To Cut Your Grocery Bill While Eating Real Food. Not only can you maintain the healthy food regiment you desire, but you can stay well within your budget to do so. Eating better doesn’t have to break the bank.
How To Cut Your Grocery Bill While Eating Real Food
Grow Your Own. One of the quickest ways to eliminate some of your extra costs associated with eating organics as part of real food diet is to grow your own produce. Even a few small container gardens can become a great source of added money in your budget. Decide what your family purchases the most of and see if you can grow it yourself. Easy to grow produce includes: lettuce, herbs, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers and onions.
Cook From Scratch. The number one goal of eating real food is to eliminate processed and sugar-laden foods. Cooking from scratch is pretty much what you have to do, but there are plenty of people who still use things like canned vegetables and beans that are certified organic to save time. Instead of buying the canned beans, grab the dry beans and cook in bulk quantities. You can cook 2 pounds of dry beans in a large Crock Pot to be portioned for future meals easily. All you need is water, seasonings and to set your slow cooker on low all day. Here are several Methods for Cooking Dried Beans and 5 Ways to Cook Rice from Scratch.
Raise Chickens. You said you would never do it, but more and more people are seeing the benefit in raising their own chickens. Not only are you controlling what said chickens eat, but you are producing fresh eggs and eventually fresh chicken for your table. Make sure to purchase your chickens from a quality supplier and do your research on what is safe and consider “clean” to feed them to maintain the term free range which is desirable.
Consider Buying Meats from a Wholesaler. There are companies such as Zaycon that allow consumers to buy large quantities of meat monthly or quarterly from frozen or refrigerated trucks at a deep discount. Visit Zaycon’s site to see when they are coming to your area.
Batch Cook And Freeze. As stated above, saving time can be a number one money waster when it comes to eating real food. By using 2-3 days a month to batch cook and freeze meals for future use, you can save both time and money. Find out the meals your family loves the most and make them in bulk to freeze. Things like bean burritos, breakfast burritos, soups, stews, chili and even beans cooked ahead of time freeze well in portion controlled containers and heat up quickly and easily for on the go meals. Here are tips for spreading freezer cooking out and filling your freezer in 30 minutes a day and here are tips for getting started with Once-a-Month Freezer Cooking. You will find directions for batch cooking primary ingredients in my cookbook Prep-Ahead Meals from Scratch as well as recipes using those batch cooked ingredients. You will find make-ahead breakfast and lunch recipes in my cookbook Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches.
Stick To A Menu Plan. We all know it takes time and dedication to do it, but a menu plan can save you even more time and tons of money. If you know in advance what your family will be eating each week, it will keep you on track and make you less likely to splurge last minute on those items that are convenient in the store. With eating real food, planning ahead is important since there are often time factors to cooking from scratch. A menu plan helps you know what you should be pulling from your stock, freezer or pantry each day to feed your family. Here are some Meal Planning Tips for Busy Lives.
The goal with eating real food is to provide your family with as little processed food as possible. Become aware of what you are putting into your body by focusing on nutrient-dense foods in their truest forms. While that would include limiting the cooking process, we understand an all raw diet is nearly impossible for growing families. By using these tips on how to cut your grocery bill while eating real food, we hope you are able to continue giving your family the farm to table feel you desire without breaking the bank in the process.
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