First things first, I’m a foodie. I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to grocery shop at fancy stores, and wander through farmers markets, and try out little cute organic cafes. I find joy in a beautifully organized grocery aisle, and the bright colored fresh produce all stacked up. Is that weird, or do you feel me?
However, as a family we have some money saving goals at this stage in our lives. We’ve chosen to make sacrifices, and compromises. We’ve learned the difference between our needs and our wants. We’ve learned what splurges bring us joy, and which ones just simply aren't worth it or don’t align with our bigger goals. We’re not perfect at it, and need our retail therapy every once in a while, but we honestly find a simple satisfaction from living more minimal and trying to be intentional about where our money is going.
Along with saving money, health and wellness is also one of our top family values. Often times, saving money and eating healthy don’t seem to co-exist very well. I’m here to tell you there’s a way. I’ve gathered some wisdom over the last 9 years of trying to make this work, and I want to share it with you. I know talking budget is NOT the most fun topic, but I hope some of you can relate and find this helpful. Eating healthy can be done on a strict budget, and I’d love to show you how we do it. Some of these may not mesh with your family situation, so take it for what it’s worth and find what works for you!
Here are my top 10 tips for healthy grocery shopping on a budget:
Buy Bulk
I know you’ve heard it. Have you tried it? I’ve been off and on with this one because I feel like we didn’t go through the food fast enough before we had a kid, but this last year I am fully on board with buying in bulk. Here’s why: it’s cheaper, more time efficient, better for the environment (less packaging), and I always have ingredients to make quick, budget friendly meals! I try to keep us well stocked on all of our staple items. These include Rice (brown & white), Organic Rolled Oats, Quinoa, baking flours, Lentils, beans, Chicken stock, Pure Maple Syrup, Honey, Eggs, bread, almonds (and other nuts & seeds), canned coconut milk, coconut aminos, cooking oils, eggs, meat, and cooking spices. I buy all of those items from Costco, or my most recent favorite discovery, Azure Standard! This website will blow your mind. *I’ll put more info on Azure Standard below* so we can keep flowing through this blog post.
Limit your trips to the store
I’ve found the more I go to the store, the more I end up spending that month. When I stick to my once a week trip, I usually stay within my budget. It’s like magic! But don’t let me fool you, this one is hard for me because I actually love going to the grocery store. That love has faded a bit with a toddler, but I still think it’s a fun outing (shows you just about how exciting my life is LOL), so I’ve had to be disciplined on this one. Instead of defaulting to going to the store, I try to find different things to fill that boredom shopping itch (such as finding construction sights to take my tractor obsessed toddler to!)
My current shopping schedule goes something like this:
Week 1: Costco Haul (usually spend around $250) Week 2: Sprouts or a local grocery store (usually spend around $75) Week 3: Costco Haul (usually spend around $250) Week 4: Sprouts or a local grocery store (usually spend around $75). Once a month I may swap one of my Costco Hauls with a Azure Standard order depending on their drop off schedule*. This Comes out to around $650/month. We aim for $600, but often times go a little over.
Utilize your freezer
I have found that you can get some awesome deals on high quality foods, if you’re willing to freeze them. I usually pick up a bag of Costco’s organic vegetables each time i’m there, alternating between them so I have a variety in my freezer. These are great to throw into soups or pastas to add bulk and nutrients. Anytime there’s a good sale on 100% grass-fed beef or pasture-raised chicken I try to buy extra. I also freeze bread from Costco since it comes with 2. It’s cheaper than buying 1 at another store, but we never eat it fast enough for both loafs to last. I always buy a big tub of greens at Costco even if I already have some. It’s the best price, and you can always freeze them if they start to go bad and use them in smoothies or sauces. I’m a stickler on not wasting food, so utilizing the freezer helps lengthen the shelf life. Just make sure you label your food with expiration dates so it doesn’t go bad in there.
Another fun hack for my fellow Acai bowl fans: Buy the big bottle of Acai juice from Costco (bonus if its on sale like it is this month!). Then pour it into little silicone ice cube trays and store in a zip lock in your freezer. Then you just pop those babies out when you’re making a smoothie or bowl. This is less than half the price of the Acai bowl packets they sale. If you get creative like this, there’s a lot of things you can buy in bulk and freeze so you have it on hand.
Homemake what you can
Once your pantry, freezer, and fridge are all stocked up with your staple ingredients, you will be amazed with how easy it is to create different home cooked meals. In my experience, homemade is always a more budget friendly option. Not only is it more budget friendly, but you know exactly what’s going in your body, and have complete control of the health factor. Yes, you can eat at Taco Bell for cheaper, but you’re not going to have the same quality of food, and the leftovers that can be served for lunch the next day. Especially if you’re feeding a family, eating out can add up! I get it, convenience sometimes wins and I’m all about that. I think the key is focusing on homemade food the majority of the time, and making eating out a more special occasion.
Most recently I’ve been experimenting with making things from scratch rather than buying them from a store. Some extras (things besides our basic meals) that I try to make instead of buy are almond milk, salad dressings, sourdough bread, English muffins, and granola. It felt daunting at first, but I just try one thing at a time and add new things once I’ve mastered them. Once you get in the rhythm of it I think you’ll be surprised that it really doesn’t add that much time (ok sourdough bread is a serious labor of love, but the others are quick!). Also, these make fun activities with kids!
As far as meal planning goes, I suggest creating a weekly menu, and creating some fun traditions around it. Find some staple meals that you and your family look forward to, and get everyone excited to help along the way. The exact meals can vary week to week, but a theme to follow can create fun traditions as a family!
Our weekly menu goes something like this: Monday: Meatless Monday (some sort of big colorful hardy salad); Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (some sort of Mexican style dish - tacos, taco soup, enchiladas, burrito bowls, etc.); Wednesday: World Travel Wednesday (some sort of exotic flavor dish, usually Thai or Indian inspired, or pasta); Thursday: One pan meal (Some sort of veggie, starch, and protein, all baked on a pan or grilled); Friday: Omelette Night (Chop up a bunch of veggies and toppings for a breakfast inspired omelette meal); Saturday: Eating out; Sunday: Slow Cooker Meal (usually a soup, or roast)
Limit the packaged snacks
I learned pretty quickly how expensive feeding a child can be! Not to mention how confusing it can be to know what to buy with all the different options and marketing tactics out there. It’s hard to know which brands to trust with your dollar, and especially if your child seems like a bottomless pit (those $4 pouches can add up quickly with a hungry toddler). This is why I’ve tried to buy minimally packaged snacks and try to offer homemade options instead (yes I’m that mom at the park with the healthy snacks). All this to say, I am not opposed to buying pre-packaged snacks from the store. Its very convenient to have an emergency stash of goodies in case of unprovoked, ravenous, toddler meltdowns!
Some of our favorite homemade snacks are (gourmet) Almond butter and Organic strawberry jelly sandwiches ;) cut into cool shapes of course, Banana muffins, green pancakes (yes, I pack these to go sometimes), Homemade sourdough English muffins, apple slices, bananas, grapes, and blueberries. I don't say this to shame or act like I got it all figured out, because I absolutely don’t. But I think it’s helpful to know that there are other options than going through a lot of expensive snacks day after day. I’ve also found that with homemade snacks, he gets fuller quicker, where as with packaged snacks it seems like he could eat forever! Just something to consider if you’re trying to stretch your dollars.
Whole Foods vs. Supplements
I want to take care of my body the best I can, and sometimes it can feel pretty overwhelming when you listen to podcasts and scroll through social media with everyone recommending supplements and different products. As much as I would love to buy all of these and have an on going subscription, I’ve realized that supplements are very expensive! A theme among experts I’ve learned are the top 4 supplements they recommend all women to take are Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Fish oil, and a probiotic. I’ve tried to focus on getting these in my food sources as much as possible. I know I need to eat to have energy and feel full, so why not aim to have that food serve me with the nutrients I need?
For Vitamin B12 I focus on getting in Grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken and eggs, and fish. For Vitamin D I get my daily dose of sunshine (I live in a sunny place year round so this is easier for me) or from food in salmon and sardines, grass-fed beef, egg yolks. For Fish Oil I eat canned wild caught sardines 2-3 times a week. For Probiotics I eat sauerkraught a few times a week and some sort of yogurt or kefir product. You could argue you may get more out of the supplements, but if you are on a budget, aim for these whole food sources and you’re sure to get some benefits.
I also take a Prenatal Vitamin to help get those micronutrients that I may be deficient in, or my body needs more during different phases of life.
This may not be a perfect strategy, and any nutritionist reading this may be cringing inside a little. However, the point I'm trying to get across is you can opt for more nutrient dense foods rather than feeling like paying for supplements is the only way to reap the benefits.
Try some meatless meals
I’ve talked about meat quality (100% grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken, wild caught fish), and how this is important for getting the most nutrition value out of these foods. However, these high quality meats can get expensive. I was noticing that meat was adding up to be the majority of our grocery bill. We’ve started doing Meat about 4 nights a week for dinner, and 3 nights a week we do a meatless meal. This has definitely helped.
For protein in our meatless meals I buy dried beans and lentils from azure standard (super cheap), cook them in the pressure cooker (takes about an hour instead of 4), and they make an awesome addition to a meatless meal! I add them to salads, soups, or buddha bowl type of dishes.
Make your meals stretch
If you’re going to make this healthy eating on a budget work, you need to embrace leftovers, and creativity in the kitchen. Like I mentioned before, I really hate wasting food, so we do a lot of leftovers around here.
Some leftover tricks I’ve learned: Sometimes a different sauce can make all the difference. When I make a big batch of instant pot chicken, I can use it for 3 different meals, and the sauce I put with it totally changes the experience of the meal! (for example: BBQ sauce chicken stuffed sweet potatoes, salsa chicken taco bowls, curry chicken soup)
Turn a soup into a grain bowl. If you have some soup leftover, pour some over some rice or quinoa and make it a grain bowl for lunch or dinner the next day!
You can stretch a ground beef pasta sauce by adding lots of vegetables and greens to it. You’re quantity will almost triple!
Utilize Sales & Discounts
The traditional coupon clipping days may be over, but these days almost every store has an app packed with discounts just waiting to be used. If you listen to a lot of health podcasts like I do, they usually are giving out promo codes for healthy brands.
This may mean being a little bit flexible with your grocery list. When I go to Costco, I’ll always opt for the sale option if its similar to an item I had in mind. I saved $19 in instant savings last week at Costco. Yep, something to celebrate!
Team work makes the dream work
Find some like minded friends to join you in your efforts. You can team up with friends to buy bulk items at a lower cost if you don’t feel like you have the space for it or the stomachs to consume it. This is especially helpful with things like bulk meat. Did you know you can buy a whole grass-fed cow for a lot cheaper than by the pound? (Here’s a website if you’re interested) I don't now about you but our freezer is much too small for that. But splitting it with a few friends could totally work! Also doing things like fun potluck get-togethers is a great way to feed a group, without breaking the budget. Not everyone has a budget, but everyone enjoys a good time with friends and food!
Some other money saving tips that didn’t make the list:
H20 Baby! Opt for water to drink. This goes for money saving purposes, and health purposes, plus it goes with every meal! If drinks are your thing, than I’m not saying to suck the joy out of life. But if you’re looking for ways to cut down on your grocery bill, tapwater is free!
Buy Organic Only Where it Matters. Organic can be a lot more expensive, so knowing where organic makes the biggest difference on your health will help cut down that bill. Make sure you know the Dirty Dozen with produce (picture below), and I recommend prioritizing organic grains. This is due to the amount of Glyphosate on grains. (This information changes each year so stay up to date with EWG.org.) Staying educated on this stuff can help you get the most bang for your buck and avoid falling victim to marketing tactics.
I want to be clear that I realize everyone is in different financial situations, and I feel very, very blessed to always have food on my table, and we never go hungry. In my small family we all have healthy appetites. as we are all active, and we enjoy eating. So with that being said, we aim to spend around $600-$650 per month on groceries (this also includes household stuff such as toilet paper, paper towels, food bags, dish soap, parchment paper, diapers, wipes, etc.). Some months we’re closer to $700, some rare months we’re a little under. But that’s the goal. I’m not at all implying this is the golden standard but that’s what works for us. Obviously when creating your own budget, consider how food prices fluctuate depending on where you live.
Hopefully this helps you find a happy balance of healthy eating and a happy budget. Please reach out with any questions you may have, or if you have any of your own tips you would like to share, please comment below!
*More on Azure Standard: This is a website where you can order healthy, organic food in bulk for a lot cheaper than other options. The reason it is so much cheaper is they have drop off locations that they deliver to once a month that you drive to and pick up your goods. You find the nearest drop off location on their website. It does take some flexibility and planning, but the drop off’s always have a fun community vibe and everyone is so nice. It is an amazing resource if you have food sensitivities like we do in our home. You can find organic gluten free grains for nearly half the price as anywhere else! You can shop by dietary needs and allergies. They even have baby items, cleaning items, essential oils, skin care, and so much more. I get zero commission or perks out of recommending them, I just want to pass the information along! Read more about their story here.