If you’ve been reading Couponing 101 for a while, you know I’ve been on a journey to eating healthier. For the past year or so, I’ve been doing a lot of research and have been picking my friends’ brains about health, wellness, and real food. I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, but I know I’ve learned a TON in the past year.
One of the biggest myths about couponing is that there are no coupons for healthy foods. That myth is definitely false, but I will say that couponing while eating healthy foods has proven to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Thankfully, I’m always up for a challenge. 😉
For the past few months I’ve really begun to weed out all processed foods and focus on whole, traditional foods. It has been tough, but we are already seeing benefits to this new way of eating. We eat less, feel better, and have rarely been sick.
It can be expensive though to buy organic produce, grass-fed meats, and high-quality dairy products. In order to keep from going bankrupt from shopping at Whole Foods, I’ve really had to become creative with saving money on groceries!
Now that I’ve learned a few ways to make this healthy lifestyle work, I’ve made a goal to eat whole, unprocessed foods in 2012 while sticking to a modest grocery budget. Gulp.
I’ve broken it down into smaller bite-sized goals to hopefully make this goal attainable.
1. Buy in Bulk – Buying in bulk can be tricky, but if you have a solid plan in place for how to use the food, it can save you quite a bit of money! For instance, my friend and I bought 50 pounds of organic potatoes recently and split them between us. By buying in bulk, we were able to get a lower price per pound than we would have paid for conventional potatoes! My favorite places for buying in bulk are Azure Standard and Amazon.
2. Don’t Waste – When you begin to pay more for meat, produce, and dairy, it really becomes painful to see it spoil. I’m going to be more intentional about using the produce we buy and not letting leftovers go to waste! This ties in with my menu-planning goal as well!
3. Buy in Season – As much as I would love to have juicy red strawberries in the winter, the prices are outrageous since they aren’t in season. I plan to stick to in-season fruits and vegetables in order to save money (and it will sure make me appreciate the seasonal produce even more).
4. Garden – I am a terrible gardener. Terrible. Thankfully my husband picks up my slack! We have discovered that there are a few vegetables that will survive my poor gardening skills and we’re going to plant more this spring. Cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, swiss chard, and okra do really well for us. This should save us a little money and I hope to grow enough to be able to can/freeze some!
5. Save Elsewhere – There are many things that we buy that we don’t care if they are organic/natural. There are frequently coupons available for items like toilet paper, batteries, tissues, Ziploc bags, and toothbrushes and we can save money on those items even when we can’t save on others. We can also save on back-to-school items, clothing, books, and more – saving money isn’t confined to the grocery store!
6. Find Coupons – Yes, there ARE coupons for organic and natural foods. You might have to do a little more digging but they are definitely out there. I’ve seen coupons for everything from produce to eggs to organic sugar!
Hopefully, by following these tips, I’ll be able to feed my family healthy foods this year and not spend a fortune doing it!
I’ve teamed up with five other bloggers to share our goals for the new year, and hopefully inspire and encourage you to do the same! I’ll be highlighting and sharing all the New Year, New You posts from the other bloggers which include topics like reducing sugar in the kitchen, meal planning, weight loss, food allergies, and much more!
The other bloggers are:
Do you eat a whole foods diet? What are your tips for saving money on organic foods?
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Have you tried square foot gardening? If your careful it doesn't have to cost alot to start up and you can get alot of food in a small space and even people like me can garden successfully! Mel Bartholomews books are great and there's a ton of other peoples websites out there to help. Like john kohler at http://www.growingyourgreens.com or http://www.mysquarefootgarden.com just to name a few!
Yes! We did square foot gardening last year and it seems to be our best option.
I purchase only what I know I wil use right away so it doesn't spoil. I have the luxury to be able to purchase small amounts of fresh produce on a daily basis. This saves money and insures quality in all our meals, buying more is not always better especially with picky eaters like my husband and teenage son.
We eat a vegetarian whole foods diet with organic as much as possible and I am really hoping to stick to a better budget in 2012.
Who is addressing food allergies? I would love to follow those posts. My 8 year old sister-in-law has a severe food allergy and we are always looking for more information and new recipes!
Good for you! I am trying to do the same thing for my household and appreciate all of the great ideas.
Meal planning is key. I especially try to make food that can be stored easily, so I can use up more of that bulk. Since veggies take so long too cook, this has the added advantage of reducing the time it takes to make weekday meals. My favorite is tomato cream soup. I make a huge pot and store it in batches. To change it up, you can serve it with salad, grilled cheese, plain or with croutons, fried eggs or poached eggs, or mix some brown rice in there (also made in bulk), for a very filling meal. Plus, its a great soup for hiding carrots and celery in. I do this with tomato sauce, breads, other soups too, and I'm just getting started.
I recommend taking advantage of your local farmer's market. Often their price for organic is better than the store's and it forces you to buy in season. :)
I know what you mean about gardening, by the way. It's my resolution this year to get better at it. I hope to can tomatoes so I can have good ones year round. Wish me luck!
Great tips!! I've never made tomato cream soup - I will have to try that!