Many people will say that eating whole or organic foods is expensive. You simply cannot feed your family economically without using processed foods. The fact is nothing could be further from the truth. There are many ways to eat whole foods on a budget.
Everyone is trying to make their money stretch these days. There’s no reason why you can’t serve your family healthy foods without going broke. Here are some ideas that will help you learn how to eat whole foods on a budget even when that food budget is tight.
1. The best way to enjoy whole foods while on a budget is to grow your own. Gardening may be time consuming and you may have to wait for the produce to ripen but the results will definitely be worth the effort. You’ll have control over what foods you grow, how many chemicals are used and you can get your entire family involved in the process. If you do grow a garden and you have an over abundance of crops, trade them with friends who have an over abundance of another item. For instance, you have a bumper crop of green beans but your tomatoes didn’t do so well. Your neighbor or friend has more tomatoes than they’ll ever be able to eat but didn’t plant green beans this year.
2. Trade what you have with others or share them with those who weren’t able to grow a garden at all. Nursing homes, homeless shelters and food pantries would also love to be
given extra fruits and vegetables your family won’t be able to eat.
3. Purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers when they are in season. Spring, summer and even the fall are great times to shop at farmer’s markets. If you’re not sure where to find a farmer’s market, go to the Local Harvest website (www.localharvest.org). There you can fill in your zip code and hit search. The website will provide a list of farmer’s markets in your area. Farmers are less likely to charge high prices on their produce because there is no middleman.
4. Sometimes you won’t be able to grow your own, get to a farmer’s market or purchase the items you want locally. Be picky when you head to the grocery store. Purchase only
enough produce to last you until you can get to the farmer’s market or fruit stand which offers locally grown items. If there isn’t one nearby, choose vegetables and fruits which are in season and only those you will use until your next grocery trip.
5. Check in your local area or surrounding cities to see if there are any Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms nearby. You do purchase a membership, whole or a part, in the CSA which basically gives you a share of the farm and what it grows. By helping to supply the farm’s financial needs, you receive a box of locally or organically grown produce on a regular basis. CSA boxes are a great way to learn about new foods. You never know what will be in the box you receive because the produce supplied will change each time based on what is currently in season. You can find CSAs by going to the Local Harvest website.
6. Pay attention to prices when you go shopping. You may even want to keep a notebook to write down prices on items you purchase regularly or would like to get. This will allow you to know if what you are about to pay is a good deal or not. Buy what is cheapest. Seasonal items are often cheaper – if you can, stock up and freeze or can items that are on sale when they are in season.
7. Join a food co-op. Co-ops are similar to CSAs in many ways but you don’t have to purchase a membership to benefit from them. You purchase whole foods, in bulk proportions, which will allow you to save money. And you make that purchase when you need the food rather than having that money come out of your budget each month. Concentrate on produce rather than meat. Obviously produce is going to be much cheaper than free-range chickens, beef, lamb or exotic meats. Rather than putting a large portion of your food budget into meat, you can get so much more for your money by sticking with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Next time we will discuss “Where Are the Best Places to Purchase Whole or Organic Foods?”
The above is extracted from a report, “Eat Whole Foods - For the Health of It” and offers the following disclaimer: This report is written for entertainment purposes only. The author is not, nor does she claim to be, an expert in nutrition or health. The report is written in an attempt to share knowledge based upon what was learned during research and by incorporating some of the information contained in it with her family. It is by no means intended for medical advice nor should it be followed as such.
