B-SMART: Strategies to eat healthy and save money

 

Food intolerances and dietary preferences are for the birds! I just needed to say that. Shout it out loud! UGH! Let me tell you, so I have been planning a little girls day this coming weekend to celebrate my birthday. So, this Sunday My Mom, myself, my sisters and their daughters……the 6 of us, are getting together in the morning to do Painting with a Twist, have some brunchy finger foods while we are there and then go back to my Mom’s place for birthday cake. Well, I’m totally grain free, my one sister is gluten free and then my other sister and her daughter are vegetarians! Plus, neither of my sisters like cooked fruit. And, for my mom, we have been trying limit her foods that have excess sugar and processed carbohydrates. Needless to say, coming up with a menu has been a chore, simply for the fact there is so much to consider when choosing what to make. Making a couple things turns into making an entire spread because you want everyone to enjoy the food and be happy. I put it on myself really. I know they certainly don’t expect me to cater to each one of them, but I will. Food makes people happy and it makes me happy when my food makes people happy. Ok?! My menu so far, may change in the next five minutes, is an veggie loaded egg breakfast casserole, Paleo Orange Cranberry and Pecan muffins (my mom loves orange and cranberry,) and I will also be making Paleo snickerdoodle muffins. I’m hoping I included everyone. All of the above foods are vegetarian, grain and gluten free and one of the muffins does not have cooked fruit. Oh shoot……my oldest sister can’t eat anything with seeds….I’ll have to double check the veggies in the casserole. ::Sigh:: My sister is doing a mimosa station…yum! And my oldest sister is bringing fruit. I was going to make fruit skewers, but you know what, I’m just glad she is taking that off my hands, she can bring the fruit in a bucket for all I care. Oh, and coffee….I'm bringing coffee. Sheesh…..I think I went a little overboard. Now that I’m typing it out it sounds like a lot. Oh well, I over cook/bake for every occasion. Better too much than too little!

It should be fun though. My mom has never done Painting with a Twist. I had a bowling birthday party last year and she had so much fun doing that I thought I would do something this year she might enjoy.

Geez…..then next weekend is Easter…what the heck am I going to make for that?! I can’t think about that right now.

So, this week I wanted to offer some insight into how you can eat healthy and not break the bank. I thought it would be helpful and I have had to find ways to navigate the grocery waters myself so I wanted to share! I had been eating a pretty healthy diet through out my late teens and twenties but once I started having reactions to grains I was pretty much thrust in to health food overload. So, trust and believe, I know how overwhelming it can be. I mean, they make it so easy and inexpensive to eat crap food. When you decide or have to start eating a more whole food diet you feel awestruck at the cost an effort it takes. So, I wanted to provide some ways you can B-SMART and create shopping strategies to help you eat healthy and save money! 

BIG BOX STORES! We all know them; some people hate them. Me, I LOVE them! You’ve got your SAMS Club, COSTCO, BJ’s. Options people, you’ve got options. These big box stores offer a wide variety of food options and ways to save. The truth of the matter is buying in bulk truly does save you some cash. If there are foods you eat regularly or feel like you are constantly running to the store for, I highly recommend checking one of these stores out. I go there……let me be honest, my husband does most of the grocery shopping at SAMS Club or COSTCO ‘cuz he’s the best 😊 Soooooo he goes there to buy our meat, bottled water, apples, eggs and some veggies. I also have him pick up my almond milk and coconut oil there. And yes, they sell organic, gluten free, non-GMO…all the things! It’s great! And you can pick up your household items, some wine and knives you never knew you needed all in one trip. Score!

Shopping local, depending on your area, may be easier for some than others but look around you. Is there a farmer’s market you pass on the way to work every day? Does your community have art festivals, craft fairs etc. on the weekends where local farmers sell their crops? If so, make an effort to stop by and purchase your veggies there. You will be supporting your local economy and their produce is usually way cheaper than the store. Plus, it’s fresher and tends to last a little longer than the store-bought produce.  

Meal prep/Meal plan- I have said this one before and I am repeating myself because I truly find it to be one of the most time and money saving practices I have incorporated. Take a few moments one day a week and decide what you want to have for your meals that week. It can seem like a daunting task but after the first 2-3 times you’ll start to see the benefits, PROMISE! No more back and forth about what you’re going to have for dinner, no more giving in and going out to eat because you don’t feel like cooking or have nothing in the house to eat. No more wrecking your diet eating fast food on your lunch break at work because you’ll have fresh homemade food at your fingertips. The easiest way is to pull up a blank calendar worksheet in Microsoft word, put your meals in for each day, make a grocery list and off to the store you go! What ever you can make in advance and will keep, do so in the same day. My husband and I make almost all of our food on Sunday. Typically, the only meal we freshly prepare is our dinner each night. The nice thing, is if one of us is getting home late (typically me) we have food ready to go in the fridge. We can just pop it in the microwave and we have dinner in a few minutes as opposed to 30-60 minutes or more. I pack my meals with the prepared food each evening to take with me to work the next day and it keeps me from eating food that is brought into work or going out to eat on my lunch break. I can use my lunch break to go for a walk now and get outside in the fresh air. A much-needed mental break.

Another good rule of thumb when trying not to blow your entire life savings on healthier options is to Avoid catch phrases. By this I mean, try to avoid foods labelled, Keto, Paleo, Gluten free, when you can. Often times, you can find the same item with the same ingredients with out all of the hype for cheaper. When you gravitate toward the hype words sometimes you end up paying more for the flair. You’ll see this on some canned foods, packaged items such as chips or trail mix, you’ll even see it on frozen veggies from time to time. Which brings me to, Read your labels. Even on brands you think you know, read the label. It can help you avoid unwanted additives, ingredients and the catch phrase trap. Compare the labels of the store brand with the fancy, bright labelled brand. The store brand may be undercover gluten free, organic, non-GMO etc by having the small stamp near the nutrition facts. You’ll also want to read the tags. Each item in the store has a price tag on the shelf so you know the price but keep your eyes open for 2/$5.00, Buy One Get Ones etc. I also suggest looking in your local grocery stores circular which highlights the sales happening though out the store. This can help you save a few bucks on fresh fruits and veggies, fresh cut meats and pantry staples.

And last but not least, Try online! Online shopping makes eating more nutrient dense, natural foods more convenient and less expensive. You can read labels and shop bargains right from your computer or smart phone.  Great companies like Amazon and Thrive market offer an abundance of choices you can stock up on with deep discounts and free shipping. I purchase many of my pantry staples from these sites. Here are some of my favorite finds through Thrive market.

Hopefully you find these B-SMART strategies helpful in navigating your healthy lifestyle without breaking the bank! If you have any other tips or tricks you use to save a little dough on nutritious food items I would love to hear them! Please comment below so we can give them a try.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peace out girl/boy scouts!