This is very much a daily passion for me. Healthy food relationships should never break the bank and its is achievable. The following is former post with updates on new ideas. When hitting the urban jungle, make the most of your hunt for a better you and your family.
~~~~With my littlest red in tow we set out for our biweekly marathon of food gathering in the urban jungle yesterday. For a family of six plus my niece at times, it’s all the marathon I ever care to participate in. It’s not the worst chore I have to complete as my laundry piles on my dryer. However, we do love to eat with the goal of our health. There is strategy involved to keep our wellness goal and less my pain in the after math
List. List. List.
I am a list freak. Largely to help me regulate my thoughts and ADHD. But I do love them and labels. I like being able to find things too. But that’s beside the point. It does mean meal planning and less reliance on emotional eating when you use a list. Pad in your health favs and a few not so healthy favs for those cheat days. Don’t go hungry. Your stomach will lead and mine usually sabotages my wellness and budge. Many major store apps will allow you to find most of what is in stock, on sale, and, some times, which aisle to find it in. Target will automatically link you to the store you’re in and the store map in the Target app. Walmart App, not grocery app, now has an in store feature. It’s less accurate but can help.
Develop a love affair
Love the stores in or near your neighborhood. Traveling too far when not necessary spends more than save. The more you go the more you will see sale patterns which leads in to three….
Shop sales and in season.
Healthy food on sale. Not junk food on sale. Companies are starting to recognize the demand and putting natural/organic/healthy items or produce on sale more often. This past month at one of our local stores, between sales, in season produce, and digital coupons, I cut my bill in half. We saved almost $150. Many stores have online adds that you can compare.
Use loyalty programs and digital coupons.
If I receive a paper coupon in store or the mail I will use most of the time. Otherwise all my coupons are on a loyalty card. Saves paper and money. The more I use the loyalty program at one of our stores the more I am rewarded. There are grocery apps that do the reward the same way just for uploading a receipt. Use them. Some apps reward you for uploading your receipt. This may be of benefit to you. One of my daughter’s schools used it for fundraising.
Make budget from for sales.
When you have some extra budget room and sales are really good take advantage of the abundance. If you have the room, squirrel it away as long as it won’t expire before you use it.
Take advantage of shopping clubs, online services, and pick ups.
If you benefit from buying in bulk then a shopping club like Cosco or Sams may be worth it for you. Some items I do in bulk but we try to be mindful of waste. Toilet paper is a guarantee it will be necessary always, but perishable items be mindful. We could buy stock in almond milk but a small gallon of cow milk is all that is needed for my son. During this summer we used store pick ups a lot and delivering to your door is becoming an option. For us it was necessity as I was recovering from a foot injury. Now its just nice when time is tight. Pick ups prevents impulse shopping if that is a struggle of yours.
Meatless Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesdays….
Meat can be expensive, especially lean meat. Lately, I am finding one of our stores putting meat substitutes crazy cheap. We are riding that gravy train for as long as it last. We also like using cauliflower and cauliflower in every form is suddenly every where. Cauliflower is cheaper than most meats. Cauliflower is a great substitute because of it’s nutritional value and protein content. Another plus. Too much meat protein can be hard on some of your organs, especially kidneys. Just a thought to keep in mind on how many meatless days you want to try.
Make the most for your best. We have a large family, dog, and dietary needs- the need for the budget to stretch can get scary. However, with these seven ideas and creativity, we make it happen. You can too.
Namaste in your food gathering hunt
Juls
