Healthy eating has been important to me for as long as I can remember. Having kids just fueled that passion even more. Our diet plays such a big role in how we feel so even with the huge jump in pricing at the grocery stores I’ve figured out how to feed our family of five wholesome meals at least 80% of the time. I’ll be honest, it does require more time in the kitchen but the taste alone makes that worth it. Now let’s dive into affordable ways to eat wholesome foods on a budget.
Meal Plan
This is probably one of the biggest tips for affordable ways to eat wholesome foods on a budget. The weeks we plan our meals and buy all the ingredients at once, we spend way less money. It also keeps us from wasting food because we base our meals on what we already have and then get the extra items we need to make it a meal. There have been weeks we’ve spent less than $100 on food since we planned it out and try to keep our most used items on hand by buying in bulk. You can find tips for meal planning plus a free meal planning template here.
Where we shop:
As far as where we shop it varies. I like Aldi’s but we don’t have a local one so a lot of times we’ll do online grocery pickup from Walmart. Ordering online saves you quite a bit because you see the running total before you check out and you’re less likely to add extra items vs in the store. Some weeks we do make the trip to Aldis. For most of our bulk items I like to order them online. Then we get raw milk from a local Mennonite shop and our meat from a local meat shop. I’ll share the links to where we get our bulk items below.
Cook from Scratch and Buy in Bulk
This is key to affordable ways to eat wholesome foods on a budget. You get to control the quality of your ingredients, and the quality of your food. You get to make simple swaps and avoid ultra-processed oils, use higher-quality sweeteners, and avoid preservatives. Not to mention, the taste is soo much better. We do a lot of baking around here for snacks and meals so pantry staples are something we buy in bulk so we always have what we need on hand.
Things we like to buy in bulk and where we get it:
(Basically all our baking ingredients and meat)
Sea Salt: We’ve always gotten Pink Sea Salt but I am considering trying this Redmond Real Salt when ours runs out.
Fleischmann’s Instant Dry Yeast
Cane Sugar: This cane sugar is a good organic option. Sams also has a good deal on a large bag of cane sugar that isn’t organic. We store our sugar and flour in 5-gallon buckets with these Gamma Seal Lids.
Meat: My husband hunts so we eat that meat and we’ve also bought a portion of a cow locally in the past. Those are both great options and ensure you get high-quality meat at a good price point. But I know not everyone can spend almost a thousand dollars at one time on meat, so another thing you can look into is see if your local meat shop has a family bundle option. You get a variety of different meat for under $300 and it lasts for several weeks if not more depending on how often you eat meat and how many times a day. Our meat shop has this and its been great and gives us more variety of meats.
Grow Your Own and What to buy organic
The most cost effective way to eat a lot of fresh produce is growing your own. We recently moved to the land we live on now so though we arent currently eating a ton of fresh fruit we will be in 2-3 years. We palnted peach trees, an apple tree, blueberry bushes, and a bed of strawberries. My family also loves raspberries so that’s on the list to plant. Then we also have a vegetable garden full of the vegetables my family seems to eat the most. For tips on starting a garden check out my post Growing a Garden, a Beginners Guide. For Natural Ways to Control Garden Pests and a DIY Pest spray check out this post.
Do you need to buy all organic? Organic foods always cost more so the main thing is deciding if it’s in your budget or not. Sometimes we buy organic produce and sometimes we don’t. Here are a couple tips to getting cleaner produce while sticking to the budget.
Tip 1: Soak your produce
Use a mixture of 10% vinegar with 90% water and soak them for 15-20 minutes then give them a good rinse.
Tip 2: Know what has higher pesticide residue and what has lower pesticide residue.
Produce with Higher Pesticide Residues: Apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, sweet bell peppers, imported nectarines, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas, and potatoes tend to have higher pesticide residues.
Produce with Lower Pesticide Residues: Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes are among the cleanest fruits and vegetables, with the least likelihood of containing pesticides. Avocados are especially notable for their cleanliness, with only 1% showing any detectable pesticide residues.
Leftovers are your best friend
Why Eating Leftovers Saves Money
Eating leftovers is a practical and affordable way to eat wholesome foods on a budget. Here are several reasons why incorporating leftovers into your meal planning can be financially beneficial:
1. Reduces Food Waste
When you eat leftovers, you make use of all the food you’ve purchased, minimizing waste. Wasting food is equivalent to wasting money, so utilizing leftovers ensures you get the full value of your grocery expenditure.
2. Lowers Grocery Bills
By planning to eat leftovers, you can reduce the amount of food you need to buy each week. This means fewer trips to the grocery store and lower overall grocery bills.
3. Maximizes Ingredients
Leftovers allow you to maximize the use of ingredients. For example, if you cook a large batch of pasta, you can use the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day, stretching the initial cost over multiple meals.
4. Saves Time (and Time is Money)
Preparing meals from leftovers is generally quicker than cooking from scratch, saving you valuable time. This time savings can translate into financial savings, especially if it allows you to allocate time to other money-saving or income-generating activities.
5. Reduces Eating Out Costs
Having leftovers on hand makes it less tempting to eat out or order takeout, both of which are typically more expensive than eating home-cooked meals. Even one or two fewer meals out per week can result in significant savings.
6. Efficient Meal Planning
Incorporating leftovers into your meal planning can help streamline your grocery shopping and meal preparation process. This efficiency can help you avoid impulse purchases and stick to your food budget more effectively.
Tips for Making the Most of Leftovers
Eating leftovers is a practical and effective way to save money. Here are several reasons why incorporating leftovers into your meal planning is an affordable way to eat wholesome foods on a budget.
1. Reduces Food Waste
When you eat leftovers, you make use of all the food you’ve purchased, minimizing waste. Wasting food is equivalent to wasting money, so utilizing leftovers ensures you get the full value of your grocery expenditure.
2. Lowers Grocery Bills
By planning to eat leftovers, you can reduce the amount of food you need to buy each week. This means fewer trips to the grocery store and lower overall grocery bills.
3. Maximizes Ingredients
Leftovers allow you to maximize the use of ingredients. For example, if you cook a large batch of pasta, you can use the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day, stretching the initial cost over multiple meals.
4. Saves Time (and Time is Money)
Preparing meals from leftovers is generally quicker than cooking from scratch, saving you valuable time. This time savings can translate into financial savings, especially if it allows you to allocate time to other money-saving or income-generating activities.
5. Reduces Eating Out Costs
Having leftovers on hand makes it less tempting to eat out or order takeout, both of which are typically more expensive than eating home-cooked meals. Even one or two fewer meals out per week can result in significant savings.
Tips for Making the Most of Leftovers:
- Plan Ahead: Cook larger portions intentionally, so you have leftovers planned for future meals.
- Proper Storage: Store leftovers in airtight containers
- Get Creative: Repurpose leftovers into new meals to keep things interesting. For example, roast chicken can be turned into chicken salad, sandwiches, or soup.
- Freeze for Later: If you can’t eat all your leftovers within a few days, freeze them for later use. Soups are a great meal to freeze for later.
As a mom to three littles leftovers are my favorite thing to serve for lunch. It’s quick and easy, and doesn’t require much thought!
For some Wholesome Snack Ideas check out my post: Healthy Snack Ideas for Adults and Kids