Many people think that buying all organic is unfeasible. There are many tricks I have learned over the years that make it possible, though. Even if you're on food stamps, you can make this work if budgeting correctly. We were doing it, even on one income of about $45,000 initially. Even now, I only bring in an extra $800-1000 a month babysitting. I make virtually no money with this blog yet. My husband makes more than he used to, but we still do not bring in six figures.
We have many friends that make around $150,000 a year and still think they cannot accomplish this. That is because they do not prioritize their budget. We know a family of three that spends about $1,200 a month on groceries! I guarantee most of it goes to processed snack foods. That is what absolutely kills your budget. We keep our budget to about $300-400 a month. Once I get my garden producing more, that number will be a lot less. Many of our friends have expenses that just aren't necessary. They buy brand new cars, spend money on expensive vacations, and have larger mortgage payments than needed. This is why many people feel they cannot swing an organic grocery list. You must make your health a priority over everything else. Below I will give you all the tips I have learned over the years. Let's get started... Prioritize The majority of your grocery budget needs to go to produce. We're talking roughly 70%. Keep snacks at around 10% or less, and the rest will be for meat and miscellaneous items. There are many snacks that you can make on your own. They taste better, have much healthier ingredients, and are SO MUCH cheaper than what you will pay in the store. Every time I see a yummy snack, I go home and simply pull up a recipe for it. Whenever you have some free time on your hands, get in the kitchen. This kind of segways into my next point. You gotta make most things from scratch...sorry Not only is this so much healthier than anything else you can eat, but it is the absolute best way to save money. Concentrate on big pot meals to stretch your food even further. Check out this article on how we made $20 of organic chicken last all month. Not gonna lie, this has gotten a little harder since prices have gone up on everything, but still very feasible when buying whole chickens or dark meat at roughly $2.99/lb. Don't be intimidated by cooking a whole bird. It is much more simple than you think. You can even cut it up into chunks for different meals. Back to the big pot meals. These are dishes that should last you for at least 2 meals. Here is another article for some of my favorite One-pot dinners. These types of dishes are really good at stretching your meat further. You will also need to consider making some vegetarian and vegan dishes as well. We tend to eat at least 3 meat-free dinners per week. Even lunch is typically meat-free. This not only goes hand-in-hand with prioritization but will make you feel great. Eating too much animal-based protein is not that good for you. You can research this further to find out the negative effects on your body over time. Sale, Sale, Sale! You always need to be looking for good deals at your favorite stores. Many stores, such as Walmart, Costco, Aldi, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Natural Grocers, regularly have discounts on organic products. Keep track of it every week, and you'll get a good idea of where to find the best prices on things. Costco really has great deals on organic items that most places never beat. While it is $60 for the year, membership still may not be feasible for some. Always check the clearance section for hard markdowns. I've found so many great things for super cheap. Local Farms and Farmer's Markets Yes, the prices tend to be a little more, but you are getting incredible quality. There are in fact some items that are the same price, if not cheaper, than what you may find in the store. This is becoming more true than ever now. For one, these vendors are not massive corporations (pandering to artificially inflated prices), and they do not have a huge amount of overhead. You are helping out small family-owned businesses. There is a family that always sells produce in front of the Tractor Supply co. in our town. We buy quite a bit from them. We love that the whole family is involved in helping out with the garden, and their peaches and watermelon are absolutely amazing! There is also a local farm about 25 minutes from us that has a little store on their property. They have wonderful produce and also sell products from other local vendors, such as meat, baked goods, preserves, and precooked meals. Check out your area for farms that do the same. Regrow Produce I love this! There are so many types of fruits and veggies that regrow themselves. I've done it with onion, lettuce, leeks, potatoes, carrots, and celery. I also regularly collect seeds from different things and plant them. Some have been successful and some haven't. It's certainly a process. Make your own... If you want something, but it's like $5 a bottle(!), then make it yourself. This goes back to making your own snacks. We really like vegan ranch dressing since we don't eat much dairy. It is like a million dollars at the store and loaded with bad oils and added ingredients that we don't care for. So, I just started making my own. I also figured out how to make my own coconut milk for $1.50 per qt. You cannot find it that cheap anywhere! Check out my Tiktok for videos on both of these items. Always look at ingredients Just because it says organic does not mean that it's healthy. If you have things with a lot of gums, citric and ascorbic acids, omega 6 oils, etc., then stay away. Again, if you want it, look into making it yourself. All of the gluten-free products out there are filled with terrible ingredients. I just get on Pinterest and find a bunch of recipes to make myself. Again, it is a lot cheaper because these types of products truly are expensive.
Don't let anything go to waste! I am still working on this one myself. Right now, I have an abundance of lemons. I've been looking into ways to preserve them. You can make and can things like lemon curd and lemon-infused vinegar, dehydrated sliced lemon, make some lemonade, lemon squares, lemon cookies, etc. If I have too much of anything, I will quickly get online and find out how I can use them up before they go bad. Nothing worse than throwing away money! Last Thoughts... If you eat organic regularly, you will see vast improvements in your health. Some of the first things you will notice are weight loss, more energy, cleared up acne, more regular digestion, fewer headaches, help with brain fog, and a drastic decrease in anxiety and depression. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I've noticed that many people do not truly understand why it's so beneficial to eat organic. Sure, there are fewer pesticides, but that's not the true reason people go this route. People eat organic because they do not want to eat genetically modified foods. If it is not organic or does not say NON-GMO, then it is genetically modified. Research the harmful effects of genetically modified foods over time. If it is not from the earth, your body will not be able to properly digest it. Simple as that.
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