Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I Can't Afford To Eat Healthy!!


I hear this all the time, and it's completely untrue. Yes it would be lovely if you could throw out all that unhealthy food and stock your kitchen with all kinds of natural foods and ingredients to make gourmet real food meals.... then there is the real world. You really can make your budget work if you take the time to do some thinking. Replace that $5 box of sugary cereal with $5 worth of eggs and bacon. Skip the sandwich for your lunch and replace it by baking a whole chicken that will cost around $5 and probably be enough meat for 3-5 lunches. Same thing with dinner. Replace those carbs with more meat, fat and veggies.
I have a family of five (three children ages 7,4,and 1) and we were spending about $200 a week on groceries buying typical American processed foods. We ALL went Primal/Paleo . Take a look at the picture of my grocery cart at the bottom.

How much did this cost? $180, and it lasted over about 2 weeks. It can be done.

One of the tricks to not over spending at the grocery store is to look at what's on sale online or in the paper, clip coupons, plan your meals, and make a list. You can of course save by buying in bulk if you can use it all before it goes bad. Freeze food to keep it longer. Meat, fruits, and veggies are all very easy to freeze. I found avocados on sale for 2/1.00 so I bought 10. If you find you bought more then you are going to be able to eat before they turn bad freeze them. I could make guacamole and freeze it in a container or freezer bag. Another option would be to smoosh with a fork or purée in a blender or food processor and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Pop out the avocado cubes and put them in a freezer bag. Then you can pull out what ever amount you need easily (1 cube=approx. 1oz)
The point is you can afford it. Just substitute what you have been eating that is unhealthy for something healthier.

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