How to Afford Healthy Food on a Budget

February 07, 2018 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

Sometimes it seems like the only way to be able to afford healthy, organic food is to be rolling in the dough. But it's not. Sure, it would make it easier, but there are ways to afford feeding your family healthy food on a budget. I am going to share 4 of my most used tips on saving money on my food bill while buying nutritious food at the same time.

Buy in Season
Organic or Non-GMO food is expensive. There is no getting around that. But there are many ways to make it less expensive. The biggest way is to buy food when it is in season. I would suggest this even if it wasn't less expensive because food in season tastes better and is more nutritious than out of season food that has been sitting preserved in a warehouse for months or is being shipped halfway around the world.

I'm sure you know what I mean when I say that a fresh tomato bought in the summer has a completely different and richer flavor than one bought in the winter. Those ones are almost flavorless. Food that need to be preserved and sold at later times, either to keep markets stable or to always have available need to be picked earlier so they won't go bad. Food picked at the peek of ripeness have all the goodness of flavor and nutrients that are missing in out of season food.

Use Everything You Buy
Did you know that a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that Americans throw away almost $165 BILLION worth of food every year? That translates to about $2,200 for the average family of four. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money I'd rather spend on something else. There are so many ways to use everything you buy. Let's take mushrooms for example. When I use mushrooms in a recipe I will always either use the stems in what I am making or save them to mince up and put in our scrambled eggs for breakfast or in a meat dish the next day.

Fresh herbs are a big money waster. Usually you have to buy an already over-priced package of herbs for one recipe that won't even need the full amount. So you are left wondering what to do with the rest. Fresh herbs freeze wonderfully. I wrote an how-to post here with 3 different ways to do it.  Cilantro is an herb that we seem to use a lot in our house. Maybe because we are out west and enjoy a lot of Mexican food. There is a popular fresh-mex restaurant chain near us that makes the best Tomatillo Ranch Dressing. Ever. We like to make a homemade one from a copycat recipe that calls for 1/2 bunch of cilantro. But whenever I make the ranch, usually I am making their Cilantro Rice too. It calls for 1/2 a bunch of cilantro as well. So what do I do? I cut off the stems and use those to flavor the ranch. Since it all gets ground up you won't even notice, then I can use the pretty leaves in the rice. And, did you know that the most flavorful part of cilantro is the stems? Score. Plus I'll have some extra to use as garnish and the rest to throw in our eggs the next day. Sensing a pattern? I will usually use the little pieces of left-over, cut-up veggies in either our eggs or on a salad the next day. When I am spending money on organic food, I want to make sure none of it is being wasted.

Learn to Like Leftovers 
Ok, so I didn't know there were actually people out there who won't eat left-overs. ??? 

Apparently it's true. I don't understand it. I love leftovers. First, most things taste better when they have been left to sit and marinate over night. Second, it gives the cook (me) more time to do something else instead of preparing a meal every night. It is especially nice to have something already made when you know you are going to have a busy day/night and it's just one less thing to think about. Lastly, this is where you save a lot of money buy not throwing dollars down the sink. I just hate thinking about splurging on something only for it to be thrown in the trash. If you don't have enough for another full meal, keep reading below.

One last thought on this topic. I know that eating the same soup for lunch and dinner days on end is not fun. And food should be enjoyable I think. So if you always make enough for an army but your family doesn't make a dent in the amount you made, keep some to eat for a day or two, then portion out and freeze the rest for another time. (Most of the time they won't even realize it's leftovers that way.

Repurpose Your Leftovers
My husband always teases me because I save even the smallest amount of things. But I know it is worth it.  Especially because I have 2 small babies right now and they don't eat big portions. It's so nice to just take a little something that is already made, and that I know is good for them out of the fridge without having to make something special just for them to have a snack. Saves me a lot of time. Which I need with babies 15 months apart.

This also translates to old family members too. Say you splurged and got a grass-fed roast or some pastured chicken. Most likely you aren't going to have enough for another full meal of that so why not shred it up and use it in burritos with some sauted onions and peppers to bulk it up? Or cut up some bigger chunks for soup. Or stick it on a salad. Or sandwich. The options are endless. One of my kid's favorite 'meals' is a clean out the fridge night where they can eat anything they want out of the fridge that is already made.

I have a lot to say on this subject but the post was getting long. For more ideas how to afford to eat healthy food on a budget, check out Part 2 and Part 3. It will deal more with actually how to buy organic food for less.

Leave a comment below if you would like to see any specific recipes that I mentioned above or if you have any tricks you use to make your food budget stretch.