Feeding a Family E4H On a Budget

[Jeff]

This is indeed a great thread. Staying on a budget while maximizing good quality organic whole foods is/can be a difficult task.  If you're really going to make it work, as Amanda noted at the beginning, you really need to take the time the first few months to do your research.  Where are the best and most reliable places to get the best value for the foods you need for your family?

And then you really need to determine what you have to have and what you can do without. For example, do you really need fresh blueberries when frozen ones may do just fine and are less expensive? Do you really need spring onions the moment they hit the grocery store shelves when waiting a couple days till the farmers market may save you a couple dollars?  The great thing in that with seasonal eating, you normally are buying the least expensive offerings in a given produce category (and at the same time being good to your body).

Another key thing that has helped me is staying on top of the sales and being willing to purchase in quantity when they appear. Whole Foods Market for example often has sales where an entire department (bulk, Whole Body, or a specific item) is on sale for a given time period, sometimes a day or two, sometimes just Saturday mornings. All the sales are announced in their e-mails ahead of time. If you haven't signed up for those communications or others where you shop regularly, you may be missing out on saving opportunities. Coupons from manufacturers or stores can really help. So many offer them now through their own sites or their Facebook pages. Many stores let you combine sale offerings with discount coupons.

[francescaf019]

AmandaL
I work at Whole Foods and you should know that the Clover Milk company also makes the 365 store brand, it's the exact same product, so if you wanted to you could save an extra $ there too! 

[cristinac935]

Hi,

It is quite an adventure to keep a family healthy even in the best of circumstances and focusing on high quality, healthy food is an essential step. Having said that, if a strict budget is in place then the adventure can turn into mission impossible at times. I have a family of four (and even though I love them dearly I am not including my three dogs and two cats in this case) and I spend between $250 and $300 a week.

I buy organic fruits and vegetables (fresh and frozen) as well as milk, milk alternatives, bread, juices and eggs. Legumes in general are usually in cans rather than dry because of the convenience factor, but also organic. I am Celiac so that means lots of GF foods as long as they do not fall into the "GF junk" category (cookies, sweets). Gf foods are, as most people know, rather expensive and most of the time unnecessary because you can achieve your GF goals by sticking to real, fresh items. Processed foods (even if they are GF) are not good for you anyway.

I have three meat eaters in the house although red meat is hardly ever on the menu. I mostly fix turkey and chicken for them. If they are clamoring for more, the occasional slice of bacon does the trick. Salmon makes it into the dinner plate at least once a week and so do sardines, anchovies and low mercury, water packed tuna. We are not big on peanut butter but love tahini and almond butter. We also eat lots of walnuts, pistachios, dried fruit and dark chocolate.

The one thing that helps me not overspend is flexibility when it comes to the menu. I buy according to the items that I find on sale. I also stock up when a good staple is on sale and I have an extra freezer with enough capacity for multiples loaves of bread, bags of frozen fruit, organic chicken and home cooked items. I love cooking for my family and friends.

I shop at different stores all the time. Sprouts has cheaper organic produce and Vitamin Cottage more affordable milk and milk substitutes. Of course I like Whole Foods but never, ever fall for the enormous deli money pit. It all looks delicious, but I can cook with my own two little hands.
We don't purchase alcohol (except organic Spanish wine for cooking) and bakery items are off limits except for birthdays and some other special occasions. I do bake at home frequently with decent (and healthier) results.

So there it is...Not a complicated strategy all in all...Respect the food. Respect the planet and do the best you can...It's a process.

[shannonp505]

Thank you so much AmandaL for sharing ways to say money and shop on a budget.  Your post has really helped me to consider meal planning. I know with the meal planning it will help me to become more organized when it comes to cooking.  Usually I'm a spear of the moment type of cook.  Also, I'm now looking into our budget and what we actually spend on groceries in a week.  We shop in bulk and that gets quite expensive if we're not careful.   I love the idea if you spend too much one week, you adjust your spending the next week.  BTW I love your blog and can't wait to try some of your recipes!!