Sunday, June 16, 2013

Eating Healthy is Expensive! Here's How We Cope.

One of the things I hear the most when discussing eating healthier is that it is expensive. That statement is completely TRUE! While I hate to admit it, buying fresh, good quality food isn't cheap. Our family is determined NOT to let that keep us from getting healthy!

A Little History of Our Food Transformation
My husband, Eddie, started our healthy eating habits. When he first started losing weight, he was doing fresh fruit and veggie smoothies. He then went back to eating solids but stayed with vegan items. Recently, he decide to go more towards a raw foods, no processed food diet while staying vegan.

I have to say, I've started slowly cutting out processed foods and meats and I am losing weight so much faster than just exercising and eating "bad" foods! I'm not 100%, but I try to make better decisions and purchase less and less processed foods.

Some days, depending on his exercise regimen, Eddie will intake 3,000 to 5,000 calories. When you are eating raw, this means he consumes a ton of food! In order to allow us to move towards eating healthier, I started couponing about 6 months ago.

Couponing
Now, I'm NOT a crazy couponing lady who gets $1,000 of groceries for $5, but I am able to get items such as body wash, toothpaste, shampoo, razors, feminine products, and makeup for about 70% of original cost. This is a huge savings! By doing that, it frees up our budget to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.

For example, today I spent a total of $112.38 and here are all the items I purchased from Kroger and Target (averages about $1.42 per item):
  • 12 boxes (10 ct each) Capri Suns
  • 12 regular sized tubes Crest toothpaste
  • 4 Oral B toothbrushes
  • 3 boxes of tampons (40 ct each)
  • 2 pks of Stayfree maxipads
  • 5 pks of Carefree pantiliners
  • 4 jars of Barilla pasta sauce
  • 4 bags of Pirates Booty snack
  • 2 bunches of fresh organic Kale
  • 1 bunch of fresh organic Mustard Greens
  • 2 eggplants
  • 4 yellow squash
  • 4 zucchini
  • 15 pkgs (4 ct each) Hunts pudding
  • 1 Venus razor
  • 1 Almay eyeshadow kit
  • 1 Almay mascara
  • 1 KitKat Mini bag
  • 1 Rolo Mini bag

Other Options
We also go to Aldi, which is a budget-friendly grocery chain, to strictly purchase fruits and veggies. If you've never been to Aldi, you will need $0.25 to get a buggy and bring your own bags. Yes...you get your $0.25 back if you return your buggy to the store. Those are two ways the store keeps costs down. Don't get carried away at Aldi buying junk though! Some of their prices are NOT good when compared to going to other stores and using coupons. Aldi doesn't take coupons!

Splurges
One thing we like to do is  visit local farmer's markets to find super fresh items! Sometimes it might be more expensive than Aldi or our local grocery store, but you are supporting your local economy and helping a local family.

If you need help getting started couponing or if you have suggestions on other ways to save money, email me!

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