Groceries are not cheap in the United States, especially in the big cities.
From many articles with great tips on groceries, they don’t account for the people trying to eat healthy. You can eat low quality meats, processed foods and shop at discount stores where produce is not fresh. It is not worth sacrificing your health just for you to save a few bucks.
You may be living in food deserts where quality food is not available or convenient to get. But do all that you can to improve the quality of food you are eating. The cost of treatment you are risking when you eat crappy food is far more than $3-5 you can spend on real and fresh foods.
It is not wise to sacrifice your health to save money on groceries. Here are the tips and tricks to help you cut the grocery costs without filling your kitchen with hormone stuffed chicken or canned corn.
- Concentrate on the staples
This will depend on your diet preference. You can have foods that will make up the bulk of your diet. Your staples can consist of:
- Vegetables: Peppers, broccoli, beans
- Fruits: Oranges, berries, bananas
- Lean meats: Fish, chicken, turkey, and cuts of beef
- Grains: Pasta, rice, quinoa
These foods can be purchased at a fairly good price. Any food staples that are pre-packaged can be purchased in bulk from online shopping clubs, which also saves money.
- Do not buy more than you require
Food wastage has been a big problem in America. Every year, about 40% of food goes to waste. People are so much used to have food readily available until they take it for granted.
The easiest way to cut costs on groceries and minimize waste is to have a habit of buying only what you need. People have a tendency of getting tempted to buy new foods in the grocery stores and then after a few weeks it goes bad and throws it away.
Have a weekly grocery list always and buy things you plan to eat within the week. This will keep your fridge from being stuffed with foods that will be thrown away at the end of the week.
- Buy from the farmers market
If you are near a farmers market, take advantage. Their savings are awesome. The main thing that you will save on is the cost of produce.
Try to go when the farmers market is about to close. The sellers will be preparing to leave and want to sell their remaining inventory. So they can slash the prices since they don’t want to bring back a produce that can go to waste.
- Invest in seasonings
The most common reason as to why we resort to processed food is the taste.
Regular food will taste bland after some years of eating frozen pizzas and hamburger helper. A big part of that is that taste buds should adjust to how real food tastes like.
The best way to avoid buying prepackaged foods is to invest in the good seasonings. This will allow you to turn veggies, chicken breasts, and the naked foods into delicious foods without spending money.
For example, Ms. Dash is an affordable seasoning brand available at most grocery stores.
- Do not be tricked by buzzwords
Just because a certain food is labeled as organic does not mean it is worth a higher price. In some instances, it does not mean anything. A food company can say that their food is organic even without being certified by the USDA.
Some companies use buzzwords as a sales tactic. Unless it is certified, there is no way you can know what the company’s definition of ‘organic’ is. Therefore, it is not worth paying more for the same.
- Avoid buying discount meats
Here you consider your health and not just money that you will save. Most grocery stores give discounts on chicken, beef, or turkey just to get rid of it before the date of the expiry.
Conclusion
Saving money is a nice thing, but should not be done at the expense of your health. It is possible for you to save money on groceries without resorting to buying low quality and processed food. Me
It is time now you start saving and be healthy.
References
- Gunders D. Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. Natural Resources Defense Council website http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf.
- ISTF, 2016. Organic Food. Institute of Food Science &Technology. http://www.ifst.org/knowledge-centre/information-statements/organic-food.
- Wood, Z., Butler, S., 2015. Tesco Cuts Range by 30% to Simplify Shopping. The
Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/30/tesco-cuts-range-products.
