This first posting in our Budgeting for Healthy Eating series comes from a dear friend and overall amazing gal, Astrid. She is happy to join Team Elevated Fitness to share her years of experience with family finances and budgets. Thanks, Astrid!
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Budgeting for fresh, non-processed foods can sometimes be a challenge, especially for the "newly converted". Here are some tips that will keep you within your grocery budget and eating healthfully.
Budget and Plan: For an average family, 15% of your total monthly budget should be going towards food (yes this includes eating out!). Once you have this guideline, make a list that fits your budget. Stick to the list and avoid impulse buys. The most expensive food is ALWAYS the food that gets thrown away!!! Additionally, have flexibility in your list and weekly menus for sale items.
Shop the perimeter: Produce, dairy, meat are primarily located on the outside of the store; processed, convenience foods tend to be located in the inner isles. When eating a healthful, clean diet, most of your grocery budget will come from the perimeter.
Coupons are not always your friends: Coupons are great…when you can cash them in for products you actually use. Many times, coupons entice a customer to buy a product they normally don’t use. Check to see if the coupon makes sense to use.
BOGO and warehouse deals may cost you more: Make sure you are checking unit prices on items. Often the larger quantity is the better deal. However, retailers are getting tricky and upping the price on larger items in the hopes the consumer is not savvy to the price versus quantity difference.
They have an app for that!: There are several excellent apps that make shopping on a budget easier. Several I like are:
Shopping list – a simple to use, straightforward app which allows you to create multiple lists. Remembers frequent purchases. Can sync with several users.
Grocery Genius – This app helps determine which stores have sales on items on your list. Will plan your shopping trip to maximize savings.
ShopWell – Created by dieticians, ShopWell has a barcode scanner that allows you to scan foods to determine if the ingredients are a good fit for your personal diet/nutrition guidelines. This app also makes suggestions based on your scans.
eMEals.com - (click on the eMeals link on the right hand side of the blog) This site has a variety of dinner-based meal plans to fit your family's dietary needs, all for a few dollars a month. Clean Eating, Paleo, and Slow Cooker, are just a few examples. Meal plans even come with corresponding shopping lists. If you download the free eMeals app, you can take your shopping list(s) with you; deleting recipes that you'd rather not shop for.
Good health is always worth the investment: An investment today in healthy, clean food, is much cheaper than a lifetime of healthcare related costs. The question really is: can you afford NOT to eat healthy?
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Her counseling specializes in the unique needs of military members and their families.
Her favorite form of exercise is Spinning and her healthy food of choice is any kind of roasted green veggie.
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