OK- maybe you already know how to eat healthy for cheap. But if you don't, here are my personal secrets. This is how I have fed my nine fine children. For cheap.
Skirt the edges
Ever notice the layout of a grocery store? All the staples are on the outer edges. Everything costly (processed) is in the center. Even the paper products are in the center of the store. As I follow the layout of my Kroger, first I hit the fresh stuff- fruit and veggies. Then it's on to the bread, passing the meat counter as I go. Dairy and eggs come next, followed by the ice cream. (Did I say ice cream??? Freudian slip, there.) Anyway, eating fresh costs less than the processed food. Really, it does.
We use very little paper products now, and when things were really tight financially, I didn't use any paper products. We used cloth napkins, and washed them. I used rags for spills, not paper towels. (We still do, for the most part.) Paper plates are a luxury. We only bought them for camping. Seriously- it works very well to use cloth. Try it sometime.
Big Families shop at Sam's Club
I am amazed at how much money we save by buying our food there. The grocery store would probably cost half again as much as buying at Sam's. I can hear you protesting right now. You're telling me, "But we can't eat it before it goes bad!" Then eat more fresh!! Did you know that half your plate should be fresh food? We are living organisms, and we need live food. Think about it. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Shop at Randazzo's Fruit Market
Randazzo's buys from the Eastern Market in Detroit, and Mr. Randazzo has made a very nice living off buying less-than-perfect produce. We can't always tell the difference, and if we buy the proper amount, it doesn't go bad on us. In season, I can spend about $15-20 for all the fresh produce we need for about 10 days. Considering how much fresh food we eat, that's a reeeeeally good bargain!
Grow a Garden
I love my garden. It gives, and gives, and gives. I rarely work in it, due to my special gardening techniques. (More on that another time.) Due to my special techniques, my lettuce self-sows, and I start eating it in May!! As soon as I can, I sow more seeds, and I have lettuce and spinach until it gets hot! Then in late August, I will again sow lettuce and spinach seeds. I get a lot of organic, home-grown lettuce this way. I'm also trying my hand at indoor gardening- I haven't perfected that yet. Broccoli yields and yields, too. Some herbs are perennial and they are so generous! I have chives, sage, chamomile, oregano, and leeks in that category. I also plant cukes, zucchini, green beans, peppers and tomatoes. (Tomatoes self-sow, too, if you do it right.) And for the first time ever, I have planted potatoes. Can't wait to see how they do!
Food is Medicine
According to Thomas Edison, he thought that the doctors of the future would truly consider food as medicine. We're still waiting on that, but practically speaking, food really is medicine. As they say, garbage in, garbage out; if you eat rotten foods, your body will be rotten. I like to think of it this way: I can't afford NOT to eat well! Compare the price of a watermelon to the price of a doctor's visit. Eating healthy keeps my family healthy. What price can you put on that?
Practically yours,
PJR
great post!
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