Another installment on shopping for a simple raw food diet is here on the CHEAP is here! Here's a nice pic of my spoils :)
This is an absolute WIN as far as shopping at major grocery stores. See those green stickers? Produce MARKDOWNS! The largest size of Earthbound Farms organic greens retails between $5.00 - $6.00 in my area, and this one has been marked down to $2.99. It has to be eaten within the week, but that's the beauty of shopping this way for the raw food lifestyle: we need ripe raw produce NOW, and the grocery stores mark down ripe, raw produce that need to be eaten NOW. It's a win-win.
Next to the greens is a small container of sweet tomatoes marked down to $1.49 and a set of four organic yellow sweet bell peppers (a FRUIT!) for $1.99. And behind those is my favorite bargain- five bags of ripe, ready to eat bananas for only 99 cents a bag. At prices like these, eating a whole foods diet is actually cheaper than buying processed food. Each of those bags has about 10-12 bananas apiece, and many times they are all organic.
All in all, I paid about $11.50 for this pile of produce. Add on my $12.00 twenty five pound bag of oranges I buy that lasts me a week, we're looking at almost $24.00. I'll probably add about ten more dollars over the week in 99 cent bags of spinach, celery, and eating off of my backup dates I buy in bulk from my local California date farm, and I'm looking at roughly $35.00 a week. With a dietary foundation like this, I always have some money left over to splurge on a couple of mangoes or a bag of grapes, whatever happens to be on sale in my area. I also like to grab apples now that they've gone down in price.
The point is, I've successfully found a way to drive down the cost of fresh raw foods so much that it would ridiculous NOT to eat this way. I'm eating so many whole foods nutrients that I can cut way back on the amount of supplements I take, which saves me even more money!
In the next raw food shopping post, I'm going to delight your eyes with yet another picture of fruit, this time, the gorgeous Persimmon, and also share with you a way to go grocery shopping without setting foot in a store or even paying a dime!
Giveaway Update!
Don't forget to subscribe here on Google connect on the right hand side of the page, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, because I'm gearing up for another natural health giveaway! I've got three choices, and I want to know what YOU want to win! In you comments, let me know if you'd like a chance at winning a current popular health and wellness book, a popular supplement, or a handcrafted natural herbal healing product. The next giveaway is up to you! You can also let me know on Twitter or Facebook!
handcrafted natural herbal healing product
ReplyDeleteearthdancedaph@yahoo.com
My grocery stores dont discount produce..they just toss it. :-( I've called around, too.
ReplyDeleteEven harder to get organic discounted produce.
Do u eat all organic? If not, what do u always buy conventional and organic?
Hey, Shelby. I eat local organic produce when available, and never eat greens that aren't. Fortunately, it's very easy to come by organic local greens, especially in the winter! I can get a bag of local kale for a buck at my farmer's market!
ReplyDeleteHow many different grocery chains are in your area? I am in California and I do drive about 8 miles to a SaveMart that discounts their produce. Many of them don't, and it took me a few years of eating raw before I found all the places in my area that do. At first, I was spending a lot more, and some weeks there are NO markdowns, so I go to Trader Joes, where bananas are 5 for a dollar.
If you're going to buy organic, it should be on peaches, berries, and greens, as well as other thin skinned produce. Anything you can peel, like bananas, mangoes, and avocados are safer. I'd really stress that most local foods at your farmer's markets are usually grown organically. Just ask next time you go! Also, you probably live near a wholesale produce market. I live in a smaller city and we have three!
If you are in your first year of raw, give it time. You will find discounts, make friends, find wholesalers, or internet deals like dates. You can make it happen :)
I'm in the Sacramento area as well, would you mind sharing which stores do discounts on produce? I live in West Sac and don't think I've seen this done at any of my local stores.
ReplyDelete