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| photo credit: Farmers' market haul, 2008-11-29 via photopin (license) |
One of the first comments a friend made after beginning the
diet her doctor recommended (eat predominantly lean proteins, fruits and
vegetables to lose weight) was that she was spending too much money on
groceries. She complained of wasting food.
Her husband and son were refusing to eat vegetables with every meal, she was
growing tired of salads and many of the expensive fruits she was purchasing
were spoiling before she had a chance to eat them. I couldn’t help but think of her as I began my live healthy on a budget challenge, was my healthier diet going to cost more? I hadn’t tracked my monthly grocery spending in the past, but estimate I spent an average of $600 a month on groceries for my husband and me. Note: we rarely eat out and always pack a lunch for work. Could I spend less than that and still eat healthy?
To determine the average monthly food expenditures for a couple I consulted the Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels, U.S. Average for December 2014. The monthly low-cost plan for a family of 2 aged 51 – 70 was $478.50. I used this information to set a monthly grocery spending budget of $500 or under.
Unfortunately in January we spent $605. I didn’t keep track of what we bought, but know the $605 included coffee which my husband insists belongs in the grocery budget. Also, in January he determined the back and chest soreness he was experiencing was due to acid reflux. After researching an acid reflux friendly diet he purchased pre-packaged cut-up vegetables at full price and other items that wouldn’t aggravate his already enflamed esophagus. In addition, some of the items purchased earlier in the month (coffee, tomato-based products and citrus) he was now unable to eat.
Our February grocery spending has been more in line with our budget - to date we have spent $194. I now attempt to buy only fresh fruits and vegetables that are inexpensive or on sale. Asparagus was the only fresh food on sale this week that interested us. In addition, I purchased dried peas, apples, yellow squash and carrots – none of which were on sale.
Our menu for the week is as follows:
Today: Asparagus Frittata from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet
Monday: Split Pea and Wild Rice Soup from Leslie L. Cooper’
s Low-Fat Living Cookbook: 250 Easy, Great-Tasting Recipes
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Apple-Sautéed Turkey Tenderloin also from Maria A. Bella’s book The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet and a vegetable stir-fry.
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Coconut Panko Shrimp from Patricia Raymond’s Acid Reflux Diet and Cookbook For Dummies
with stir-fried vegetables. For the rest of the month I am going to explore using mushrooms as a replacement for meat in a recipe or two and eating more ancient grains such as barley, quinoa and falafel. My niece who is a vegetarian and a poor college student tells me barley is a good source of protein and is easy to digest. Also, I hope including grains in my salads will help make them more interesting.
How much do you spend on groceries each month? Do you have any tips to eat healthy and not break the budget?
Oh my gosh. When I was working full time and had the money, I spent roughly a thousand dollars a month on food and that fed seven people. I bought a variety of healthy food and junk food. We did eat out once a week - usually on Fridays. I read somewhere that the average person spends 50 dollars per person per week which makes sense to me. At 250 a week we were running out of food about 2 days before the next grocery day.
ReplyDeleteDo you include cleaning products for the home and laundry and personal hygiene items in your grocery bill?
No cleaning products or personal hygiene products are included; I subtract them out each week. I read recently you should buy your cleaning products at Costco or Sam's club. I'm going to look into making my own too.
DeleteHmm...$50 a week per person. I will strive for that. I've also been making homemade muffins instead of buying sweets and prepackaged goodies. FYI - none of this has helped with my weight loss, yet.
I budget about $300 per month or food just for me. However, I need to budget a bit more because sometimes my mom chooses to eat what I cook for me and sometimes not. More often she's eating my food lately. As I am trying to lose weight I have been cooking at home way more almost every dinner. Sometimes I eat leftovers for lunch but sometimes I will order out. I tend to by the same fruit and veggies all the time on sale or not. I have however, cut out a lot of processed foods.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. If your mother is eating with you I think $300 is a very reasonable #. I do buy bananas every week regardless if they are on sale. That is about it though unless I am buying a specific vegetable for a recipe. Cutting out processed foods is a good start. We've gotten a lot better about that. I also take salads every day to work. I try to add a protein so I don't end up snacking later in the day.
DeleteI spend $800 per month for a family of 4, and that doesn't include eating out. I make muffins every Monday morning for after school snacks and breakfast - and usually make some sort of treat as well. It's hard!
ReplyDeleteI believe you that it's hard. I made muffins twice in February. I did make an extra batch and froze some for later. Not sure if I'm fond of eating them though. My weight was up last week. I also had homemade mac & cheese which probably didn't help either. I saw a recipe for an apple oatmeal cookie made with honey. I may try those next.
DeleteI spend about $450 a month and share a home with my 83 year old mom. She probably spends $100 (I try to take care of most of the expenses). I think this is way too much money. Sorry to say we waste a lot, but will try to spend less and waste less. The cost of a healthy diet shouldn't be a financial burden. Your menu plan is inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great comment. Do you eat leftovers? Many of the people I know that complain about food waste don’t eat leftovers. My husband and I made more of an effort to waste less after I read Jonathan Bloom's book American Wasteland a couple of years ago. Two things help the most - plan your meals and don't buy food just because it looks good. Almost every time we've brought home a fresh vegetable that wasn't part of our menu it ended up in the garbage. We also try to eat a salad every day if we buy salad fixings. Also, when buying fresh produce in a bag I watch expiration dates.
DeleteMy husband, daughter and I eat mostly vegan food at home with a lot of fresh produce and beans. We spend less than $300 a month for the three of us.
ReplyDeleteI've checked out your recipes. Who says healthy can't be tasty! Your recipes look delicious.
DeleteDon't have a clue, as we buy a lot of stuff in bulk at Costco and then eat it over a long period of time. Am currently on the South Beach Diet which is protein, fruits and veggies - low on sugar, white flour and white rice and pastas. I find that if I try to buy fresh veggies only once a week, we waste a lot of them, so am now buying those twice a week and doing a better job of coming out even. South Beach has not been so difficult to stick to (altho I do better if I eat the same breakfast and lunch every day, so am not eating the wide variety of things laid out in the suggested meal plan). I'll try to add it up at the end of the month and let you know.
ReplyDeleteI agree making more frequent trips helps. Also I think having just one of us shop would be better. Or shopping together. We sometimes both come home with the same things and we do discuss our lists ahead of time.
DeleteWe came in just under 500 for February. Looking forward to your numbers. Also, I've never shopped at Costco. Do you need to buy in bulk? Are the prices cheaper?
Your menu for the week sounds delicious :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ashley.
DeleteWe spend a lot of groceries because the hubby likes expensive food items like Snow crab legs, prosciutto and etc. We do buy frozen veggies but I really need to start sticking to a list and clip coupons. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteDH likes expensive food items too. He is starting to listen to me though. And is on board with my challenge.
DeleteWe are a family of five and spend anywhere between $350 and $450 on groceries a month. When buying organic I go for the store brand first, chances are it's cheaper. I also buy alot of frozen fruits and vegetables as opposed to fresh. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteSuch great suggestions. $350 - 450 for 5 people, I want to shop with you!
DeleteWe spend anywhere between $800-1,000 each month for a family of 6. Most months are on the higher end. I don't buy processed food, and try to buy organic for the dirty dozen & some other high pesticide items. It's tough to get the budget down, but I would rather spend a little bit more on my grocery bill to keep my family healthy in the long run. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteGood idea. My husband did the shopping this week and he just bought what we needed not caring if the items were on sale. Shopping on a budget can be a lot of work - and you run out of everyday items if you don't stock up.
DeleteWe spend absolutely too much on food each month at the grocery store and need to do better. I also have to better teach my kids to get used to eating left overs. They act like they can't eat anything more than once. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteI have to say we've always been good at eating leftovers - we really don't have a choice since both of us tend to be too tired to cook during the week. Most of our cooking is on the weekends. We then eat the leftovers Mon., Tues and sometimes Weds. Then Thurs. is a quick meal. I think we have it in our heads leftovers aren't good, but certain things like soup actually taste better the second day.
DeleteI don't really have any tips, but there was a speaker I recently heard that encouraged us to spend that extra money on our food. She was a doctor, and get point was that our health is the #1 thing we should be investing in, even before retirement accounts. Because we're not going to be able to enjoy retirement if we're dying.
ReplyDeleteI believe that too. Also, taking care of ourselves now may keep medical costs lower in the future.
DeleteWe spend $500 a month for a family of 4 - and you know how I eat! I cook all the meals, buy only organic, do not buy processed food, and buy my meat from a local grass-fed farm.
ReplyDeleteSome of my tricks: I meal plan every Friday night and make use of everything in my pantry and freezer (read = during the winter months, we completely deplete our food stock. This is good - it means we are not preserving/buying in excess!). I also buy in-season...meaning, I don't grab a carton of strawberries in the dead of Chicagoland's winter. I will head to the frozen organic section if I really need strawberries that bad.
I'm sure you can sense this coming.....because it's me.....and I find it strange nobody else mentioned it.....but I just can't help but share my best cheap-food trick....
Grow your own! You CAN do it! I kill plants like it's my job and I was still able to grow some good food last year! It is cheaper, healthier, and better for our food system. Obviously can't start right at this moment - but in a few months it will be prime planting season! You can do it Savvy!
Yes I can. I've done it before and with DH semi-retired one of his goals is to expand and clean up our garden.
DeleteI hope to have a garden this year. Now that I am working Freelance form home I think I can manage it. I know we too (my hubby and I) spend way too much on groceries for the two of us.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the garden & working freelance.
DeleteI live in CA and my husband and I spend about $250 each month on groceries. I feel like this is a lot, but we moved from Utah where food is so cheap.
ReplyDeleteWhen I price out pre frozen vegetables vs. fresh, I find that, getting store brand, I usually save money. Frozen is only marginally less healthy from very fresh veggies, and more healthy than vegetables that are older. At my grocery stores, I feel good about buying pre frozen, but the prices may be different in your area.
$250 a month on groceries in CA. That is wonderful. I took your tip and brought frozen veggies this week. I bought 4 bags of the store brand at $1 a piece and I won't have to worry about spoilage. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteI usually spend $100-$150 per week for our family of 5 (which does include cleaning products and personal hygiene). I've really been trying to cut out processed food this year which with coupons is so cheap. The tradeoff for real (often organic) food for cheap convenience food is not cheap but worthwhile. My family doesn't like to eat out anymore, they'd prefer my cooking. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup and hope you join us again this weekend! Pinning to our linkup board.
ReplyDeleteI think you are doing an amazing job eating healthy on a budget. Plus, your family loves your cooking. Great success story.
DeleteMy family of four spends roughly $450-500/ month on groceries. We buy some fresh fruit and veggies. I know I could save more if I couponed.
ReplyDeleteI don't use nearly as many coupons as I used too. I found once I started eating less processed food I no longer needed them.
DeleteMy healthy diet is cheaper. Groceries might be more but I spend a lot less at restaurants, fast food, and the drug store.
ReplyDeleteCabbage salad is my answer for healthy, fast, and cheap in the winter.
I love your cabbage salad suggestion for winter. Plan to try this next year, since I am so ready for spring and spring foods this year.
DeleteWe spend about $800 per month. We have a family of six. We eat healthy and coupon. I can't imagine the amount spent if we didn't live frugal.
ReplyDelete"I can't imagine the amount spent if we didn't live frugal." - I've often said the same thing to my husband.
DeleteI pretty much lived on mushrooms as a broke grad student back in the day. There are so many ways to cook them and they're so good. I love their meaty consistency and they just suck up whatever you cook them in.
ReplyDeleteI want to devote an entire post to mushrooms someday. I need to come up with a list of recipes first though.
DeleteWe spend too much on food that's for sure! It has gotten better, though, since we have been trying to eat more fruits and veggies (less on meats) and have started meal planning so we know what we need to buy each week. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteMeal planning is probably the most important piece of frugal eating. Eating less meat should make a difference too, but don't notice much of a change yet.
DeleteMy husband and I budget $360 per month for groceries for the two of us and were under budget last month. We only by fresh fruits and veggies and don't step foot in the freezer isle. We also shop once or twice per week and are very careful not to waste food.
ReplyDelete