Eating Healthy on a Budget: You can do it!

I’ve always said that if you are a smart shopper, it is completely possible to eat healthy without breaking the bank.  According to the U.S.. Department of Agriculture July 2020 cost of food at home report, there are 4 ranges given to determine weekly and monthly food costs.   Of the four ranges referenced, I used the liberal range for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) to create my budget which allocates for $320 spend in groceries per month.  Using that budget, I was able to think about the budget in terms of daily budget of $12 per person.  Yikes! If you think about the cost of a meal when going out to eat, I was very concerned that I wouldn’t be able to stay under this budget.   I’m always up for a good challenge, so I channeled my inner domestic goddess and set off to our local health food store.  (Our grocery shopping is done locally, at Rollin Oats on N Macdill whenever possible) could say something like this if someone truly wanted to follow it like a recipe

Ok, here we go: my plan is to see if I can stay under the $12 per person a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Just for simplistic sake of not making this blog too long, I am just going to post a days worth of meals for all of us:

Breakfast:
Per person for the three of us (my husband doesn’t eat breakfast): $2.72
Adjusted per person: $ 1.52

What we ate: 
Bob’s red mill organic oatmeal pod.  $2.49 each ( boys share one).. used 2.
Organic strawberries $1.24 ($4.99 .. used 1/4),
Organic blueberries $.74 ($2.99.. used 1/4),   
1 Organic apples $.55 ($4.43 for 8 )
Organic soy-free eggs $.67 for two ($7.99 for 12 eggs)
Water to drink -room temperature  :)
Family total for three of us:  $8.18

• Adjustment: if substituting oatmeal pods by making your own:  1/3 cup organic oatmeal $.37  ($6.99 for 19 servings at 1/3 cup) with 1 tsp of organic flax-meal $.13 ( $12.29 for 48 servings at 2 TBSP )1/2 teaspoon organic chia seeds:  $.18 ($ 10.99 for 30 servings at 1TBP ) which brings this to total to: $.68 per serving...
  
  • which brings total breakfast per person: $ 1.52!!!

Lunch:
Per person $1.89
Adjusted person $1.73

What we ate:  Healthy Chicken Sandwiches 
GF sourdough bread $2.52 ($ .63 each sandwich $4.99 for a loaf.. to make 8 sandwiches)
Organic chicken breasts $2.49 ($9.99 for three breasts in a pack )
Veganaise vegan mayo:$1.52 for 4 servings  ($11.99- 1tbsp in a serving.. 32 servings per container.. $.38 per serving.. we probably don’t use a full tablespoon per sandwich, but we use more than a teaspoon probably)
Organic dill pickles $1.04 ($3.99 for the jar- 15 servings- so $.26 per serving)
Water to drink
Family total for 4:  $7.57

• Adjustment:  if substituting Organic Chicken drumsticks per pack $7.46. Per person total will then be: $1.86.. which brings total lunch per person: $1.73

Dinner:  Alaskan Cod Power Bowls
per person: $7.80

Wild Alaskan Cod: $23.96 ($5.99 each piece- purchased 4)
organic sprouted quinoa $2.71 ($5.43- Servings per pack is 2 )
Organic mango - $1.39 each
Organic avocado $1.79 each
Organic arugula $1.33 ($3.99- used 1/3 )
Water to drink
Family total:  $31.18 assuming you used one mango / one avocado
Per person: $7.80

Results: one day per person: $11.62
I am so proud!
BUT.. my boys eat OFTEN during the day and this amount did not include any snacks.. now what?

Well, in doing some additional research, I found that on average, per a 2018 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey, Americans not only spend $372 in monthly groceries, but also $288 on monthly restaurants and other meals on the road.  This definitely helped my cause and since we are not eating out these days, will give me the extra money to include snacks for the boys.

All in all, this was a very successful exercise and one that proves these very important hypotheses:

1. Not only can you eat healthy on a budget, but you can also eat Organically on a budget
2. Think about substitutions which may include lesser expensive meats or making your own version of a store bought product to help decrease total cost.
3. My husband is thrilled to know I can indeed stick to a budget!