One of the most important reasons why people decide to shy away from healthy eating naturally is that it costs a lot. Which is fair enough, if you ask me. And it’s true that eating healthy can get quite expensive, especially if you also have other mouths to feed.
Many people always ask how and why we eat the way we do. Today, we decided to share what we managed to find on the internet, because in all fairness, we do wish to eat better and healthier, and we also want to be able to afford it. Are you in the same boat?
Buying fresh produce on a budget
As soon as you decide to take your health into your own hands, you could end up finding yourself somewhere close to the produce department, not sure what you’re supposed to buy and definitely terrified of the cost of everything.
Eating healthy could require a huge amount of produce, especially since fruits and vegetables are the cornerstones of a healthy diet. They are quite rich in vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, carbohydrates, and everything you could possibly need to nourish your beautiful body.
There are all kinds of different budget-friendly places to get good fruits and vegetables. Probably the most common places are your average supermarket, farmers market, co-ops, and all the nice things from your garden!
If you’re someone who constantly has to deal with a hectic schedule, and gardening isn’t exactly something you’re actually ready to commit to, fret not! You can still find a bunch of reasonably priced produce that you and your family can enjoy together. Here’s what we learned about shopping smart but healthy.
Buy seasonal
Probably the best way to save money when you buy produce is to shop with the seasons. Seasonal food is way cheaper and doesn’t require anywhere as much effort to produce. This allows farmers to use natural pesticide-free practices or even grow them organically, especially since Mother Nature is creating the proper environment for them to grow.
Most non-seasonal produce generally grows thousands of miles away. On top of that, it’s more than likely picked prematurely with shipping time taking at times weeks to get to your local market. Since the nutrients present in fruits or vegetables largely deplete after a couple of days of picking, keeping optimal nutrition is increased when shopping seasonally.
Looking for what’s in season in your local area? You can check out Sustainable Table and get a complete list of what you need to buy. Buying seasonal produce has been a wonderful penny saver and also allows you to take advantage of the changing abundance of produce offered season after season.
Shop Local
Amongst my favorite places to shop are definitely the local farmer’s markets. This is a wonderful way to source organic, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables without actually paying the higher prices of health food markets.
Building relationships with your local farmers can turn out to be a golden decision, especially when it comes to shopping on a budget. In most cases, I managed to get free or even low-cost produce simply because farmers needed to clear out their inventory.
And since the farmers sell directly to the consumer, they can easily offer lower prices and fresher produce. If you’re looking for a farmer’s market in your area, you can check Local Harvest. As I mentioned before, when you buy produce from supermarkets, so much of it is picked weeks before you buy it. This automatically results in produce that’s not 100% ripped, or it doesn’t have the nutritional density due to aging on the truck or shelf.
The wide majority of farmers sell freshly picked produce, and some of them are even picked the same day. I didn’t even realize what a huge difference this could be until I tried it myself. For instance, when you buy kale from the supermarket versus local farmers, you can always taste and smell the difference.
It’s actually obvious. The kale from the farmer’s market is more flavor-packed than that of the supermarket, and even when you cut it, the smell of the kale from the farmer’s market is definitely stronger. Besides, it lasts much longer in the refrigerator, which is definitely a win.
Conventional versus organic
In all fairness, it’s worth prioritizing organic produce whenever you can, especially if you feed an entire household. Why? Well, it’s the number one secret to limiting your exposure to pesticides, fungicides, and any other environmental contaminants that could potentially affect your health.
As much as I’d love to buy everything organic, I still need to stay within the budget. For example, I love using the Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen Guide when it comes to buying produce and prioritizing organic food.
Suppose organic produce isn’t an option for you, whether because of your budget or availability (which is again, totally understandable), you shouldn’t worry. There are all kinds of precautions you can take, such as peeling your produce or even submerging them in vinegar baths.
This can easily eliminate some of those contaminants. There’s also a growing community of non-certified organic farmers, who still use the same pesticides but decide not to certify their products due to increased costs.
Buy bulk
Increasingly more organic produce is out there to be found in supermarkets and wholesale bulk club stores such as Costco & Sam’s Club. Just because it’s organic doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be expensive, especially if you buy bulk.
Crafting your own routine pit-stops where you get “your stuff” will definitely help you a lot when it’s shopping time. For example, I have around 4 to 5 locations that I buy my produce from, and they all depend on my available time and convenience.
I highly recommend you check out the main difference between bulk food stores so you can get a wider idea of what they offer. You can also talk to the local produce managers in your area to check what kind of bulk deals they can offer you.
For instance, we usually go to Kroger to get our bulk items and HEB to get others. After building a good relationship with the produce managers and always buying bulk, our prices just got better and better.
Shop wholesale
Another wonderful place where you can buy produce is at a wholesale produce market or distribution center. These places are the exact places where restaurants and other markets shop, which is one of the best signs that the produce is high quality.
For example, my favorite place in Houston is Canino’s & Brothers Produce. I can easily get deals on produce as low as half the price of the supermarket. The wide majority of these markets don’t even require large purchases to buy from them.
However, they do require that you buy a full case. For instance, you can’t go and ask for 1 bunch of kale, as you will more than likely get a case of 12. This is also why it’s great to get your friends and family involved as well. You can simply split a case with them if you don’t feel confident that you’ll eat everything that’s in there. Or, you can freeze it.
If you found this article useful, we also recommend checking: Best 9 Places to Go Shopping in Tampa, FL
