The biggest hurdle to clean eating that most people experience is typically not the food. Fresh, homemade, organic food is delicious! It isn’t giving up those ‘unclean’ foods either. Though, there may be that one food you just can’t let go of, that isn’t the big issue either. Is it?

Resources mentioned:

1. Thrive Market https://thrivemarket.com
2. Co-op Directory http://www.coopdirectory.org/
3. Local Harvest https://www.localharvest.org/

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Biggi Fraley
The Arthritis Coach

[0:07] The biggest hurdle to clean eating that most people experience is typically not the food.
Fresh, homemade, organic food is delicious after all. It isn’t giving up those unclean foods either. Though, there may be that one food you just can’t let go off, that is in the big issue either.
Is it?

[0:29] Music.

[0:38] Hi, my name is Biggi Fraley. I am The Arthritis Coach.
Welcome to today’s show about clean eating on a budget. Because that’s typically the issue, right?
The bottom line, that line item on your budget when you try switching to an all clean, organic, gmo-free food diet,
hit the check online for the first time and almost faint when the total comes up.

[1:08] There’s a reason they call Whole Foods Market “whole paycheck.”

[1:12] But, maybe it didn’t even make it that far. Maybe you picked up that package of, let’s say, organic oatmeal,
took one look at the price tag on the shelf and walked the other way thinking, “How do people afford to eat that way?”
I can tell you, unless you have a whole lot of discretionary income changing your way of eating and shopping
doesn’t usually happen overnight.
We make small, incremental changes and keep looking for ways to eat clean on our budget,
and find ways to funnel more money over to the food line item in our budget. Yes, it is an investment,
but I can tell you that it is one worth making. And, it will pay you back with interest down the line from the sick days and prescription drug expenses that you won’t incur.

[2:15] Now, to help you get started improving the quality of your food, here might top 7 tips for eating clean on a budget.
Number 1, make it from scratch. Cooking at home saves money over eating out any day.
You can even take it one step further and start making food from scratch, which is even cheaper than buying those fancy packaged sides and mixes. You will save money, and better yet,
you will know exactly what’s in the food you’re eating. Simply try mastering one new dish a week.

[2:59] Number 2, plan your meals and shop with a list.
It is always a good idea to have a plan. You will save money by knowing what you need and making less trips to the store.
Boom, money and time saved. Now, I am naturally a planner, so,
for years I’ve been running into the grocery store with my shopping list, and for my single household, I mean, I swear, every time 15 minutes, in, out, done.
Now ideally I’d love to only have to go once a week, but typically ends up being two times.
Not too bad, and the second time is probably even faster than 15 minutes because it’s just going to be a few perishable items that I need to restock.
All right. So, on with tip number 3, buy in bulk.
If you can, purchase larger quantities and freeze and store the extra for another week. Stores always offer larger packs that cost less per unit.
But, be wary! Sometimes the big package doesn’t cost less. So, be sure to check the unit price and be a smart shopper.

[4:22] Tip number 4, shop local and in season.
Foods that are in season are generally cheaper than the foods that have to be shipped from halfway around the globe.
Also, it really pays to know your local farmer and buy directly from the source. So, check out your local farmers market, if you haven’t already.

[4:48] Tip number 5, use discounts or coupons if you can find them.
Sometimes you can find a deal or get a coupon on some healthy snacks and some of those great organic convenience foods.
You can also purchase healthy kitchen staples at
https://thrivemarket.com, which often has discount offers or even bonus free items going on. So,
that’s a place worth checking out. And, tip number 6,
join a group. Did you know that there are actually plenty of local groups that share in the savings by pooling the buying power?
Simply check out your local co-op or CSA, which is a Community Supported Agriculture Or, you can even start one in your area. Now, to find existing CSAs,
you can do your research on the following two websites, number one http://Coopdirectory.org,
or number two, my personal favorite, https://localharvest.org.
And, tip number 7, and this one is actually hard for me to to even say out loud, but, go meatless.

[6:11] Or, if you haven’t cut out meat of your diet yet, you can start by eliminating it at least from a few meals a week.
Because, beans after all are cheaper than beef, right? So, why is this recommendation difficult for me to make? I’ve always said that eating meat is in my blood.
But, while I do not want to forego meat or even egg products, etc., when
checking out really how much of it I eat, it was actually very minimal. I mean, out of 5 meals I eat per day, one
may contain a meat or fish,
or such thing. So, I don’t think that’s overdoing it. And, if you’re currently eating more than that or maybe even too large a portion of meat,
you know, there’s definitely a way to cut that down a little, and if you have previously tried to make the switch to just organic, grass-fed, grass-finished beef, for example,
looking at the prices, I think even the the natural response is, well,

[7:24] I have to eat less of that. You know, I really want it. It is good for me, but at this price,
I got to do smaller amounts. So, that kind of comes natural, and I said, I mean, beans and other
high protein vegetables are certainly a good alternative.
So, that completes my top 7 tips for eating clean on a budget. I hope I have given you some great ideas and some of which you can start implementing right away.
If you enjoyed the show,
please, do share it on your favorite social media outlets, and please make sure to tune in next week. And, one more time I’ll remind you that I have
put the Facebook live streams of the show on hold for now but do look forward to a continued regular release of a new podcast episode every Wednesday morning after 4 a.m. Pacific,
on your favorite podcast channel.
So, thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you have a fabulous week, and I am looking forward to continuing the conversation with you next week.
Bye bye.[/spp-transcript]