It is hard as a college student for those who can’t afford healthy meals. Especially since organic foods range from $3.99 to $11.99. Many organic foods like butter, waffles, milk, eggs, and many others like Avocados can be 5x more expensive than non- organic.
I will give you advice so you can have a cheaper grocery receipt and a healthy supply of food.
Eating healthy and saving money often tend to be on people’s New Year’s resolution lists, but when you’re trying to do both, it’s best to go into the grocery store with a game plan.
To keep grocery budgets in check, the smartest strategy is to buy simple ingredients for cooking from scratch, avoid pre-made snack foods, dips, dressings, and sauces.
Plus the idea of making everything from scratch is fun and it is something you can do with family or friends.
People typically overspend at grocery stores since you’re looking for convenience, but end up overpaying for items you can cook for cheaper prices.
You can buy lemons, limes, onions, garlic, whole flaxseed, fresh ginger, and even tahini.
Whole flaxseed can be grounded at home and is a cheap way to get omega 3.
Tahini, on the other hand, can be used for a variety of things: smoothies, sauces, and dressings.
You should spend no more than $80.00 for groceries a month. Dried beans, one to two kinds tofu canned, fish, eggs, hummus, ground chicken, chicken thigh, plain yogurt, milk or non-dairy milk.
Freeze whatever you won’t use in the next few days into recipe-sized meals. Some simple fruits to buy are apples or pears, bananas, oranges.
Some leafy greens: kale, spinach, collards, chard. There are healthy two root veggies: carrots, parsnips, celeriac, rutabaga, turnips plus either red potatoes or sweet potatoes, Frozen berries, and canned tomatoes.
When buying fruits, aim for two servings a day. When buying leafy greens, buy greens on special and don’t buy anything baby or pre-washed these tend to be pricier.
I recommend buying bulk oats, Brown rice, Whole wheat spaghetti, Whole grain bread, Whole wheat flour. Grains typically last more than a week for a single-person household. Focus on meal planning if you don’t plan on cooking pasta once a week, you don’t need to add it to your weekly grocery list.
When it comes to saving money at the grocery store, planning is essential. Use one day each week to plan your meals for the upcoming week. Then, make a grocery list of what you need. Also, make sure to scan your fridge and cabinets to see what you already have. There are usually a lot of foods hidden in the back that can be used. Only plan to purchase what you know you’re going to use so that you don’t end up throwing away a lot of what you buy.
Once you’ve planned your meals and made your grocery list, stick to it. It’s very easy to get sidetracked at the grocery store, which can lead to unintended, expensive purchases. As a general rule, try to shop the perimeter of the store first.
This will make you more likely to fill your cart with whole foods.
Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating out. Make it a habit to cook at home, rather than eating out at the last minute. By cooking yourself, you also gain the benefit of knowing exactly what is in your food. Cooking large meals can save you both time and money. Leftovers can be used for lunches, or in other recipes or frozen in single-portion sizes to be enjoyed later on.
Leftovers usually make very good stews, stir-fries, salads, and burritos. These types of food are especially great for people on a budget. If you go to the grocery store hungry, you are more likely to stray from your grocery list and buy something on impulse.
When you’re hungry, you often crave foods that aren’t good for you or your budget. Most stores offer generic brands for nearly any product. All food manufacturers have to follow standards to provide safe food.
The generic brands may be the same quality as other national brands, just less expensive. Cut out some of the junk food from your diet. You would be surprised to see how much you may be paying for soda, crackers, cookies, prepackaged meals and processed foods.
Despite the fact that they offer very little nutrition and are packed with unhealthy ingredients, they are also very expensive. By skipping the processed and unhealthy foods, you can spend more of your budget on higher quality, healthy foods.
If you have favorite products or staples that you use frequently, you should stock up on them when they’re on sale.
If you’re sure that it’s something you’ll definitely use, you may as well stock up and save a little money. Just make sure that it will last for a while and won’t expire in the meantime. It will not save you any money to buy something you’ll end up throwing out later on. Local produce that is in season is generally cheaper. It is also usually at its peak in both nutrients and flavor.
Produce that is not in season has often been transported sometimes halfway around the world to get to your store, which is not good for either the environment or your budget. Coupons are a great way to save some money. Just be sure to use them wisely. Most coupons are for unhealthy, processed foods. Sort out the good quality deals from the junk, and stock up on cleaning products, healthy foods and other staples that you’ll definitely use.
By cutting the cost of products needed around the house, you can spend more of your budget on healthy foods. Make sure also not to shop at expensive grocery stores, I recommend Aldi, Walmart, Save a lot, Pete’s Market, Trader Joe’s, and Food for Less.
Don’t feel pressured to buy all your groceries in one place, I recommend checking the paper and comparing it to others to see if somethings are cheaper.
Priscilla Vargas
Features Reporter