HELLO
Superhero foods
on a budget
HELLO
Superhero foods
on a budget
ENROLL NOW!
don't miss out on THE chance to help your family thrive!
Hello Budget
Say Hello to SuperHero Foods on a Budget in April
It’s never made sense to us, but nutrient-dense whole foods are often more expensive than processed industrial food. Isn’t that backwards? If what goes through many stages of processing is more expensive than what’s grown at our local farm, then WHAT is in that processed food?
Nutrient-dense food is a human right. Food is the ultimate medicine and nature’s language to connect the environment with our cells. The food industry should be at the front line of this message, prioritizing our health. But Big Food prioritizes profit first, and the expense of our wellness.
These are difficult times, and the dollar isn’t stretching as far as it once did. Our grocery bills have doubled over the past few years. As inflation increases (prices go up), shopping on a budget without compromising on quality gets harder and harder.
In the past fifty years, we’ve shifted to paying for convenience. We traded time for processed food, but cooking a healthy meal can be quick AND easy with some savvy shopping and meal prep. Also, have you ever inventoried the amount of food that you waste? Americans waste up to a pound of food per person each day. Up to 40% of the food in the US gets thrown away, and about 40% of that is from food that is wasted in homes.
So this month, we’ll be focusing on many ways that you can make each dollar stretch. We’ll be sharing recipes for healthy meals that are under $5 per person, ways that you can make some of those more expensive foods at home, meal planning, the best places to shop, ways to reduce food waste, and so much more!
We encourage you to join us to find creative solutions to make eating healthy work for YOUR budget. With proper planning, discipline, and love, we believe that you can find ways to make it work, or at least make it work a little bit better. There’s no better investment than our health.
Where do we start? Can we really afford to eat healthy?
YES!
Savvy shopping at the right stores while planning ahead and minimizing waste can make all the difference.
First, we recommend eating at home as much as you can. That means packing your lunch, too. All this month we will be sharing our favorite tips and tricks to save cash and eat for your health, and you can do it without slaving in the kitchen for three hours a night. Cheap AND easy recipes do exist.
Did you know that the average American eats about 5 restaurant (take-out) meals per week? Most Americans spend more money at restaurants than they do on groceries to cook at home. Eating out might be convenient, but it is more expensive. Restaurant food is also not as healthy. Even at the healthier restaurants, you never really know what ingredients they use and it’s likely that they’re using seed oils for cooking.
Learning how to cook and teaching this skill to your kiddos is an instant way to cut your food budget in half and to give your children a gift that will last a lifetime. Let’s rephrase “I have to make dinner each night, ugh” to “I get to nourish my family, feed their bodies and build a healthy thriving family each day!”
Cooking is the ultimate act of love. It is an important skill for you and your family to learn, grow, and master. Numerous studies indicate that people who cook are healthier, happier, more vibrant, and live longer. Also, home cooked meals have been shown to greatly reduce childhood obesity.
Do you meal-plan?
This may sound boring and robotic, but planning your meals ahead of time is so helpful when eating on a budget. It allows you to find deals each week, buy in bulk, and reduce food waste. Plus the family will know what to expect.
Our meal plans are similar each week and our kids love this regularity. For example, we always have Taco Tuesdays but with a little bit of variety each week. Mondays are for one of our favorite meals called Bowl of Goodness, which is a bowl of grass-fed ground beef with lots of other veggies and goodies, but we vary up the style each week.
When we plan accordingly, we are less likely to impulse buy at the grocery store. We can also take advantage of grocery stores like Aldi and Costco along with home delivery grocery companies like Thrive Market. Stick to your list religiously and you won’t get snared by the candy aisle.
Side note: The time-saving and the clearing of brain space are more valuable to us than the actual dollar savings. Time is the most valuable nonrenewable resource.
Design recipes that are budget friendly.
All month long we’ll share recipes that are delicious, nourishing, and easier on the wallet.
We will even share some of our favorite restaurant meals that we cook at home…with better ingredients! And we look forward to learning from you on this too!
Wanna prioritize grass-fed ground beef? We’ve got you covered: The cheapest grass-fed hamburger is a 3-lb pack for $4.99/lb at Whole Foods. Buy in bulk and freeze your meat! Plus, when you buy 80/20 fat, you don’t have to use any oil to cook it!
Can’t afford to buy all organic? Sometimes that’s okay. We’ll share the produce that should always be organic versus fruits and veggies with low pesticides and herbicide content that are OK to buy conventional. Buying in season and locally for certain produce can really save the bank account. For us, we buy blueberries locally during blueberry season. We freeze them and it lasts for months!
Ditch the expensive snacks throughout the day!
Did you know that seed oils are linked to carb and sugar craving? Those snacks throughout the day add up! When you switch over to saturated and monounsaturated fats instead of seed oils (polyunsaturated fats), your body can burn them more efficiently for energy. It may take time for your body to transition, but let this month be your motivation to start!
It's more important than ever to work with local farmers!
We will share how our family exchanged our time and help on the farm for discounted produce.
Many farms offer CSA where you can pay each week for a bundle of fresh produce. Each year we have saved hundreds of dollars by doing this. Plus, we help support local farmers and get the freshest produce that exists!
Love leftovers?
They can be your family’s best friend! We often make this into a game. Go raid your pantry, fridge, and freezer and discover new and different ways to put together a meal or a snack. Don’t be afraid to mix and match! Yes, sometimes it’s not great, but we’ve had some mega hits too. Mostly it’s fun as we experiment with new ideas and recipes. Using leftovers is a great way to reduce meal prep and food waste.
Waste not, want not!
A study published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics found that the average US household wasted 31.9% of its food. The total annual cost of the wasted food was estimated to be $240 billion or $1,866 per household! That’s A LOT of waste!
We already talked about two ways to reduce waste: meal-planning and using leftovers. Some other ideas are saving scraps of veggies and bones for broth, and fermenting (and canning food). We’ll also teach you how to store your produce so it lasts the longest!
Let’s plant a garden! Or at least some herbs.
Herbs and spices are expensive. But they are healthy and delicious. Growing several different herbs on your window seal not only is fragrant, fun to watch, and a great family activity, it also is a wonderful way to save money!
If a whole garden is too intimidating or time-consuming, consider patio pots or a couple feet of soil that can yield a significant amount of food with minimal effort. Start small and build momentum. There are countless YouTube videos to help break it down step by step. A single zucchini plant can feed your family all summer. Herbs like oregano, rosemary, and basil can be pricey at the grocery store, but they’re pretty easy and low-key to grow.
There are also tricks like, did you know that you can 4x, 5x, or even 10x the use of one bundle of green onions/scallions. We can’t wait to show you this.
And can we say sprouts?! We love growing them. You don’t even need any soil. Given that a small half pint of alfalfa sprouts can sometimes cost around $5.99, we can’t wait to show you how a $5 bag of seeds can give you a year-long supply of alfalfa sprouts. You kids will love it too!
What other options are there?
We are just getting started! Canning, fermenting, sprouting, freezing, and vacuum sealing can yield tremendous savings. Let’s explore it all!
This month we are so excited to work together as a community through today’s challenges. As times get tougher, we WILL find a way to continue to say hello to SuperHero Foods, even on a budget!
Monthly challenge:
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Share your best food budget tip on Instagram!
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