Day 17 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 17 Eating Clean on a budget. You can eat clean for probably less than you're currently spending on groceries. A couple years ago I gave myself a budget of $125 a week ($500 a month) for my family of 4. I remember when we were on this strict budget we even had a BBQ with family and stayed within the budget! My current budget is $550 a month (2 teenage boys and a Mt Rainier training husband forced an increase). I don't clip coupons. 95% of what I buy is organic. I simply buy only what's needed and I plan my meals so that if I have to buy a bundle of say, basil, it's used in other meals too so nothing goes to waste. I typically spend $150 at Costco for the month and then the rest is for grocery store and the farmers market. We started eating an actual portion size instead of an 8 oz steak, we had 4 oz steak with lots of veggies on the side. To stretch taco meat I would cook 1lb of ground beef with 16 oz of black beans, it doubles the amount of taco filling for only a few cents more! Something else that has saved alot of money is making my own yogurt! I was tired of spending .50 (if I was lucky enough to find it on mark down) to $1.00 per container. Buying 14-20 containers a week really adds up! I know I could buy the big containers of yogurt and save money but when you're family doesn't eat them it turns into a big waste of money. They like they're individual containers. I'm not telling you to make your own yogurt that was something I tried and it was easy and it was good so I kept doing it.

Here are some tips to stick to a budget:
1. Set a specific budget - make it realistic
2. Plan out your meals for the week - reuse foods that will not be used in one meal, repeat breakfasts, snacks, and lunches, eliminate or substitute an ingredient
3. Know what you have on hand and use it - inventory your fridge and freezer
4. Buy produce that's in season - it will usually be cheaper
5. Only buy what you need to avoid waste
6. Make foods from scratch - if you buy it in a box you are likely spending too much. Dried beans are so cheap. If you have a meal plan you know the night before that you will need beans, throw them in a bowl of water so they're ready to cook the next night.