10 Helpful Tips to Eat Organic & Save on a Budget

I am a healthy living motivator and share in on loving natural living. It started from a very young age of 8 years old. I had a deep desire to want to know more about ingredients and gardening. I spent days and nights reading and researching in adolescents, filling my brain with useful and quirky information.

As I became an adult and was solely responsible for buying food, the sad truth set in really quickly. In the organic world, the coupons are few and far between. Its not like I can go to the Sunday paper and find an abundance of coupons. It leaves you discouraged and feeling a lost of hope.

How can one eat to live but live to pay such high prices on food?
I've created this blog for Beginners.

10 Helpful Tips to Eat Organic & Save on a Budget

1. Lists: Writing down what you came for and ignore everything that’s not on your list. This will save you money. It will also save time and fuel expense by preventing repeat trips to the store for things you forgot.

2. Shop Alone: Kids, and spouses who act like kids, will often whine, grunt and pout or otherwise try to influence you into impulse buys. Leave ‘em at home. If you have to bring the children along, plan out your shopping list before you head to the grocery store so you’re not tempted by impulse buys, and let any children along for the ride know that you plan on sticking with that list. Small expenditures add up to big money, so try to avoid giving in to any last-minute requests no matter who strongly urges it. If your children continue to insist that you purchase their requested items, then ask them to bring their own piggy bank money. Remind your children they are only allowed to pick something they can afford. It’s good practice for them to learn grown-up budgeting.

3. Reinvent your Left-Overs

Most families throw away so much food on a weekly basis. A better idea is to turn your dinner leftovers into a lunchtime feast. Every pot of soup becomes a nice savory baked burger the next day. My children love it and never know the difference! They’re plenty of apps that can help you recreate meals by putting in the ingredients you have and generates meal options.

4. Join a food co-op and CSA today!  

In my local community, these venues are a dime a dozen. They're are multiple farms and markets offering high quality, sustainable food.

What is Wholeshare ? My latest excursion is Wholeshare, a smarter and more intelligent way to buy food. Wholeshare says about their company: "We connect you with wholesalers who normally sell their products at big discounts to grocery stores and restaurants. Wholesalers generally have order minimums for delivery, which can make it difficult to shop from them as an individual or single household. That’s where we come in. The Wholeshare website makes it easy to shop as part of a group. Shopping as a group gives you more purchasing power and means you can meet the order minimums for wholesalers. Wholeshare gives you access to great savings and high-quality products by building a shopping community." This process has literally changed my life. With prices being 30%-50% lower than store prices.  Buy Organic Foods That Are In Season

Out of season foods can cost more because of shipping costs, as well as the demand versus the availability of the item. Buying foods that are in season saves on the transport energy, and lowers the cost of the food. If you would like a certain type of organic food year round, and you don't want to spend more money when the food is out of season, consider buying that item in bulk when it is in season, and freezing it during the off-season.

CSA- Community shared programs are similar for a fairly different concept. Most of the time the members most donate time to help with all the duties of the facility. Some are hosted directly at the farm some are hosted in retail styled environments. The information gained from workshops and programs offered is priceless.

5. Go to your favorite manufacturers website for coupons and promotions.  

Manufacturer coupons are amazing because everyone from chain stores to local grocers accept them. Although, you may not be able to use them at food co ops and CSA because the prices are substantially lower. You can often combine them with coupons individual stores have published in their fliers or Web site. One secret source, for manufacturer coupons a rarely used way of acquiring coupons is to request them directly from the manufacturer. Look for an 800 number on the food label or track down the manufacturer Web site. Request to be sent coupons by mail or email, most companies will send.

6. Join a meal Train or food sharing group.

This is also another way to save and get first hand taste of different cultures. According to Wikipedia A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet. This group can be set up through social media outlets, usually or a meetup group. However, you structure it, this is life changing. You have to be diligent in planning your schedule to ensure your meal prep goes smoothly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_group

7. Get A Rewards Card

Many stores these days offer a rewards card if you shop at their store frequently. These types of cards will often save you money at the checkout counter. Some of the programs are great and offer rewards points and a portion of your rewards go to local food shelters.

8. Subscribe to Save

Consider a program like Amazon's Subscribe and Save program which gives you a 15 percent discount on food products (and other items) that you "subscribe" to by having them automatically purchased and shipped to you in 1, 2, 3, or 6 month intervals. If you’re someone who enjoys a recurring orders, this is ideal for you.

9. Buy Organic Foods That Are In Season

Theres a whole conscious movement that eating for the season Out of season foods can cost more because of shipping costs, as well as the demand versus the availability of the item. Buying foods that are in season saves on the transport energy, and lowers the cost of the food. If you like a certain type of organic food year round, and you don't want to spend more money when the food is out of season, consider buying that item in bulk when it is in season, and freezing it during the off-season. Its the more practical way to shop. Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit

10. Start Your Own Organic Vegetable Garden

I belief in this so dearly after experiencing a full functional garden when moving into communal living. Guaranteed way of saving money on organic food is to grow your own. You can plant what ever kinds of fruits and vegetables you like, and freeze any extra fruits and vegetables you're not using yet. When you grow and freeze your own fruits and vegetables, you'll have an endless supply of healthy food. Canning was a big benefit to our family. We were able to enjoy all those wonderful tomatoes all winter long. If you want to add it as a stream of income, consider selling organic food to your local farmer's market.