Savvy Food Shopping 101

For those of you who have followed me for a while, you will know that I love a bargain. I don’t see the point in over spending when it’s unnecessary, BUT I also don’t understand compromising your health for the sake of a few dollars.
 
Because of this outlook that I have, I have somewhat perfected the art of shopping to a budget whilst still eating healthy, nourishing food. I will share this wisdom with you in the form of my top eight tips to shopping savvy without compromising on health.

A typical $25-$30 produce shop from the markets.

1. Have an idea of what you want to buy before you get to the store
   Going to do your weekly shop with absolutely no idea what you want to eat/make/create you will result in you either buying way too much food or you’ll buy a whole bunch of random things that you may not use which will waste your money. Even just breaking things down into sub-categories like breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, will give you an idea how much food to buy. Think 6 breakfasts (plus one day for brunch with the girls, duh), 6/7 lunches and dinners plus enough snacks for the week (maybe 2 fruits per day or carrot sticks or just leftovers... which means a tad extra for dinners). You could go to the extent of fully planning exact meals that you’ll have and buying ingredients specifically for them, but I know from experience that this takes a lot of planning and organization and sometimes that’s not how life works. Just having an idea of meals you can make and how much you need is enough – having said that, if you’re one of those super organized people then planning each meal is definitely helpful to save dollars.
   
   
2. Don’t do all of your shopping at the major supermarkets
   When you’re trying to save some cash, some things (not all) shouldn’t be bought from a supermarket because, well, they’re expensive. The way I shop (and where) can be broken down into three categories: fruit and veg, meat and cupboard stuff. For the most part, get your cupboard stuff from the supermarkets (laundry powder, vermicelli, tinned tuna etc) because this stuff is usually pretty affordable, but when it comes to fruit and veg, I always go to a market or independent fruit and veg store because they’re cheaper. Meat is a bit more of a tricky one. Butchers are a touch more expensive but better quality… however, most supermarkets will reduce a lot of their meat products on a particular day (usually Sunday’s, but sometimes other days depending on your store so keep an eye out for when there is an abundance of reduced stickers). For example, this week I got enough meat for two weeks even though I paid the amount that I normally paid for one week because on the Sunday that I did my groceries, literally everything was reduced (hallelujah). That brings me to my next point.
   
   
3. Stock up on things you can freeze when they’re cheap
   If you do eat meat, I highly, highly recommend buying meat when it’s cheap/reduced and freezing some. I know when I do my shopping the meat is usually the most expensive part so if I find some reduced meat or things on special, I’ll buy more than I need for the week. This means that in the following week my shop will be cheaper because I won’t have to buy as much meat (if that makes sense). If you’re worried about things being reduced because they’re coming up to their best before date, don’t stress. Freezing is the perfect option for this as long as you eat it within the next few weeks/month.
   
   
4. Break things into categories and know how much you want to spend for each category
   As I’ve mentioned, I break my groceries into fruit and veg, meat and cupboard stuff. I then look at how much I want to spend for each category, based on how much I want to spend in total.
   
   For example, my weekly shop usually costs my boyfriend and I $120 - $150 (between us) and we divide this up as follows:
   
   Fruit and veg: $30 - $40
   Meat - $70 - $80
   Cupboard stuff - $20 - $30
   
   So as you can see, meat is usually the most expensive so we usually get this first, then cupboard stuff and then fruit and veg (meat and cupboard stuff we get from the supermarket and fruit and veg is always from an independent grocer/market… trust me its way cheaper).
   
   
5.   Be adaptable and buy things in season  
   Avocados are the perfect example of this let’s be honest. Sometimes they’re $2 each and sometimes they’re $5 each… maybe don’t buy them when they’re $5 (I know they are amazing but you don’t need them every week when they’re that expensive). Buying things in season will save you money because at the very beginning and very end of the season, the prices skyrocket so by just waiting an extra week or two, the prices will come down and you’ll save money. This sometimes means being adaptable about what recipes/meals you make or the snacks you eat. I used to always have a green apple and banana for my snack every day, but when the prices of apples went up and the prices of another fruit came down, I swapped my apple for a cheaper fruit until the prices came down again.
   
   
6. Don’t be scared of not-so-perfect looking produce
   When you go to the markets or independent grocer, I can just about guarantee that they will have a section of super cheap produce that maybe isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing or maybe not as fresh as the other produce for sale. Depending on what you plan to make for your meals, this stuff can be a perfect way to bulk up the amount of food you’re buying without breaking the bank. Think things like smoothies/juices, vegetable soups or stir fry’s. If you can get a whole bunch of bananas for $0.99 a kilo that are a little over rip, snag them up and freeze them as soon as you get home for your smoothies.
   
   The only thing I will say about this is if you get the bags of fruit and veg that is a mixed bag, usually the bags aren’t fully see-through so you can’t tell how bad the quality is and I have been caught out before where there wasn’t anything in the bag that I could salvage so I wasted a bit of money there. Although, the bag of food was $1 so it was a pretty reasonable price to pay for a life lesson.
   
   
7. Make a list of what you want and actually take it with you
   I am still getting this one down pat, not going to lie! I love a good list but I usually always forget my list when I actually go shopping so then I usually forget somethings and have to make another trip to grocery store later in the week. Having a list keeps you accountable for what you’re spending your money on and obviously keeps you on track at the store so you’re not just aimlessly wandering around.
   
   
8. Try new things
   This goes for recipes, types of fruit and veg, meat, shops and even your cooking style! If you can mix it up and try new things, you might find new recipes that you love that are cheaper than some of your go to recipes which once again, will save you some coin. It will also bring a little extra excitement to your weekly shop so you’ll have something adventurous to look forward to.
   
   I used to be the person who had the same five/six meals a week – stir fry, spaghetti bolognese, steak and veg, Thai red or green curry and probably another stir fry. Now, I have at least fifteen – twenty go-to recipes and every week or two I try and make up or find a new recipe to try so that I’ve always got a good variety of options, depending on what’s cheap and what I feel like. Even just learning how to make different variety of a recipe like using zoodles instead of pasta in spag bol or cauli rice instead of actual rice, you’ll be introducing new foods to you diet and saving money by having more options for your meals. Or, next time you’re at the markets, try a new fruit or vegetable that you’ve never had and see what you can make with it.
   

Look at those prices! Markets have much cheaper produce than the major supermarkets.

So, there you have it – my top eight tips to eating healthy without breaking the bank. I can’t stress enough that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. The simpler you keep your meals; the easier healthy eating is. And one thing I want to stress about healthy eating is this:
           
                                                 Don’t knock it before you try it.
 
I have people make comments to me all the time when they see me eating zoodles or kale or nuts and carrot sticks, about how much they would hate to eat these foods or that they think they would taste gross/bland/boring/whatever (usually followed by a comment like ‘I’d rather eat *insert standard non-healthy food here* than be skinny’). But when I ask if they’ve tried it (as in whatever healthy food I may be eating at the time), they say no! Don’t be scared to try something new. Worst case scenario is you don’t like whatever it is, and then you move on with your life, knowing that you don’t like whatever food it is. Coming from my stubbornness and experience, I know too well how easy it is to go against all things that are new and scary because that’s the easy option, but when you can improve your health and save money while doing it, I really don’t see the argument against it.
 
Okay, I think I’m just ranting now so I’ll stop, but hopefully I've made my point.
 
I hope you like my tips and that they help you keep the dollars in your piggy bank and make your insides (and outsides) love you like never before!
 
Endless love and appreciation,
Georgia