After reading Nourishing Traditions I have begun to change how my family eats. We are making the switch to a whole food diet based on several factors... my previous cancer diagnosis, my current heart condition, my oldest daughter does not handle artificial flavors, dyes, or other unnatural additives well, and many other reasons. At first glance my husband freaked out thinking that A. it would cost an arm and a leg and B. he wouldn't get to eat any junk food again. Thankfully that has not been the case so far...actually our budget has stayed the same and I think for November will actually be lower than normal and I've found some great whole food snacks that are just wonderful...I've made graham crackers, cheese crackers, caramel corn, and some awesome brownies.
Do you long to make the switch but think it's out of reach? Here are some things to think about...
Raw Milk $5 a gallon.... gallon of milk from the store $2.25-3.19
Organic 100% grass fed beef $5lb.... Organic/Natural beef from grocery store $4-6lb ( I'm hoping to bring our cost down even further by purchasing our meat through our raw dairy farmer or if my husband gets a deer this year this won't matter!!!)
* Another item that I have been buying is real butter if you buy the Walmart brand it's only $2lb not much more than margarine...however I'm making the switch to grass fed butter this coming month. I'm not sure the cost on that. I'm also buying a cream share from "my cow" so I can make our own butter.
* I bake all of our own breads and cookies. Currently I am finishing up my stockpile of Unbleached Flour and when that's finished I will be buying a grain mill and wheat berries.
* I've switched to Sucanat instead of plain sugar but I haven't found the cheapest place to buy that yet. I will on the lookout for the best price on that this month.
* I will also be on the lookout for the best price on Olive Oil as I don't have near enough on hand. I no longer use any other oils. I'm also looking for the best price on Coconut Oil.
At first glance it does seem to cost more and take more time but it doesn't. Our trash was significantly reduced in October and my budget was the same $560 for a family of seven. I have also had much more energy and my swelling in my arm from not having lymph nodes has really improved.
For more frugal Friday ideas check out Life as Mom
5 comments:
Great choices! We've been living an NT lifestyle for almost two years and we've definitely changed our way of eating. I did like you, changing a little bit at a time, changing ingredients in some of our family's most-loved dishes, and over time we've really made progress!
I've been buying my olive oil in big tins and decanting it into smaller bottles for use. I use it all the time, including in mayonnaise and dressings plus cooking, so a large tin of it seems to last about four months (so I don't worry about buying too much of it that way.) Coconut oil is cheapest to buy online if you buy in bulk, but I've found that Whole Foods actually has it's own store-brand variety of organic, extra-virgin coconut oil and it is the best price by far on a per ounce level than anything I've found anywhere else. It's about a third of the cost of, I think, Nutiva. The downside? It only comes in a 14 oz jar, but it still greatly outprices the larger jars on a per-ounce scale.
We've also been using lard, lately, for frying and baking and I've been really impressed with it. It's great for high-heat cooking, much better than olive oil. Most of the lard you find in the stores is hydrogenated and/or as BHT added in as a preservative, but you can find pure lard online or through local pig farmers. And, of course, you can always render it yourself! :)
Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
We have made some changes and I am making more...I received a catalog in the mail the other day..It confirmed to me I was on the right track... It is a whole grain store... I have seen some of these products in the stores... here is the web site.. www.bobsredmill.com Hope it helps... Lisa
Sounds like you are doing a great job with budgeting!
We have a Cash-n-Carry that has some bulk things for a good price like raw honey and olive oil.
Our Kroger has great deals on olive oil and coconut oil there is like 5 or $6 a jar. (jar size is like a pint)
You may can get better deals online, especially if you can find some place that ships free over a certain amount.
I've been buying the Nutiva brand coconut oil from Vitacost.com. It's $21 for a 54 oz tub. The shipping is only 4.99 per order which is great for me since I buy virtually all of my toiletries and lots of other non-perishable goods there. It's worth checking out if you are looking for an online retailer.
Great article here and the tips are very comprehensive. For sure many entrepreneurs with small and big businesses are going to benefit from this. Keep it up!
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