The Cost of Eating Clean

In my last blog post, I talked about what clean eating was, why my family eats this way, and how to get started. Today, I want to talk about the cost of eating clean. I know a lot of the excuses for not eating healthy stem from the cost of healthy food. I get it, I'm a stay at home mom so we are working with one income. I can't go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money each month to feed my family so I have learned how to stick to the budget I have and still feed my family really well. The budget I try very hard to stick to is $125/week. This may be really high for some families and really low for others so here's a little something to compare it to. The average family of four on SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Plan) in America gets $443/month (If they received FULL SNAP benefits, it averages out to $649/month.) So, I am spending $57 more per month ($500/mo) to feed my family (three meals a day and two snacks), than I would be if we were receiving SNAP benefits (and $149 LESS than if we were receiving full SNAP benefits.) I have heard so many times that it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat healthy on SNAP, but my family is able to eat very healthfully for around the same amount as the people who receive SNAP. I'm not saying that the budget we have will work for every family but I also don't think it's completely outrageous since people on full SNAP benefits get $149 more than what I am usually spending per month. I would guess it's within $25 dollars each way of an average grocery budget for most families.

I would say most people would equate the word "fast food" with "cheap," and "healthy food" with "expensive." I have kind of always thought the same thing until I did some math. I found out that I can feed my family of four a healthy home cooked meal for less than we could eat off the McDonalds dollar menu. Sounds ridiculous, right? Here's the math. If I spend $125/wk, that averages out to $17.86/day, and $3.57/meal (three meals and two snacks), which is around $0.89 per person/per meal. Can anyone tell me where I can get a meal for an average of 89 cents? The closest I can think of is a hamburger off the dollar menu (which has zero nutrients.) I think spending 89 cents to feed your family a healthy meal is WELL worth it.

Still think that $125/week is way too much to be spending on one trip to the store? Take a look at how many "extras" you are buying when you go to the store and how much you are eating out. I think it would amaze some people how much they spend buying soda, "treats" (ice cream), fast food, family dinners out, etc. We don't eat out often as a family because it's hard for me to think of spending a quarter of my weekly grocery budget on one meal at a restaurant that has way less nutrients than something that I could prepare at home. Now, I'm not totally crazy. Rem and I still go out to eat maybe once a month (maybe less) by ourselves, but by not having a weekly dining out meal as a family, we save a lot of money! Even if you eliminate one night out a week you can save $120-$160 a month (average of $30-$40/meal for family of 4, which is about what it costs when we eat out with all four of us, depending on the restaurant.) Can you imagine how much good food you could get for $120-$160!! That's a whole weeks worth of food for our family, folks! I also don't buy many "extras." No pudding cups, ice cream (sometimes for special treats and I have wiggle room in my budget), soda, chips, snack cakes, or any other "snack" item most people buy. I have a list of groceries that will make my meals (including snacks) and I try very very hard to stick with that list! Usually my list takes my whole budget so I don't really get the option of buying lots of extras anyway but if you are trying to reduce your grocery budget to be able to afford healthy foods, see if you are guilty of buying lots of extra stuff you don't really need to make meals.

One thing that really helps me to save money on groceries is meal planning and only having one shopping trip per week (I take my calculator on my shopping trip to make sure I stay on budget. Yes, I am serious about this! Don't make fun!). On Sunday afternoon, I sit down and plan out our meals for the week (yes, I include breakfast and all snacks), and I go shopping on Monday. That is my only shopping trip for the week (unless we are desperate for something, like today when we had to run and get bananas). I don't coupon because I find that the coupons are mostly for pre-packaged junk anyway and the prices at Aldi (my grocery store) ROCK! I know it is so much harder to save money on groceries when you live in a very rural area, but making a trip to the city to stock up every two weeks may be worth it. I realize we are VERY lucky to have an Aldi so close to us and have all the foods we love to eat available and at a very reasonable price. Aldi has seriously been my clean eating savior! They have really begun to stock tons of great clean eating items over the past couple of years and I can find almost everything I need there (I still go to Wal-Mart/ Sams for a few things.) Ok, I got off track taking about my love for Aldi so back to menu planning. Here's my theory when it comes to menu planning, "failure to plan is planning to fail." If I didn't have clean meals planned and the groceries in my house to make those meals, it would be SO much easier to order a pizza or pop some corn dogs in the oven (well not the corn dogs, I would still have to go to the store to buy those since we don't keep them in the house, but you get the picture.) It is much easier and less stressful for me if I know exactly what we are eating at each meal. I am able to give the boys a much more nutritious snack if I plan ahead and have everything I need (homemade peanut butter greek yogurt dip and apples for example) rather than opening up a box of cheeze-its.

Another thing to think about when it comes to the cost of food is to really look at what you are paying for. Are you paying for a bag of empty nutrients and high calories? A can full of chemicals? Personally, I would rather pay a little more for something that I know is giving my body what it needs to thrive. My theory when it comes to food is that you get what you pay for. Yes, that box of cereal seems cheap compared to the ingredients to make a green smoothie but what are you getting out of it? A tummy full of sugar, artificial color/flavor, and some man made vitamins that they had to add because there is absolutely NO nutrition otherwise. Why waste your money on that? Really think about what you are getting out of what you are eating, not just how much it costs. If the benefits are high, it might be worth a little extra money!

Another way eating clean saves you money is on doctor bills. When you are eating a diet full of pre-packaged, high sugar, high sodium, low nutrient food, your body can't work to it's optimum potential. It has a hard time regulating itself when it comes to weight, blood pressure, and fighting off illness. If you are constantly having health issues because of your diet, you are spending more money on doctor bills than if you would just buy the healthy food in the first place. We have literally taken our boys to the doctor once in the past year for illness (and they got over their sickness a few days after we took them, no antibiotics needed.) I am thoroughly convinced that if you are feeding your child (or self) a diet that is severely lacking in nutrients, your body won't be able to fight off illness and you will find yourself in the doctors office a lot more than you would like!

I know eating clean healthy foods seems like it costs an arm and a leg but when you look at all the factors, and do a little math, it doesn't seem completely outrageous, right? We do it on one income. Maybe there are some things that are non essentials in your life that you could eliminate to give you a little more wiggle room in your grocery budget. Is cable a necessity? Is your weekly eating out a necessity? Is getting a monthly pedicure a necessity? Is buying new clothes often a necessity? Maybe some of these things are to you, but I'm sure everyone has something somewhere in their lives that they are spending money on that they could eliminate and put toward healthy foods and investing in their health!