Hey everyone, I'm fairly new. I've been a vegan for 4 years, and just recently discovered raw food (:
I've been about 75% raw for the last month, but I'm struggling with going higher raw because of how expensive it is (I'm not even buying nuts and seeds, because it would wipe out my budget) I have a few ideas about how to save, but if anyone has any other ideas, or can ellaborate on mine, that would be fantastic. (:
There is a co-op close by that I may look into, and I think I will start going to the farmers market every friday. I thought about growing produce but besides the crazy dry heat here in AZ making most fruits and veggies difficult to grow, my nephew and pets destroy just about everything that sprouts, so I may try again when I move (so any suggestions about gardening in AZ would be great too). Thats all I got so far. How much do you all save every month buying raw produce by being "creative"?
Thanks for the help!
Comments
Thanks powerlifter (: I'm definitely going to check out the farmers market in Mesa.
Greenwood, I'm sorry to hear about the situation. You're definitely right about good health being worth the money, I may have to eat less organic, if I can't find any other solutions. I'd prefer not to do that, but I suppose non organic produce is better than cooked food, huh?
Oh yeah definitely, I gave up processed foods around the same time I became vegan (: I'm a 5'2 woman, but my stomach is like a black hole lol, I spent $40 at the grocery and by the end of the next day it was all gone, and all I bought was fruits and veggies. I haven't eaten grains for about a week, but maybe if I keep it up, I will notice my appetite decrease? Smoothies are very filling, maybe I will try to drink more of those as well. I hope your eczema clears up soon! (:
Thanks for the link greenwood, I'll definitely check out the recipes (:
rawcanadian- I eat 6-7 bananas a day :P so I guess I could always eat more, but I like to have other foods in my diet too lol.
I live in Sweden and here everyone is allowed to go into the forests and pick berries and mushrooms, no matter if it is private property. Trespassing is allowed for this very reason! It's called "every mans right". So in the Fall, I do a lot of berry picking...blueberries, currant berries, raspberries and lingon. I freeze them and then we have berries in our smoothies all winter long. I also pick a lot of chantarelles, which I do fry...everyone has a weakness :) )
Generally, I think I could be even better at foraging and freezing. I know freezing isn't as good as fresh, but it gets you through the winter months a bit cheaper. And to be honest, when there is a meter of snow outside your window, in the middle of winter, those wild hand-picked berries taste soooo good.
Now I'm going to start sprouting to hold down costs. I've ordered my jars and am waiting anxiously for the mailman to arrive with them.
I live in Sweden and here everyone is allowed to go into the forests and pick berries and mushrooms, no matter if it is private property. Trespassing is allowed for this very reason! It's called "every mans right". So in the Fall, I do a lot of berry picking...blueberries, currant berries, raspberries and lingon. I freeze them and then we have berries in our smoothies all winter long. I also pick a lot of chantarelles, which I do fry...everyone has a weakness :) )
Generally, I think I could be even better at foraging and freezing. I know freezing isn't as good as fresh, but it gets you through the winter months a bit cheaper. And to be honest, when there is a meter of snow outside your window, in the middle of winter, those wild hand-picked berries taste soooo good.
Now I'm going to start sprouting to hold down costs. I've ordered my jars and am waiting anxiously for the mailman to arrive with them.
Nell- I wish I could do that, picking fresh berries sounds wonderful, unfortunately fruits and veggies don't generally grow wild around here, the whether is much too hot.
Casey- You're right, wholefoods is very expensive, they get you by providing the organic produce and then they jack up the price of everything else (condiments, spices, ect.)because they count on people not wanting to make more than one trip to the grocery. Maybe I will look around for cheaper stores to purchase my organic produce.
Hi!
I just found out that in the food stores they throw out fruits and vegetables every day and that I can have it all for free. If I don't take it, it is used to make fuel or someting. This week I got four huge boxes full of fruits and vegetables they were going to throw out. If one tomato in a pack of six is a little bad, they throw out the whole pack for example. Most of the stuff in the boxes were still fresh and good to eat so now I have the frige and the freezer full of fresh food (and my neighbours too;) ) I also made a deal with one of the stores that I can come there and pick up these boxes when I want to! I am lucky and live in a country where non organic fruits and vegetables are safer to eat than the organic ones in other countries ( at least surveys says that, if that is true I can not be sure of, but what I know is that I feel SO good on this raw food diet, I am so happy I foud this "consept").
co-ops are great if theres one near you, reh.. if you can eat "with the seasons" it also heps too.. look at what is typically available during certain months of the year, and plan your meals around that. youll lessen your carbon footprint, and save a lot of money.. for example, im in canada, and its berry season right now, so local blueberries are cheap, cheap, cheap.. and they arent being imported from california.. if it were the winter months, id be looking more at root vegetables and so on. theres often flyers/websites listing what's avaialble in what months for your region. it also helps ensure youre getting much fresher produce!
often times with co-ops too, theyll have a large shipments of a particular item week to week, and that item will be at a highly discounted price.
my thoughts on bananas are this.. only eat them if you can get organic ones. this is purely a personal opinion, and my mother to this day will only buy organic bananas, simply so she doesnt have to hear my ranting from another province.. but bananas are TERRiBLE for the environment and plantations are notorious for their use of slave labour.. companies like del monte will use up to 5 gallons of pesticides per hectare on the plants, then cover them in plastic bags to keep the bugs off.. as bananas are typical grown near coasts, these bags often end up in the ocean, and suffocating wildlife like sea turtles. banana plants also have very shallow roots, and loosen tons of soil every year, which also ends up in the ocean..
i wont continue to scare you with the horrors of bananas.. but theyre for sure one of the foods i would say only eat if you can get them organically
i know!! banana plantations are supposedly worse than cocoa plantations for their work conditions. its funny how often were bombarded with "sweat shop this, sweat shop that" but rarely is it brought to light about where are foods come from... organic bananas for all!
oops! where *our foods come from. xo
Loorin - Wow, I had no idea about the bananas. Thats crazy! I will definitely be buying organic bananas from now on. I've heard banana tree's grow well in AZ too as long as they're well watered, so maybe one of these days I'll try it out. (o: I try to buy with the seasons, but sometimes the fruit/veggies are expensive no matter what lol. Berries are still pricy when they're in season. I can eat one of those little containers for $4 in one sitting and I'm still hungry :P Unfortanutely I don't have a dehydrator yet, but I plan on getting one this fall or winter, I know it will help alot with preserving fresh food (:
Dixiegirl4christ and Greenwood - both of those ideas sound delish!
Update: I've been eating more raw for the last week while staying in the budget, 90-95% (:
Hey guys- I'm on a budget of about $50 a week so I leave out alot of the nuts but beans and lentils etc. are EXTREMELY cheap- just soak and sprout. Get the larger containers of lettuce- they are more expensive initially but will save you $$ in the long run. One large container lasts me at least a week and it's only $6.99 for either spinach or mixed baby greens.
You can also do the farmshares- I do one for $49 every two weeks as well- it's been a week and my fridge is still really full. The noori sheets etc. are probably a little more expensive but you can just use it once a week or something.
Kale is a bit more expensive but just use a few leaves in your blender so you get the benefit but spread it out a little more-
Buy the cheaper almond milk- mine isn't organic but I can't afford to make my own- it would be rediculously expensive. Also, for the seeds- try getting a friend to split it with you- you will get more for less.
Hope some of this helps!
Make sure you are paying attention to the seasons--I'm here in AZ too, but down in Tucson. Things get way cheaper in season so when you start seeing things go on sale, grab it and eat a lot for awhile. I rotate through Safeway, Albertson's, TJ's, the co-op and a place called New Life--over time, you'll start to see the patterns that places put things on sale--and remember, you only have one section of the store to look in :) I am not sure if they have Sunflower in Mesa, but it can have cheap produce--just remember, you must be using their produce in 2-3 days as they seem to get things that are more delicate--they have a huge organic section though. the Co-op used to seem really expensive to me, but when I went mostly raw I realized that the produce is so insanely high quality--it lasts and they list where things are from so I can buy local even if it isn't organic (though most things are organic anyway).
Apples are starting to come in season--yum. Peaches are in season too and good! I'm going to miss watermelon though! I personally love cabbage and find it to be a lovely filling green--I buy a red and a green head and keep them around. I just started trying to eat 80/10/10 and I'm finding it to be cheaper in the sense that you can focus on buying fewer things even if you have to seriously up the quantity.
Do check the list of the highest pesticide use veggies and see if there is anything that you like that you can "get away" not always buying organic.
Good luck!
Wyethia
if you live in an urban area i suggest checking out a site like yelp.com and trying 'produce' and mark the 1x$ button. i've lived in nyc for years and just discovered 4 wonderfully cheap produce markets within biking distance (zucchini for 39c lb, peaches 49, and fun fruit like creamy/custardy mamay sapote). I use my coop and middle eastern market for nuts/dried fruit/lentils.
i've been lazy lately but i used to arrange to pick up what was left at the end of the day from the farmers market nearby. most local store owners are pretty rad about it.
also, at least in nyc, dumpster diving is really 'fruitful' (ha ha), whereby i've found garbage bags of perfectly fine bananas, portobello mushrooms, and apples. some stores over order (especially around the holidays) and while they *should* donate to local groups like food not bombs or shelters, they often throw it all away. last year right after thanksgiving - a large dumpster full of beautiful sugar pumpkins - not a blemish on them.