#MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET HOW TO#
#MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET FREE#

I also add a category on this list for miscellaneous items. Since we were only going to use it for those fries, we decided to nix the truffle oil, make plain sweet potato fries, and saved $20 for our budget that week. When my grocery list was a list of all the ingredients without any organization, I had a difficult time remembering what truffle oil is for and if it can be used throughout multiple recipes. When I have my grocery list organized by meal, I’m clearly able to see how we will be using truffle oil throughout the week and if it is a necessity. For example, we needed to get more truffle oil for some of Lexi’s Clean Kitchen’s sweet potato truffle fries (one of our favorite sides), but my husband was a little shell-shocked when he saw that 3 ounces of organic truffle oil is $20. Having the grocery list arranged by meal allows me to see our priorities. At least make sure you buy organic what produce is on the Dirty Dozen list. It is important to us that we buy all organic produce, but if you’re not there yet, a great place to start is with the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen list from the Environmental Working Group. Grains (especially spelt) are very synergistic with my body, so I eat organic grains even though grain-free diets are popular. I say 80% because we firmly believe in intuitive eating, bio-individuality, and balance. We don’t like to place labels on our eating habits, but to help y’all understand more of our philosophy around food, we eat Whole30 and Paleo 80% of the time.

#MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET FREE#

I could get 7 bunches of organic celery for that price! We choose to buy fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, and ethically-raised meats and stay away from most processed foods in the middle aisles - even if they’re gluten free and organic! This saves us money, but also nourishes our bodies in the way we were created. Let me be clear: Simple Mills crackers are delicious, but one box is over $7.

The most important factor in our organic lifestyle and budget is our emphasis on real food. Our goal is to live a simple life and only buy what we need, even if we are blessed with abundance. While my husband has seen success in his career and I am practicing at the holistic wellness collective I founded, Our Well House, we are acting as though my income doesn’t exist by placing it all towards my student loan debt. I want to be transparent about our budget and clear that our finances have not changed even though I am currently earning an income. In the spirit of vulnerability, I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt thanks to my doctorate.

#MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET HOW TO#

My husband is now fully on board with our organic lifestyle (the men in our lives have to have their own wellness journeys too) and in the fall, we went to Moneywise at Watermark where I finally learned how to take responsibility over our budget. My husband didn’t value all organic everything and I didn’t value our budget. Over our past 3 years of marriage, grocery shopping has evolved and so has our budget.

In order for us to cook from scratch, we had to start from scratch too. The tears streamed down my face because how could I possibly cook curried beef stuffed peppers without organic curry!? As dramatic as I am, I ended up walking outside and waiting by the car, crying, while my husband finished the grocery shopping. You see, as newlyweds, we were coming into the kitchen with essentially nothing.

We were standing in front of the spices and as I began picking out jars of organic spices for the meals I thoughtfully planned for us for the week, my husband put his foot down in the name of our budget. We walked into Whole Foods, excited to pick out what we would cook and consume the next 7 days as husband and wife.

I will never forget our first trip to the grocery store as newlyweds freshly home from our honeymoon.

Meal planning on a budget