Whole Foods On A Budget
Whole Foods on a budget
How to save money while shopping all the goods.
Let’s face it a trip to whole foods can really be a trip to spend your whole paycheck. Whole Foods is one of the best places to shop with a wide variety of healthy eats but to some. It can be frustrating and expensive. So, what do you do if you are inspired to change your style of eating but also looking to be able to shopping on a budget? I want to share with you some of my tricks to shop at Whole Foods on a budget.
First, let’s break it down by department to help you achieve the best deals. Ever since Amazon took over, we have been noticing prices going down which is great but there are some other tricks I have up my sleeve. Especially because I use Whole Foods as my weekly grocer. When you walk into the store you’ll first see produce, then meat, then dairy. Let’s shop the perimeter together.
Produce
Buy Assorted Seasonal Veggies – buying seasonal will give you the highest nutrient dense produce but additionally will save you some money too. If you are not familiar with what is in season where you live pay attention to your surroundings. If you noticed that strawberries and peaches are on sale in the summer and get more expensive in the fall that’s a good indicator, they are not fall fruits. Typically, seasonal produce will always be on sale. — Additionally, season produce is going to have the highest nutrient contents. This won’t necessarily help you cut down the bills but it is an added bonus.
Plan ahead – Go to the Whole Foods website and shop the sales for the week prior to going to the grocery store. Now with PRIME deals, produce prices have become more realistic but it’s helpful to take note before you go to the store to plan your recipes around it. You might even find a coupon or two!
Meat/ Fish
Shop the sales – Like produce, you’ll want to shop the sales. Buying grass fed meats and wild fish can be expensive so when they are not on sale. I like to check the sales before I leave and plan some of the recipes around what might be on sale that week.
Backup plan – Additionally, I recommend using a delivery service like butcher box to deliver grass fed beef, organic chicken, and wild fish to your door step. You can order in bulk and keep in the freezer so if there is every a week you do not prefer the sales you have a back up plan.
Dairy or Dairy Alternatives
Shop the sales – Whole Foods has some great dairy alternative options and even good choices for goat and sheep dairy which are more easily tolerated by most people. Some good brands to choose from are kite hill DF cream cheese and yogurts, redwood farms goat & sheep dairy, etc. Sounds repetitive but you’ll want to shop the sales here too. Use the Whole Foods app to see what dairy is on sale before you go to the store.
Non perishable items / Snacks
Forget Whole Foods – Whole Foods may be my favorite grocery store but not for non perishable items. I have trust in how they source there produce, meats, and find better quality dairy alternatives but once you start moving into the center isles you see the bill sky rocket. I came across a website called Vitacost.com where you can buy mostly all of the products you love from Whole Foods for a fraction of the price. Of course, if something is on sale go for it and even buy in bulk but using this service will save you money. From dressings, to snacks, to oils, to sauces, to pasta alternatives. – vitacost is a lot similar to a thrive market, but no membership fee.
Some things you can buy on Vitacost.com
• Primal Kitchen Dressings, avocado mayo, etc.
• Sir Kensington’s ketchup and mustard
• Bobs red mill almond flour for energy bite recipes
• Nuts and seeds in bulk
• Simply organic spices
• Superfood powders like Navitas cacao powder or Matcha
• Siete foods chips, hot sauces.
• Organic jar tomato sauce
• Fourth and heart ghee, olive oils, vinegars, coconut oil, etc.
• Simple mills crackers & birch benders paleo pancake mix
• Quinoa, brown rice, dried beans.
• They even have the beauty products we love
• Laundry detergent can be found there also
• You can also find nontoxic makeup here + skin care You can use the think dirty app to rate some of the products on the site. Not all nontoxic skin care is created equal
Other:
Plan + List – plan your meals and make a list. Decide what you are going to make for your family or meal prep for the week and write it down. Studies show when you make a list of what you need you will typically buy only what you actually need. Going in without a plan gives you flexibility to explore and add things to your cart that you may not need. Make a list and try your best not to detract from the plan! I like to choose ingredients that can work for multiple recipes throughout the week.
Know short term vs long term supply – When we shop for groceries one common worry is that well buy too much or too less. A great way to manage your list a little easier is to categorize them from short term to long term essentials. Long term: spices, sea salt, pepper, etc. Middle term: frozen meats or produce, condiments, oils. Short term: fresh meats or produce
Don’t fall for their tricks- one way that grocers try to get you to spend more money is putting food at the corner edge of the isles. If you are in the meat section and you forget something in the produce section, you’ll likely turn back and pass the temptation over and over again. One thing you can do is make your list in order from start to finish. Start with produce, then meat, then eggs & dairy, and so on. Sounds silly but it works.
Nutritionbysam will be releasing a full food shopping guide using the above tips and tricks with a full shopping list and recipes. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know
