5 ways to cut down your Clean Eating grocery budget

Recent study shows that what separates a healthy and unhealthy diet is just $1.50 a day. 

Here are 5 ways to eat clean for less:

1) Avoid "superfoods" at the grocery store and invest in Shakeology. Yes, I said it. It's about $4 a day and it is worth your health and your dollars to drink it yourself, give your kids a few sips and even make your husband/boyfriend/parents drink it.

Here is the breakdown of "superfoods vs 1 serving of Shakeology":

$4.40 ONE BOWL of exotic fruit – including gogi and acai berries

$3.94 FOUR CUPS of raw broccoli

$1.99 SEVEN WHOLE carrots

$4.30 TEN CUPS of raw cauliflower

$2.99 THREE CUPS of romaine lettuce

$8.97 FOUR CUPS of uncooked mushrooms

$2.91 THREE RAW onions

$1.09 ONE CUP of peas

$5.16 FOUR CUPS of red radishes

$3.49 FOUR CUPS of nonfat yogurt

$1.95 ONE SHOT of wheat grass

TOTAL $41.19

When you're ready to give it a try for $4 a day instead of $41 a day, message me or check out the details here. 

2) Cut down on packaged and pre-made: Convenience costs money. You can’t buy the same packaged and pre-made food items and expect them to give you changes to your body and nutrition. Pre-packaged goods are notorious for being loaded with sodium and chemicals to prevent them from spoiling.  You will have to invest a bit more time into your cooking without the pre-packaged, but your body will thank you!

3) Eat less meat. Buy less meat. Meat is expensive! In America we eat 57% MORE meat than we did 50 yeas ago. Why is this? PORTIONS are out of control!  Ways to think about this are that a cooked serving of meat should be the same size as a bar of soap or a hockey puck! 

4) Eat leftovers – Eating leftovers was a way of life when I grew up, and I am SO guilty of not eating mine. Personal preferences aside, when you break down the cost of a wonderful meal you’ve invested time and good money into, why wouldn’t you want to eat the leftovers? I am making it a personal goal of mine to re-vamp my left overs and get them out of the fridge and into my belly so they don't break my bank!!

5) Make your own dressings and sauces – The average bottled dressing costs $3.00 a bottle, and is loaded with preservatives, sugar and sodium. To create your own you very well may spend $5 but to make a simple olive oil based dressing at home can literally cost you pennies on the dollar per serving in the end AND it’s preservative and chemical free. I'll be sharing a few homemade dressing ideas in the next few weeks. Be sure to "follow" this blog for updates!

- Chelsea
facebook.com/chelsea.eckelkamp