Has your grocery bill gone up?
 

I like the way I am eating now it makes me feel good but it sure seems like my grocery bill has gone up. I am hitting the grocery store about every 2-3 days to buy fresh produce and it seems like I don't walk out of there under $50 a trip. I am worth it and I feel good but I was going over my check book and it seems like a lot more.

Do you have farmers markets in your area? I shop at the local farmers market twice a week and it's a lot cheaper.

Interesting. I have a couple good grocery stores near me and my cheapest grocery bill is when I'm only buying produce. I went the other day and bought 3 grocery bags of veggies and it cost me under 20 dollars. I'm also in the process of looking for a good farmer's market. I went to one recently and it was so so. Maybe shop around your area to see what stores sell good produce at a decent price?

When you go into a store, you tend to buy more than what you went in for. I know I do. Don't go that often. I go once a week and that includes fresh produce. If you hit it just right alternate your more expensive products. One week I buy meats and the other week I buy water and sodas (for example). Every week I buy some stuff like produce.

For me it is a sort of trade off. I spend more at the store but i spend A LOT less on fast food. So it just looks like i am spending more on groceries...when i look at the whole picture i spend WAY less over all on food. I was eating out for lunch every day, then eating out for dinner a couple times a week. Now i rarely eat out...and i end up saving money in the long run.

Sometimes fresh veggies can be really expensive esp if the season is ending or just starting! (these days fresh cherries are like $9.00 for a lb in my grocery store, which is way too expensive for me!) Check prices before you buy any veggie, some are really cheap all year round. I got great deals all summer for tangerines and clemetines.

Tomatoes, zuchini, mushrooms, spinach and cauliflower are almost always cheap! some are cheaper if bought frozen. Also often, the loose ones are cheaper than ones in pack (lettuce, bell peppers etc). Avoid buying unnecessary items. (I always check my cart before going to the counter and remove anything that I feel is excessive or which I may have bought out of impulse)

I saved a lot more when I cook at home. It may appear like you are spending more because you pay a large amount at ONE time whereas if you eat out, you will be spending lesser amounts but way more frequently!

My grocery bill has gone up over this past year. But, we don't hardly ever eat out anymore. Me and DH did go to the Outback to eat last night for our belated anniversary. I ate dessert and shouldn't have (we shared). Our meal cost us $65.00. All I could think of was "what a waste, I went off my program and spent a lot more money than if we had just grilled a nice steak at home". Plus, I wouldn't be feeling so fat and bloated today.

Wellllll....sort of. ;) But my junk food bill, OTC meds bill, eating-out bill, skin/hair lotions bill have all gone DOWN. :carrot: All-in-all, I think my spending has gone DOWN and at worst - it's a wash.
:D Cue the happy dance :D

Interesting question. You can spend way more than you used to when you change to a healthier diet, but there are ways to save money as well if you spend a little time shopping around. Also, I spend so much less on eating out and take out that I must be coming out ahead.

I suggest a farmer’s market if you can find one in your area. I hit a year-round weekly one near my office and pick up most of my produce for the whole week for about $15. I also like to keep frozen veggies like peas, broccoli florets, edamame and frozen berries and fruit for smoothies on hand.

I tend to shop at three different grocers in addition to the farmer’s market because all of them have different things I need and I know what products are the best price at each. I get most of my dry goods and frozen fruits and veg at Trader Joe’s. I get a lot of my fruits and lettuces, spices, canned goods, breads and tortillas at a discount chain called Top Valu. I make a trip to Whole Foods every couple of weeks for a few specialty items like Xylitol sweetener, wheat gluten for making seitan, whole wheat pastry flour, soygurt, vegan “cheese”, etc. It sounds like a lot of work, but Whole Foods is really the only one that’s out of my way, the other two I can hit on my way home from work or the gym.

So, I guess what I’m saying is it is possible to eat a better diet without breaking the bank. It also helps to eat whatever is in season.

Mine has actually gone down some weeks or evened out.

We hardly eat out now and brown bag all our lunches except Fridays so in the long run we have saved money.

I have found that buying little or no meat has affected our grocery budget in a good way.

A few tips:

Plan your meals and buy only what you need - if you don't have a plan for it don't buy it.

Go to the store with a list and stick to it - try to avoid impulse buys.

Hit bulk food stores or health food stores for grains, pastas and spices which are usually cheaper than the grocery store.

Buy what's in season as the prices will be more reasonable than out of season produce.

I also think when we start out we get so gung ho about it that we buy all this cool foods we just heard about or we overdo it to make sure temptation is wiped out by having a load of good foods around the house. We also have to build a stock. We have to get used to buying different foods and rearranging our budget accordingly. I think with time and experience, you naturally go back to knowing what you can buy for X amount of dollars. Going in multiple times a week may cause you to overbuy as well.

sorry this is so long!
 

Are you shopping for yourself or for family/friends? I don't have to feed anyone else, so the groceries I buy are for myself only and as a rule, I try to grocery shop one day a week, same day each week. Sometimes I pop into the store now and then, although I'm trying to curb it because each time I go in, I buy something I wasn't planning to buy and it all adds up $$.

This morning I thought I would pay towards the upper end of my budget because once I lay everything out to be scanned, I had quite a bit of stuff! But it only cost about $30 (my weekly budget is $30-50). And I bought TONS of fruit, a good mix of vegetables, dairy, soy milk (=expensive), and bread I think.

There are certain items that cost VERY little: rice, beans, legumes, barley, buckwheat even. I find pasta more expensive but still good. Although vegetables are pricey, certain ones like cabbage, green beans, beets, carrots, squash (I think..), and others tend to be cheap. Like a whole head of cabbage is A LOT of cabbage, and it's less than $2 where I live. These make it easier to buy vegetables like peppers, tomatoes (which double or triple in price in the winter for me), cucumbers, mushrooms, different types of fruit, etc.

There are ways to balance it out I think and still manage to eat a variety of foods. I guess it all depends on what you were spending before, whether this is much more expensive for you, I can understand that :)

If you're looking to save a little money, some breakfast foods: cream of wheat, oat bran, oatmeal (original, not the flavour packs) tend to be REALLY cheap. The boxes of cream of wheat and oatbran that I buy have around 800 grams of cereal, and a serving of the cream of wheat is 3 tablespoons, so this stuff lasts a VERY long time and a box costs $2.99 here! I cook it with milk (you can cook it with water - though I don't recommend it myself) so the milk costs a little bit more, but I drink milk daily so it's something I would consume anyways. Cream of wheat has a lot of iron (I think it's enriched with iron) and I think both are good sources of fibre. They are filling and if you throw in fruits, nuts, spices (like cinnamon), you can get different tastes :D They don't take very long to cook either, I'd say 5 minutes.