I've been researching and reading different blogs trying to determine how other people accomplish this. It's definitely possible, but a lot of what I read involves buying pre-packaged and reconstituted foods. Eating Kraft dinner or using coupons to buy Sidekicks at a discount isn't that appealing to me.
It has been challenging to find people talking about their success with a $40 grocery bill and it NOT be processed foods. So I'm curious. Can I create healthy, unprocessed meals for 13 weeks without spending over $40 per week?
A lot of people suggest planning, couponing, and buying sale items only. It makes a lot of sense. If you go into the store with an idea of what you're buying and how much you'll spend, you're less likely to indulge in impulse shopping.
In addition to working with my budget, there are a few other reasons I'm taking up this challenge. One is waste & indulgence. I'm guilty of having great ideas at the grocery store and buying what I want, not necessarily keeping to what I need. Sometimes that leads to food going bad and I have waste. Having visited countries where people are literally starving, I'm not really proud of my behaviour.
By sticking to my budget, I can't act impulsively and pick up junk food just because I have a craving for it. Hopefully this $40 diet helps me to accomplish my healthy living goals too.
Week 1 starts Monday. Time to get busy planning with my apps Flipp (thanks, Wendy) and Paprika (thanks Paul & Melissa). If anyone's curious about following along, I'll be updating throughout the challenge. If you have tips or recipes to share, I'm all ears. I've already received a few ideas (thanks, Erin) and I'd love to hear yours.
I will email you a few. I find large batch meals that can also be frozen tend to be cheaper. Also using eggs more can cut down on the use of some meat if you need some protean
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kris! Much appreciated :)
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