Superfoods are super healthy foods
It is possible to spend much less and eat much healthier than you are right now. Even if the costs were equal, you save money that you would have spent on a lifetime of unnecessary medical bills and travel to and from doctors when you eat healthy. Besides, when you put the money-saving tips and best practices in this short report to work in your life, not only will you avoid the costs associated with decades of unnecessary health problems, you will also treat yourself to your best health and vitality, even if you have a shoestring budget.
Buy in Bulk … But Be Careful
Okay, let’s get the most obvious money-saving tip out of the way. Buy in bulk. You already know this. You are probably already doing this in several different areas of your life. You can generally save money and spend less per serving when you buy large quantities of produce at once. This is also true with seeds, plant-based milks and protein powders you may be adding to your smoothies.
If the prices of bulk goods seem out of your reach, prioritize saving. Find areas of your life where money could be better spent. Begin saving, and when you have the required money to buy in bulk, do so. Set aside one day to shop and then prepare your produce. Refrigerate, freeze and otherwise store smaller sized packages of the bulk product you purchased. Just remember one important lesson about buying large quantities of produce.
Fresh fruits and vegetables go bad quickly.
You probably know this. Most people do. However, one of the most often-heard complaints of people who make juices and smoothies is that they end up throwing out produce. They see a great buy on a particular product and they simply can’t pass it up. What they thought was going to be some well-spent money ends up being wasted cash, when they have to throw out food that has gone bad because they did not use it in time.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Purchasing a small standalone freezer might make sense financially if you have a large family. You could buy in the largest possible bulk sizes, saving money in the long run. Also, always check your storage capability before you go shopping. This will keep you from buying in bulk and having to force yourself to eat certain foods over and over because you don’t have the room to store them. Finally, make sure the bulk produce you buy has not been frozen in sweet, sugary, preservative-filled liquids.
Buy In-Season
Imagine this scenario. You are a farmer. You have a small local farm. You take your produce to the farmer’s market on the weekends. You have had a bumper crop of lettuce this year, but you know that as soon as you pick it, it is beginning to expire. It is coming nearer the end of lettuce season, you have a lot of product left, so what do you do?
You mark down your prices.
This is an excellent reason to buy in-season. Farmers understand that they may enjoy the biggest yield they have ever experienced, but if they can’t sell their produce, that is money and time wasted. This is why prices on produce harvested and marketed in-season, especially with local farms, are usually the lowest you are going to find all year.
At the end of a season for a particular food type, you will often find that farmer’s markets and mom and pop grocers are more than happy to work with you on the price.
Think about it. They took time to plant the seed, water, feed and care for the produce. They have watched it grow from a seed to food that creates nourishment and health in humans.
Most farmers do what they do because they love it, not because they are going to become fabulously wealthy doing so. They want to see their food eaten, providing nourishment and nutrition for others. They don’t want to see it wasted. They would rather sell at or near a loss at the end of the season for a certain food, rather than watch it go bad and use it as fertilizer, recouping none of their investment. Buy in-season when you can, bulk if possible, and support your local farmers and farmer’s markets.
Know Your Grocer or Produce Provider
Nearly every grocery store chain has days where they do special things for their customers. One day they will double any coupons you bring in. Another day they may offer 5% or 10% off across-the-board on a particular produce item. If you are not speaking with the manager or owner of your grocery store or local farm where you buy produce and superfoods for your smoothies, you are possibly hurting yourself and the store where you shop.
It only takes a few minutes of talking to find out when you should be shopping for the foods you enjoy. At a large grocery store, ask to speak to the produce manager. Get to know her. Find out who she is as a person. This is not only a good idea to make sure you shop at the best times for savings, but it can also pay dividends in other ways. You are getting to know someone who is personally responsible for ordering, displaying and possibly even pricing the foods that you buy.
This benefits both of you.
This lets that person better know the market they are selling to. They appreciate input from customers. You are helping her do her job better. On the flip side of the coin, you can find out exactly where the produce is coming from. If you talk to your grocer and discover the beautiful looking tomatoes you have been eating are shipped in from 2,000 miles away, you’d better believe they are going to have plenty of pesticides and preservatives in them to make sure they look good after that long journey.
You also may find that a deal has been struck with a local gardener, and by paying a few more pennies per purchase, you can buy tomatoes that were in the ground yesterday, or just a few days ago. Getting to know your grocer or farmer, the person who runs the booth at your local farmer’s market, or organic food bank can help you save money, while also putting the healthiest foods in your buggy and in your body.
Go Organic If …
Buy organic when you need to, but not unnecessarily so. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen food list. The Dirty Dozen are those 12 pieces of produce in the US which showed the most chemicals, pesticides and other toxins. The Clean 15 are the 15 cleanest, safest pieces of produce to eat. There is no sense in paying for organic when you buy the clean 15, since they are as safe and clean as possible.
It makes sense to save your money for spending more on healthy organic foods when you purchase the Dirty Dozen. Going organic on these 12 foods ensures you get healthy and safe produce, because earning the organic tag means your food is as clean and nutritious as possible.
Speaking of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15, how do you know what produce your local Smoothie King or Jamba Juice uses? Make your smoothies at home where you know exactly what ingredients are going into your body. You cannot only make your own smoothies at a fraction of the cost of a retail store product, but you have total control over every step of the process.
Blender Buying Tips
You can spend well over $300 on a blender. Should you? There has to be a reason you are reading this report on saving money when buying superfoods and making smoothies. Would a $300 blender be cool and amazing and wonderful to own? Probably. Would you have any money left over to buy food to put in the blender? Maybe not.
A $25 or $35 blender can get you started. You don’t need to go crazy in the beginning. You are in the learning phase. Find a blender with a high capacity container and multiple speeds. Check reviews on Amazon, where you can read what others have to say who have already purchased and used that blender. Spending an hour or two on YouTube and Amazon can help you locate a high-value, low-cost blender that can last for years and do everything you need it to do. This leaves more money for your food budget.
Start Your Own Garden
Finally, one of the easiest ways to save money purchasing any type of groceries is to grow your own. Raising your own pastured, organic chickens can produce years of the cheapest possible superfood eggs you could ever eat. The same is true with herbs, vegetables and fruits. Starting your own garden is a possibility on a $20 budget or a $200 budget. You can start small and expand, start small and stay small, and there are plenty of smart ideas online for maximizing small gardening spaces.
Starting your own garden not only keeps costs down, but you know exactly where your food is coming from.
Managing a garden takes a physical commitment. This means you are getting constant exercise. So you save money, you are physically active rather than sitting around, you get the joy of knowing you have grown your own food, and you are making you and your family healthy. Those are lots of good reasons for maximizing your health and wellness while saving money, simply by starting a home garden.
