The struggle is very real…to eat healthy, save money, and live in the least-wasteful way possible. Following a diet that is dairy-free and low-FODMAP can be challenging at times. All the speciality products I enjoy are just more expensive. I spent many years in my twenties shopping and cooking for one. I was constantly inviting friends over for dinner or trying to pawn leftovers off on co-workers. A girl can only eat ‘Paleo dinner pie’ so many nights in a row without going crazy. Now I’m shopping and cooking for myself and Ben. It still takes a conscious effort to make sure we aren’t wasting food each week either. Here are my tips:
- Always have a plan
I’ve been doing this for nearly a decade. Before I enter the grocery store, I roughly sketch out meals for the week. I build our grocery list from that. I try to think dinners first, then lunches, and then any snacks. When it comes to produce, we try to buy fruits and veggies that we can eat in multiple ways. Apples are always good to have laying around. They are versatile and tend to last longer than other fruits. We always have peppers in the fridge, too. We can eat them raw with hummus or sauteéd as a side with dinner.
2. Single servings whenever possible
Individually wrapped chicken breasts and salmon are life-savers. We would never consume an entire package of chicken just the two of us. Buying single-serve packages makes us waste far less. Whole Foods has my favorite pre-packaged frozen salmon. It costs around $20 for 6 single-wrapped pieces of wild-caught salmon.
3. Sign up for all the deals
Since merging with Amazon, Whole Foods now has a rewards program for Prime Members. YES, WAY! You simply download the Whole Foods app and have your cashier scan it when you check out. Sale items are marked with a blue or yellow sign throughout the store. The products with a blue sign are for Prime Members only. I recently purchased Primal Salad dressing for 50% off. I also use Vitacost to order speciality items that may cost more at Whole Foods or our neighborhood grocery store. For example, Siete Grainfree chips are usually 50 cents less on Vitacost.
Eating with dietary restrictions doesn’t have to break the bank or leave you with a fridge filled with rotten, moldy food at the end of the week.
Didn’t know about the deal with whole food and amazon! WOW!
RIGHT?! It’s mind blowing! Primal Salad dressing was 50% last week for Prime Members who have the Whole Foods App 💕💕