Years of prepping healthy meals and spending way more money than I’d like to admit has made me kind of an expert in stretching hard-earned green to get the most leafy greens (and tortilla chips, and chocolate, and…you get the idea).
Here are some grocery budget tips I’ve mastered over the years that you might find help you keep the cash in your wallet and beautiful food in your fridge:
SHOP SMART
Look beyond your chain supermarket. Check out local options and compare prices. Less expensive salad ingredients are out there and I can help you find them.
BE A (WO)MAN WITH A PLAN
Make a grocery list and stick to it. By planning out your week of salads, you’ll get home with everything you need and nothing you don’t.
ALL HAIL LEFTOVERS
Use last week’s produce first. Have a couple of scallions rolling around your fridge drawer? Throw them in a salad. If salads are good for one thing, it’s an excuse to toss together random ingredients and call it a meal.
BULK UP
Buy in bulk and buy from bulk bins. Different things, but both can help you save. Items sold in larger quantities and items sold in bulk bins (like nuts, dried beans, and grains) are often cheaper than their smaller, pre-packaged counterparts. Check the unit price to guarantee savings.
FREEZE IT
Stock up when freezable food is on sale, like meat or frozen vegetables. Freezing doesn’t significantly reduce the nutritional value of food, so move over the vodka and make some space in there. Your salads will thank you later.
BE FLEXIBLE
Instead of buying every ingredient in a recipe, substitute items for ones you already have. If a salad recipe calls for broccoli but you have cauliflower, pretend white is the new green and use it instead.
GO LOW
Look for the generic or store-brand items, which are usually on the bottom shelf in the grocery store aisles. These items can be the exact same product as the more expensive name-brand versions, just uglier packaging. Don’t judge.
More posts about buying healthy ingredients:
Where to Buy Healthy Ingredients
The Loveleaf Guide to Salad Greens
Fully Stocked: How To Create a Capsule Pantry
Carly Pastore says
If you’re a Whole Foods Market shopper, download the app… during the last week of every month, they provide a $5.00 off your produce purchase of $20 or more. Boom. 5 dollars is 1 or 2 salads right there!