10 Easy Ways to Eat Organic and Healthy on a Budget

These days, all the rage is kale, quinoa and acai. Everyone is jumping on the superfood bandwagon, and eating organic is just the obvious thing to do. The problem is, organic can be freaking expensive. Sure, we all want to eat healthy, but if that gets in the way of paying rent then I think most people are just fine eating food with a little pesticide on it (won’t kill me, right?… right?) Instead of feeling like you’re risking your life for the sake of saving money on organic food, here are 10 easy ways to eat organic and healthy on a budget.

1. Check the websites of your favorite organic supermarkets for coupons. Wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons has weekly coupons for your favorite organic products.

2. Join different organic markets social media pages for coupons and promotions, or check on sites like Savingnaturally.com  or Earthfare.com for updated coupons.

3. Take some time to plan out your meals for the week according to the organic foods that are on sale or that you have coupons for.

4. Make your own organic snacks like kale chips, chia pudding and smoothies. You can find super easy recipes online that will save you from buying expensive store-bought products.

5. Frozen produce is always cheaper than fresh, especially if it is out of season. This is the same for frozen fish – which can be just as tasty and a fraction of the price.

6. Buy local produce when it’s in season and then freeze it so that you can eat it year round. For example, in the spring and summer spread berries on a sheet pan and freeze overnight and then store in jars for the fall and winter.

7. Double recipes for soups and stews and freeze the leftovers.

8. Since meat and dairy are the most important to buy organic, reduce how much of this you eat if you can’t afford organic. The easiest way to do this is save meat for your dinners only (choose high quality and smaller portions).

9. If you like chicken, buy a whole chicken to pay less per pound.

10. Buy unpackaged foods like oats, nuts, dried fruit and lentils in bulk dispensers. If you’re buying spices like this, bring a measuring cup so that you only buy exactly what you need for your recipe.

Hopefully some of these tips helped. I also wrote a post on what foods you can skip buying organic so that you can save money that way as well. I get that eating organic may seem like a complete waste of money, but I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to toxins and hormones in food – those few extra dollars could be keeping you healthier, and you can’t really put a price on that.