Making Budget Gains!

Good Morning Sun Shines!

So, I am sure you have read my meal prep post. If not click here, as it has to do with what we are talking about today.

I hear it constantly, "Eating Healthy is so Expensive". These words are like nails on a chalkboard. Yes, it can be, especially in body building when your protein intake is skyrocketing. However, we can be smart about it and not spend an arm and a leg! But on a side note, I say this all the time and I'll say it again:

Spend money now to feed and fuel your health or spend thousands in medical bills later! Its your choice!

Moving on! I go to the grocery store once a week. On average, I spend about $45-55 a week. That's it. Maybe that seems like a lot to you, but considering how much I eat, that is nothing! So how do I do it? Well, we are going to take last week's grocery shopping trip and break it down.

Here is what I purchased to refresh your memory :)

Boom! Look at all that food! Expensive right? WRONG. My total was $52.81.

So what I am going to do is break down my grocery list into the price by serving. Then I am going to give you some tips. :)

HEB Unsweetened Almond Milk $2.57. Total servings per container: 8 cups = .32 per serving

Coffee Creamer $2.98. Total servings per container: 63 teaspoons = .4 per serving

HEB Eggs $2.08 a carton. Total Servings per carton: Variable but for me 4 eggs= .69 per serving

HEB Greek Yogurt. 2 for $5. Total servings per package: 4= .62 per serving

HEB Black Beans $1.28. Total servings per container: 6 = .21 per serving

So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream $4.48. Total servings per container: 4 = 1.12 per serving

Minute Rice Brown Rice: $1.78 each. Comes with two cups in a package. I double this by using half of a cup at a time. I bought 2 packages with 2 cups each = 8 servings= .45 per serving

Cumin: $2.34... not going to figure this one out because its a spice so its subjective.

HEB Pita Chips $2.68. Total servings per package: 8= .34 per serving

L&L Complete Cookies 2 for $3. Total servings per cookie: 2 = .75 per serving or a $1.50 per cookie

HEB Humus $2.38. Total servings per container: 8= .30 per serving

Cantaloupes .87 each. I get two servings from one cantaloupe as I eat them a half at a time making them .44 cents per serving

Onion .62... again, not going to figure this one out because its subjective.

Limes 3 for .38... again, not going to figure this one out because its subjective.

Bananas 4 for .57 or .14 per banana.

Celery $1.14... again, not going to figure this one out because its subjective.

Cucumbers 3 for $1.47. I got four servings out of this making them .25 per serving.

HEB Chicken Breast Tenders for 2 pounds it was $6.52. 8 servings total makes them .82 per serving

Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey. These were originally $3.97 each but I had a dollar of coupon for both making them $2.97 each. Again, 8 servings total = .74 per serving

OK awesome, now that we have broken that down let's take one of the meals we made. So going back to the Salsa Lime Crock Pot Chicken, how much would it be for one meal of this?

Chicken = .82

Beans= .21

Rice= .45

Lime= .03 (Let's say you used a quarter of a lime)

Salsa= .25 (I had to look back at this one because I had it on hand already. It was $1.98 for the jar. I plan to get 8 meals from this recipe, so let's divide that by 8, making it .25.)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Total: $1.76 for one meal!

Seriously? Challenge me! Where can you eat this healthy, a macro-friendly recipe for $1.76??? You can't :)

Let's now move on to tips!

As you can see I bought a lot of HEB items. This is the store name's brand. I highly recommend buying the store brand as much as possible, it will save you money and it is just as good!

As far as eggs go, I bought the Farm Fresh Local Eggs free from artificial growth hormones or antibiotics which makes them a bit more pricey. I will always advocate for spending the extra dollar to support this but if you can't, I understand. You can buy a different type of eggs to save money.

Another note, the ice cream I bought is expensive, I know. However, that's what you get for being lactose intolerant. Yet, think about it, that whole pint it what you would spend on a cup of fro-yo most likely.

With rice, I bough the instant kind which is more expensive. You can also cut cost by buying a bag of rice.

With produce, you can cut cost with buying frozen, which I do often. Also, buy in season if you can :)

With the chicken, this was the cheapest option I found and it was fresh. However, you can cut cost by buying chicken and other meats in bulk.

Another thing to mention, when you see "2 for $5" or anything like that, you do not have to buy the amount advertised to get the deal. So if you bought only one, it would still be $2.50 a piece.

One last note, see if stores will reward you for using reusable bags. Target for instance, will take 5 cents off your purchase for each bag used. Check mate!

That's all I have for you all my loves. Please as always, let me know if you have any questions. I will be sure to bring you more of these money saving posts soon :) Have a great week! Let's make some budget gains!

-xxoo Britt