Priiiiicey!

[Shanti]

Oh wow, so I just went to the health food store and bought nuts ...braggs. almond butter, and..... bean sprouts, and 2 lara bars. They bill was $40! I wanted to get enzymes, but they were another $40! I just can't afford that....and I still have to get fruits, vegetables, greens......everything on the first WEEK (yes, only a piddily 7 days) on Alissa's list...

will this lifestyle drown my bank account!?!?

[ChaiLife]

Haha! I know what you mean!!! The first couple of grocery bills are not fun at all! But once you get your raw pantry stocked the grocery bills go waaaayyyyy down. the most expensive things are the nuts and seeds. Once you get stocked with them you will have them in your pantry and won't have to buy them every time.


I don't think $40 for a whole week of groceries is too bad!!:cool: Even for 1 person. The fruits and veggies shouldn't cost too much.

[EZ rider]

I havn't had much of an increase in my costs since going raw but I buy food from the produce department and havn't bought many of the things you mentioned in your post. Basically I buy things in their natural raw form that grow in the garden and eat that.

[StarFire]

I panicked the first time I went shopping too...!!! but what I found was that in the end... it just worked out fine b/c the food lasts longer. The recipes made soo much -- that I was able to eat it for several meals (so if you're un~cooking for one... you might want to cut the recipes in half if you don't want to eat the same thing for several meals!) Oh and also - it's always a good idea to cut the recipes at first -- cuz if you don't like a recipe you won't feel bad ... like you wasted a lot of nuts or something.

I did that once. I tried a sunflower/ tahini thing that was supposed to taste like refried beans - I found the recipe online... uggghhh.. I didn't care for it at all and I wasted a bottle of tahini (very expensive) and a ton of sunflowerseeds... I was so sad!

so now when I try a new recipe - I always cut it in half... just incase!! ;)

Now - when I shop for nuts it's usually every 2 or 3 weeks... so you will find your balance and how much you will really need.

I loved Alissas 30 day plan...

but I went wild -- when she says to buy fruits and veggies and stuff... well... I spent $125 or so ... AT A FARMERS MARKET!! waaaay to much stuff!! I couldn't eat it all and ended up throwing a lot of veggies away... what a waste and what a huge lesson!....

I couldn't eat all the food on Alissas list... it was delicious - but it made so much... it was great tho having the choice to eat it all - but to be too full to do so.... AND STILL LOSE WEIGHT!!

RAWK ON... HAVE FUN!! I look forward to following your journey!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/goodluck.gif

[Shanti]

well, $40 for some nuts to me is....owch! I mean, what can I do with Braggs when I need a snack, and I have to soak these nuts first! In Ottawa, it can be really pricey to buy organic produce.....so Fruits and Vegetables really weigh in....

I need to move to a warmer climate :rolleyes:

[ChaiLife]

Don't tell anyone but when the pocketbook is nearly dry I buy conventional produce to save a few $$$. It's better than eating SAD stuff! You do what you can. :)

[Shanti]

Thanks Chai and StarFire! Great responses.... I had the same experience making some coconut oil and cocoa stuff (cocoa isnt even raw, but I didn't know)...ugh! It was like sucking on a big oil popsicle!I was devestated, and I learned my lesson! How long do most of Alissa's recipes stay good?

[ChaiLife]

The recipe lifespan depends upon the recipe. If it is something dehydrated (like a cracker) it will last a while. But fresh things like zucchini pasta just won't last that long. Maybe 2 days max. To make the desserts last longer I store most of them in the freezer, cut off what I want and let it defrost. The onese we really enjoy don't last long because we eat em up. The ones that are just ok seem to last a lot longer. Hmmmm......;)

There's a learning curve but you will definitely get it. Then you will be teaching us some things around here and sharing your own creations! :D

[Rawkinlocs]

Consider this...if you know that your budget is tight and if following the plan in the book will be challenging due to being on a budget, then for now, start off by going to the store and buying the fruits and veggies that you already know you like and will eat. Make salads and smoothies and get a few nuts for those times that you feel you need them. As you are shopping (well, actually, when you GO shopping, take along a grocery note with some of those cabinet staples such as the Bragg's or Nama Shoyu which you may find in stores but she also sells on her site, the almond butter, etc. etc. Then when you go shopping, look for the items on your list and jot down the price of them. Get them one at a time as YOU can afford it. I did not stock my kitchen all in one swoop...I couldn't at that time 'cause we didn't have a lot of money back then. But I got what I could (and this goes for appliances as well) WHEN I could until I had it all.

Also, I highly recommend when first making a recipe that you make half of it because myself and many others here can vouch that sometimes your tastebuds are so...well, distorted for lack of better word and that you may or may not like everything you try on first try. So, it's best (especially if on a tight budget) to make a half of the recipe so if you find you do not like it, there isn't AS much waste as if you made the full recipe. That's just my opinion and what I had to learn from my own experiences with trying new things for the first time!

But yeah, the plan is great for starting out, but if it's going to strain and drain you financially, then do the best that you can and just flip through and find a couple of recipes that sound really simple and easy yet delicious to YOU and make them and when you find a few that you really love, then make those often and rotate them but don't forget to also eat your fresh, whole fruit and veggies as well as those smoothies and salads. Remember, with Alissa's approach, it's about freedom!

[ChaiLife]

Terrific advice! I didn't even use Alissa's plan. I just found recipes I liked from the book and this board and elsewhere and made those. :)

[Rawkinlocs]

Terrific advice! I didn't even use Alissa's plan. I just found recipes I liked from the book and this board and elsewhere and made those. :)

Same here! :) Well, mainly for me because Alissa's wasn't the first book I had when I first went raw. I had been exposed to raw and had started raw and THEN later I learned of and got the book. But had I had it first, I may have attempted the plan...don't know for sure. But it's great if one can do it/afford it. But if not, then you have to start where you are and where you can.

[CaliRaw]

I didn't follow that menu plan at all when I started. I ate fruits and vegetables as they were. I made a couple of recipes from her book and some that I saw on this forum, but mostly I just ate mostly fresh fruit and veggies, but it was still expensive. I think making all of that stuff on the menu, learning about soaking, sprouting, etc would have been too much for me to start. I would have been overwhelmed. I eased into the dehydrating and just starting sprouting a couple of days ago and this is my 4th week.

[bodaflower]

You must have gone to whole foods :D


I usually spend between 20 and 30 at the store, i go maybe two or three times a week, but 20 and 30 is my big shop

the almond butter and nuts will definitely cost more..i only once in a while get maybe some raw cashews, but almond butter is expensive, especially if it's raw. there was a jar of it for $20 at the store! ridiculous

for that amount i could just as well make my own

And larabars too, they're great for transitioning but you can also make your own, personally i dont buy them unless maybe i'm going on a road trip or something and want a special snack

But yeah, i usually just things like greens and sprouts for a salad, bananas, and then maybe some nuts or apples or something

and its usually around 20 :

[SmilingRawDancer]

I bought Alissa's book and LOVED it, but I had already been moving towards for for 2 months and I was already in a sort of...raw flow, so I didn't follow the 30 day plan. I just picked recipes that sounded appealing to me and made it for one meal a day. Like, I would just eat fruits and veggies as I pleased, but then for dinner I'd have a recipe meal.
I found that I really prefer simple foods. JUST an apple with some cinnamon is a meal to me. Or some bananas blended with water. Or some romaine lettuce to munch on. I was THOROUGHLY satisfied with simplicity, because I wasn't stressed about how long the recipes would keep or how much to buy! I just bought and ate, and the simplicity made me feel at ease.