SO I need some advise....

[Godsgirl]

I am a single mom so my income is not the hottest and the thought of taking all the food out of my kitchen and starting this thing with no food being cooked is a bit scary and exspensive sounding...I have not read the book yet, I am just getting some feed back to see what the reality is of me being able to afford it and how to start? I have ALOT of weight to lose...I am 305 lbs and 5'7 so I have to do this, because diets are stupid and don't work! I want to change my whole thought process about food and it's role in my life, but there is still that reality of cost and how to change this with out going bankrupt! Any suggestions?

[Green Life]

Hello and welcome!

I am in a hurry, but if you type in" budget " in the search box, you will get loads of threads about it.

[OneBite@aTime]

Throwing out everything was not possible for me either-I did not have the finances to do that-or buy new things like dehydrators (I still don't have one). So, what I did was eat as much raw as possible for 2 weeks before commiting. It allowed me to use things from the pantry without feeling bad or throwing it away. Then, as you go shopping just pick up raw items.

Good luck and you can do it!

[The Forager]

Yup, I did what Michelle did. Did about half raw and then ate all my old frozen foods & other goodies I didn't want to throw out.

When I get the receipt for my foods, I total about 30-40$ per week. Much less expensive than when I was eating boxed frozen meals at about 5$ a pop.

[ShelShel]

I started with breakfast, I stuck with raw for breakfast until I was ready to move on to lunch and then eventually dinner. I started with nothing but a blender.
It's really no more expensive because you end up giving up eating out a lot and all the junk food. So, it balances and you spend about the same amount.
If you think about a pint of ben-n-jerry's costing $3.50 approx...that is more than a bag of bananas...but people don't usually look at it that way.
If you wait, a lot of the produce gets cheap at the end of the week. I just got two huge bags of bananas for $3.00. Although, they are already very ripe, I can peel, slice and freeze them to make smoothies and raw ice cream.
Also, if you start without a dehydrator you get used to fresh raw instead and it sits better in your tummy. You skip that part of transition. Because I have heard a lot of people who say that after being raw a while they completely give up dehydrated and eat more simply.
I hope that helps. :)

[trugoddess]

Look for a farmer's market in your area. You'll be able to get great deals there and beat the supermarket prices. Also, see if there's a food co-op in your area. Purchasing fruits and produce in bulk with other families helps to reduce costs. Hope this helps:-).

[Bobbie]

Sprouted seeds and beans are cheap to grow, and blending them means you absorb much more of the nutrients so energy soup gives you mega nutrition quite cheaply. Blend sunflower greens with beansprouts, avocado and fruit.
I buy sunflower seeds in 2kg bags from the petshop which is cheaper.

Sprout the seeds from any fruit you eat, to provide more sprouts. Tomatoes and apple are poisonous but avocado, nectarine, apricot, peach, pear, pineapple etc can be grown.

I pick wild weeds, which are the healthiest most nutrient-dense greens (although the worst tasting!) and use them to make green juice and green smoothies.
When possible I pick wild blackberries, and wild mint. When near a non-polluted beach you can pick seaweed which is the most mineral-dense food on the planet and adds a salty flavour to recipes. During the Highland clearances people were forced to live on nothing but seaweed. Highland farm animals who are fed on seaweed (and nothing else) instead of grass grow bigger and are healthier.

If you go to shops just before they close, there's usually produce being sold cheaply. I often find fresh herbs for 10p a bunch. If you're brave enough, ask the greengrocer for anything her throws away. Shops have to throw away food thats squashed/doesnt look right, even though its still edible.

[Morn]

If you don't want to throw out all of your food, you could transition slowly until you get rid of all your cooked food and then buy all the staples you need a little bit at a time. I know it is expensive to buy every thing you need all at once. But once you start building up you pantry, it won't be so costly. Try buying some of your raw nuts at places like costco, sams club where they are cheaper and a larger quantity. Find out if you local fruit market has a produce section that is reduced when it isn't the freshest. I just bought 3 huge bags of bananas for $1.50 that were getting ripe and froze them for icecream and smoothies. Start a garden or make friends with someone who has one.