Frugal Tips to eating raw on a budget

[brownies]

I am one of the frugalist people around. I eat on under $100 a month and have deal radar. Lets share some secrets to staying raw on a budget.

Here are some of my secrets to keeping a raw food diet easy on my pocket book:

Thrift Stores: (for supplies)
I have purchased ALL of my kitchen supplies/appliances at thrift stores: commercial bar Blender $2, Dehydrator $10, Food Processor $7

Produce Stands:
These little buildings are like a cross between a farmers market & grocery store. Open daily & filled mostly with local fruits & vegis.
The great thing though is the "ugly fruit & vegi" section. This section is filled with misshapen, bumped, & bruised goodness for a STEEP discount. I shop this section religiously. Go here first and see what you can find.

Home garden:
I live in an apartment with an almost non existent back yard BUT I always have something growing. If you grow in pots in doors you can grow something all year long. Growing something like greens or another food you use a lot in your raw food diet will really help cut down on your grocery bill.

Farmers Markets:
I have an all organic farmers market by my house that I go to almost religiously. Shopping farmers markets can cost the same or sometimes more (who knows why) than the grocery store. I always walk through the entire market first taking note of the prices at each place. Then I pick and choose what I buy from each stand depending on who has the best deal. Last Thursday I was able to get all this food (pictured below) for about $20
2 bunches of kale, head of cauliflower, almost a pound of spinach, pound of mushrooms, bunch of green onions, fennel, bunch of garlic, two big tomatoes, cilantro, 3 large cucumbers, one melon, and some celery.
http://i38.tinypic.com/10r7cqd.jpg

Asian & Hispanic markets:
Specialty Asian & Hispanic markets usually have some great deals on vegis & fruits. A lot of time they aren't organic but if you are on a budget this is a better option than buying the same thing in a regular grocery store for more.

Sunflower Seeds:
Nuts can be expensive & a lot of raw recipes call for a large number of nuts. To help cut down on the cost I also buy sunflower seeds & supplement 25-50% of the nuts with the sunflower seeds.

Your turn, what are some of your tips

[Ilse W.]

This is a wonderful thread. I especially like the idea of buying appliances at the thrift store and going to the "bumps & bruises" section first. I've been doing that lately and have come up with excellent buys.
I really don't have anything to add, except that I try to use every part of my vegetables and pulp from juicing (if nothing else, it goes into the compost for the next generation of plants). I'm looking forward to seeing more posts in this thread. With all these great people here I'm sure I'll be learning a bunch!:)

[michigan roman]

heres a link to a good budgeting thread from a few years ago

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22555&highlight=raw+on+a+budget ..

also below i'll post pic of my mung bean sprouts at 6 days old ,
equaling about 2 gallons from like less than a cup of seeds in a cheap strainer . thusly these sprouts cost me like 25 cents in seeds .

[brownies]

Good point, sprouts are a great way to get tons of nutrition & bulk for very little money.

[spicyfull]

I can be done, and don't forget the Freezer.

[Andre]

Good point, sprouts are a great way to get tons of nutrition & bulk for very little money.
Sprouting has saved me the most money so far. I sprouted large amounts of soft wheat and beans that I buy in bulk. I use them to replace most of my protein and calories. Now I eat half the fruit and veggies (still a high amount) and I feel so much better. It's a balance that seems to have worked for me.

The farmers market is great too.

[petaltothemetal]

I haven't been here at my new house in a new state for very long but I used to barter in Virginia. I was secretary of a farm rights group, which made it easier. My mother brings me deals from Costco when she finds them and I trade her fresh fruit or veggies or eggs from my farm. I also used to forage for dandelion greens, burdock, onion grass, etc. Here I forage for berries and mushrooms because my garden grows good greens.

I have to freeze foods when I get a good quantity of them (a good deal or from my fruit trees.) I blend most of them up into smoothies and sauces but also freeze plums whole with their pit still in. I got some containers new and some at the thrift store.

This has been the hardest thing for me: if you know your family is picky, don't leave food in the refrigerator hoping they will eat it. Freeze it immediately in little containers for lunches later. I use blue painters tape to label the contents.

In the winter I pull out my frozen goodies and I also eat a lot more carrots, apples and onions, all of which are still available and still cheap. I had a great aunt who fasted on nothing but apples one or two days a week and she remained slim. She also was far healthier than most of my relatives. I am lucky enough here to be able to grow some greens year round but I also have a big metal bookcase that I fitted with grow lights and have some thing growing all winter as well as starting my seeds there. You can buy a metal bakers rack type bookcase, which is best or you can find a solid one very cheaply at a thrift store and drill holes in it to run screws to hold up the lights or to run cords through. Buy shop lights and one cool and one warm bulb for each fixture.

When I've been tempted while out and have bought a raw cracker or bar or some other expensive goodie, I always saved the ingredient list and tried to recreate it at home.

I also grow mushrooms at home. I can't recall the name of the place in Washington state at the moment, but they have a fabulous array of spawn for sale and regional books for foraging, too.

[Stina]

I do well with sprouting quinoa and buckwheat. Inexpensive and my body feels good and grounded with grains rounding out my salads.

[jacsam]

Any veggies that start getting limp or are on their last leg I use as a filler in my crackers and any fruits that I won't get to before they go bad I freeze and use for smoothies. I especially do this when someone brings me a box of fruit or when I can get fruit for a great deal....I enjoy eating all I can fresh and freeze the rest....right now I have in my feezer: strawberries, peaches, bananas, grapes (grapes are incredible in your smoothies, it really sweetens them nicely). I read in Ani Phyo's book, how she uses the ends of her veggies and all the bits and pieces that you would throw away and makes her raw/vegan dog food, for her dog Kanga. She says that dogs who come over to her house always want to eat his food. Great way to not waste anything. I feel like I save money by not wasting what I do buy. I also improvise on the nuts like was mentioned above. Oh, one more thing....because my friends and neighbors know that I eat tons of produce.....whenever they are going out of town and don't want to come home to spoiled fruit/veggies, they for some reason bring it on over to us. I also take stuff to my neighbors that I won't use. Just last week someone stayed the weekend and left things like sour cream and chili in my fridge so I shared them with those who are sooo kind to share with me. I also take them things that people give me and don't understand the way I eat, like candies and cookies. I enjoy recieving them (because they were being kind to me) and then sharing them with someone else....many times it will be people who come to visit, like my childrens friends.