Economically Friendly on Raw

[berrymarymac]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to find the cheapest place to get bulk nuts and dates. I found a site called http://www.ohnuts.com/ and put in 3lbs raw almonds and 2lbs dates..to a total of $31! That's my almond milk for like 2-3 weeks!

I'm trying to buy what I need (again) before I start being raw (again). I can take spinach, etc from dining hall at school...so fresh fruit, veggies are not a problem. It's just cacao, almonds, cashews, dates...basically our "stable ingredients" that I need help getting cheaper than the grocery store.

I am starting mid-October on raw...so in 2 weeks. I have time!

I have all my appliances: soyquick mylk maker, blender, food processor, dehydrator, juicer... So I'm set on those products.

Do you guys have tips on staying in a budget, without pilfering?

[Dimond]

Those almonds are pasteurized though so not really a good deal.

Raw ones:
http://www.andersonalmonds.com

[michigan roman]

link to raw on budget =

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

maybe sesame seeds for a milk , way cheaper then raw
almonds with big shipping cost

ive read people sprouting almonds that have been pasturized so have been buying them at a local store cheap to make milk with

[shine72]

Where in Georgia are you? Your DeKalb Farmer's Market in Decatur has the 11 lb. boxes of medjool dates for like $55.75 or something like that. That's where I get mine when The Date People run out, which is where I prefer to buy from! HTH! :D

[mtraezme]

I used to get my dates here, when I lived about 10 miles from the date farm. Their dates were really good and they were always extremely nice. They also had 3 other date varieties as well as tubs of date pulp (no seeds, great for quick use) and dried figs. I would contact them if you wanted to know more. They always responded quickly and thorougly to any inquiries I had. http://www.royaldates.com/index.html

Here's the site for the Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers Association in California. I haven't checked all the farms for their prices, but that's because I will be buying my dates from the site listed above when I order more. http://www.bardmedjool.com/partners.htm

[Morn]

I get my medjool dates at costco and also raw pecans, walnuts, and pinenuts. Their prices on nuts are very reasonable. I get my raw cashews and raw valencia almonds at Trader Joes. - again very reasonable.

[Ilse W.]

Thanks for mentioning Costco. I never even thought to check for raw things other than their organic produce. I just assumed their nuts are NOT raw. Do they SAY they are raw?

[iamacranberry]

Seeds are cheaper.

[berrymarymac]

Where in Georgia are you? Your DeKalb Farmer's Market in Decatur has the 11 lb. boxes of medjool dates for like $55.75 or something like that. That's where I get mine when The Date People run out, which is where I prefer to buy from! HTH! :D

I am in Rome right now (aka...NO WHERE GEORGIA!), but am from Stone Mountain. I miss the Dekalb Farmers Market and should be out of this nothing town in May! w00t w00t! I miss the city, the people, the good produce that isn't rotting on the shelves...yeah, I miss it all.

We have two Walmarts and a Krogers...that's it. One health food store. We got nothing...oh, we have a Sams, but don't know if they sell nuts like that. I doubt it.

[Random]

I buy sunflower seeds instead of nuts. They're MUCH cheaper, and they taste fine in pates or cheezes. I do buy almonds now and then to make desserts, because seeds just don't taste the same in the crust. I realize that the almonds that I buy probably aren't raw, but I do the best that I can.

For dates, I buy Parnoosh dates at Loblaws (in Canada). They're MUCH cheaper than medjool and they taste very similar.

Other than that, I don't really bother with any of the "staples". No cacao, agave, coconut oil, etc. While I'm sure that they're delicious, I'm just not willing to spend unmanageable amounts of money on food.

One thing that I do to keep costs down is probably a big no-no, but I buy mainly standard produce. The only things that I buy organic are apples, tomatoes, grapes, berries and greens (ie. anything that I can't peel before eating). Everything else - citrus, mangoes, bananas, pineapple, etc - I just buy the regular non-organic stuff. I also buy non-organic peaches and nectarines sometimes because they're easier to find. Buying non-organic is MUCH cheaper, but in the perfect world I'd prefer to eat only organic produce. I just can't afford to right now.