Frugal Raw ideas?

[Denise Nicole]

I was wondering if anyone has any favorite Frugal Raw ideas. Some of the food has been cost prohibitive, such as the ingredients for Alissa's Fudge Ball are $40 for one batch. Which means I wouldn't have much money left to eat the rest of the week!

I don't like the taste of dehydrated foods or smoothies. So I am looking for, suggested meals, not necessarily full out recipes, altough that's great too.

I am hoping to get my grocery bill down, but still be able to buy enough wholesome raw varied foods during the month to feed 4-6 persons.

Thanks! :)

[Rawkinlocs]

Just a few tips (some I've tried and others I've just read/heard from others):

- try to shop at farmer's markets right when they are about to pack up and go home as they will sell for less as they don't really like taking all that food back with them.

- substitute seeds for nuts when/where you can and/or do half and half with nuts and seeds in recipes or nutmilks, etc.

- do organic when you CAN or with the fruits/veggies most affected by pesticides but don't make organic a mandate until you actually can or feel comfortable doing so. I know organic is best, but if it's a choice between eating conventionally grown and eating SAD, then I'll take the inorganic stuff and just do the best I can.

- Find recipes that don't call for nuts such as pate's that use mainly carrots and other veggies and little-to-no nuts (or again, see about subbing seeds in place of the nuts.)

- do collard leaf (or lettuce leaf) wraps where you are just putting maybe some fresh veggies or marinated veggies, a little pate', etc. in the leaves, rolling, cutting and eating...VERY filling and satisfying IMHO!

- when you can and when/where it's cheaper, buy in bulk

Just a few things...I'm sure others will come along with more suggestions for you!

[rawredbone]

Just a few tips (some I've tried and others I've just read/heard from others):

- try to shop at farmer's markets right when they are about to pack up and go home as they will sell for less as they don't really like taking all that food back with them.

- substitute seeds for nuts when/where you can and/or do half and half with nuts and seeds in recipes or nutmilks, etc.

- do organic when you CAN or with the fruits/veggies most affected by pesticides but don't make organic a mandate until you actually can or feel comfortable doing so. I know organic is best, but if it's a choice between eating conventionally grown and eating SAD, then I'll take the inorganic stuff and just do the best I can.

- Find recipes that don't call for nuts such as pate's that use mainly carrots and other veggies and little-to-no nuts (or again, see about subbing seeds in place of the nuts.)

- do collard leaf (or lettuce leaf) wraps where you are just putting maybe some fresh veggies or marinated veggies, a little pate', etc. in the leaves, rolling, cutting and eating...VERY filling and satisfying IMHO!

- when you can and when/where it's cheaper, buy in bulk

Just a few things...I'm sure others will come along with more suggestions for you!


Thanks Rawinlocs this has been my problem as well and I am only feeding one person....me...lolol

[chilove]

Try to find produce stands or produce stores, look in the phone book for them. They are usually WAY cheaper than grocery stores. When you find them, look for the "bargain bin" area where they put aside and mark down fruits and veggies that need to be eaten right away because they are very ripe. I get my bananas for 25 cents a lb this way.

Go to the international district if your city has one. Asian and other ethnic markets usually have much better prices on produce than large chain grocery stores.

Banana and greens (usually green leaf, romaine, or red leaf lettuce) based smoothies are the base of my diet and are very affordable. I blend up 4 or 5 bananas and some greens with some water or fresh orange juice and add whatever fruit I have laying around or frozen berries. It makes a large, easy, cheap, nutritious meal.

Best of luck to you!!!

[rawgrrl]

Google CSA programs (community supported agriculture) for your area. These are generally farms that sell directly to the consumer and can be cheaper than the supermarket.

[rawpriestess]

I think one thing to remember about eating raw, is it isn't just the food.

What I mean is this, when you eat SAD food, you have electricity for a stove, toaster, microwave, oven, hot water for dishes, dish soap, scrubbing implements, tin foil, etc.

When you eat raw, you don't even really need a fridge.

When you eat raw, you no longer need aspirin, tylenol, midol, tagamet, tumms, decongestants, sleep aids, etc.

You don't need deoderant, soaps, shampoos, creams, lotions, hair spray, etc.

I can't even begin to tell you how little we spend at the grocery store, you wouldn't believe me.

All of our monthly stuff that we buy for our home cleaning, our self, our food, etc, is about $100 total for a month, and that is counting the winter, when we must buy food, because we can't grow it all.

that also includes, dog and cat and bird food, and my hubbies cigarettes too.

We spend no money on doctors, dentists, chiropractors, massage therapists, hair care, body care, cleaning products, etc.

We live very frugally, and it's all because we are raw and loving it. And my hubby isn't 100% yet.

So, please look at the total raw picture, when thinking of the cost, don't just look at the food costs.

And by the way, oranges were $1.69 a pound in our store, organic were only $1.29 a pound, grapefruit were $1.79, organic were $1.29, pineapple was $3.99 each, organic was $2.99 each, so many times the organic was cheaper than the non-organic.

Also, I buy nuts in bulk from costco, they are raw, as they do sprout. They are much less expensive than from the health food store.

I also go wild foraging for herbs, greens, flowers(to eat) seeds, nuts, berries, etc. This really helps with the food too, plus it's fun to find food and just pop it in your mouth, makes you feel like you will never be hungry again, and you will always be able to survive, even in the mountains, because that is where we live.

[RawFoodieMom]

Great post, RP, thanks so much for taking the time to share all that. You are so right, we need to look at the big picture, and take a look at how it is affecting the rest of our lives too! :) And how much we are saving in other areas. I keep thinking, can you really put a price on how healthy and vibrant we will all be when we're 100% raw and loving life? ;)

This is a great thread, to share how we can get the best prices on raw products. This has really made me think, and in a great way. I think it's time to check out Costco again. Thanks for the tip about the nuts, I had no idea the nuts were raw. :)

I have one tip as a newbie that I can share. I had been frequenting the bigger health food store in my city, because they are busy and thinking that the nuts and stuff are probably fresher because the bins will be filled more often. That may be true, but I couldn't find a couple of things in that store so went to a smaller health food store in another area (actually closer to me!) and found that some of the oils and such were quite a bit cheaper there! (first cold-pressed organic olive oil, etc). So I will probably frequent both stores, and buy whatever is cheapest in both. I'm going to make a log sheet and make note of the prices on staples in both stores and see how much of a difference there is. A few things seem to make a big difference, so do price compare the different health food stores in your area.

Debra

[Kris]

Great suggestions, everyone! I have one more thought.

You know those horrible, junk mail grocery store circulars that you get in your mailbox every day? Read them! When I was on a tighter budget, I would check those out every week and look for produce deals. Many times, stores would put organic produce on special, so the price was lower than that of its conventionally grown counterpart, as others mentioned.

If oranges are on special this week, stock up on oranges and make them your staple for this week. You can usually find some type of greens on special too. Next week, something else will be on special, and that's how you can get some variety.

Another thing that was a problem for me (may or may not be a problem for you) was buying too much produce at once, especially lettuces, and having them go bad before I could eat them. Huge waste of money and resources! So I have learned to buy greens on the day I want to eat them, and make sure that I account for the ripeness of my produce when I'm deciding how much to buy. After all, the produce specials are good for an entire week, so you can always go back and get more later if you run out.

[Sharon in Colorado]

If you can find a co-op, that would be your best bet. I used to run one, and will be starting it up again soon. You can get a whole case of valencia juicing oranges for 16-20 bucks which is a deal - like half as much - compared to the prices at the store. You can split up a case with someone else if it's too much.

We used to get 1/2 case of bananas (20 lbs) and the case of oranges (18 lbs) regularly and had no problem using it up. The only thing I didn't like much was the greens because if you don't eat them all up within 3 days, they all wilt on you. But if you do huge salads and green smoothies on a daily basis, it should be no problem. Bananas are easy because you can freeze them if they get too dark on you.

Oh ya, and everything was organic from the co-op.

[StrawberryFields]

I do spend so much less on cosmetic things now. No more exfoliator(just a skin brush), no body lotion,no makeup remover, no expensive wrinkle creams or eye creams. No money for facials as I do a honey facial now-very cheap! None of those things were an absolute necessity anyway, but I was a high maintenence woman! Hopefully, I can keep simplifying even more. I also find it cheaper to buy less produce more often, as that way, nothing goes to waste. Also, as my husband goes more raw, there are so many less items to buy. No meat, no dairy, no cokes or sugary foods, no packaged food, etc...Pretty much whatever is in the fresh produce aisle is all we need. Great idea on the sale circulars. I'm getting one today and will stock up on whatever is on sale! Thanks!

[nemo]

rawkinlocs, and rawpriestess rock...

wraps, with shredded root veggies can deffinitly extend pate...

parsley is a favorite SUPERFOOD of mine... a salad that is 50% parlsey is a very satifying meal indeed...

cabbage makes a great cheap veggie juice, mixed with celery goes along way... (if you're into juicing which can get pricey...) try red cabbage shredded extra fine for salads, wraps, etc.

add greens, and veggies (like parsley, or red cabbage) to seed pates to expand the volume

as rawkinlocs mentions seeds are much cheaper than nuts... when i was po' (i still have about the same amount of money, i've just decided to be 'rich' from now on) sunflower seeds were my bestfriend, filling and cheap... raw pumpkin seeds aren't too terribly expensive either, both (and combined) make fantastic pates, especially if you mix 'em with a little bit of nuts...

almonds are almost always a reasonablely priced nut.

raisins, although i haven't had one in years, are cheap, and little will go along way...

SPROUTING!!!! this is a GREAT economical source of nutrition... sprouting, and wheatgrass are excellent, get some books about this at the library. i'm just too lazy...for now...

it's a little late maybe this week...but... plant a garden... you'll be suprised at how much food Mother Earth will reward you with for a little TLC... worth the investment many, many times over...

combine the two... read up on sprouting, hydroponics, and gardening, and create an indoor garden. many herbs do well indoors, and will enliven, and extend your diet... also 'microgreens' indoor sprout gardening can give you many mulitple indoor winter crops of super nutritous 'baby greens'

...mmm, the farmer's market again... i have a friend who goes to one, and collects the beet greens they're throwing out, because the other customers don't know about how nutritious they are. she asks the farmers for any other stuff they'd otherwise just throw out... (i'm going to briefly mention dumpster diving in tribute to my punkrock past, and streetkid squater brothers, and sisters, it's illegal but... well you can figure it out.)(we ate well.)

asian markets... i buy alot of herbs, and the 'superfoods' you see for the big bucks from the rawk stars can be had for much less... i get my goji berries (Lyceum fruit, wolfberries) for $7 a pound down in nyc's china town... and i just found a place that sells 'em for $4 a pound... superfoods DO make a difference, since they're more nutrient dense they fill you up faster...

here's my brief 'superfoods pitch' if you want to invest in some good quality 'superfoods' healthforce nutritionals makes some of the best on the market, and they are reasonably priced, and less expenseive than the competition... vitalmineral green is something like $20 less than comparable formulas... greener grasses is even cheaper than that one (and i find it more easy to digest.) i know it's an investment, but research up on herbs, and see what you think... i'm into teas personally, you'll find what works for you.

seaweeds are an EXCELLENT nutrient dense 'superfood', that are reasonably priced, as is bee pollen (sorry my one 'unvegan') especially if you talk to the bee keeper personally... you'll get a much better price.

again my TOP superfoods are dark leafy greens... black (or red) kale, dino kale, dandelion... and of course PARSLEY, cheap, and POTENT... if you live near a clean woods, or wild area foraging for greens, and other wild foods can be most rewarding...

not to be totally glib here, but two things...

DRINK MORE WATER!!!

water fills you up, curbs 'hunger' which is often 'thirst' anyway, and you need it anyway... i make a game of seeing if i can drink a gallon of decent water a day... again, it's an investment... but when i do i need so much less 'food' that it boggles the mind.

i drink it slowly, and mindfully...which brings me to

CHEW VERY CAREFULLY...

chew all of your food with attention, intention, and graditude.

chew each bite at least 70x

make a game of trying to chew 200x

when you do this you will reach 'full' and satisfaction so much more 'quickly' (okay more slowly...but with so much less food) that you'll be like 'damn that nemo's messing with my head...'

teach your family to do the same thing, and see what happens...

i've personally found this to be one of the single biggest factors in reducing the quantity of food i eat, espcially when i eat some ultra nutrient dense food like PARSLEY!!!

PARSLEY, PARSLEY, PARSLEY...

(guess what i'm psyched to have for dinner?)

okay i hope you'll take those ideas with an open mind.they've really worked for me...

nemo

[Sharon in Colorado]

I really enjoy parsley myself. I think it stems (ha) from our yearly Passover seders, what with dipping the parsley in the salt water and such. I remember always eating the parsley garnish off my SAD plate in restaurants, alhtough I'm not so sure they include that anymore.

So here's to parsley - I hope to find some good organic parsley on my next outting - it's been a while since I've found some really good stuff.

[Elizrawbeth]

I have loved reading all of your suggestions. Thank you. I really appreciate the comments about how much we save iin other areas of our lives because we are raw. I do think that it takes planning to be raw, but well worth the effort. My mouth never watered for food that was cooked the way it does when I just think about all the yummy things I look forward to preparing raw. I am sorry I have no tips, I am just a taker this time! God bless you all.

Elizabeth