Steps to success...keeping the costs down

[mattm]

Heya guys, hope these series of posts of mine are of some help to you and I want to move on to discuss the dreaded 'raw bill'. When at especially university this is a big thing for most raw foodists and I just wanted to give some ways I was able to live on 100% green smoothie diet for most of the year, consume an aweful lot of ingredients and spend much less than any of my friends did.

My first and biggest secret is something infact I've just posted about and you might have read....FORAGING. This one thing in itself cut my food costs by over 50%...it's quite incredibly and the idea that you can eat all that stuff that grows in the countryside in such incredible abdundance was a complete revelation to me when I was shown by a friend. Now...I'm definitely a novice with this but things like berries, cleavers, dandelion and nettles are soooo easy to identify and you can literally come home with literally bags and bags full of FREE, WILD and FRESH produce that will be a million times more nutritious than the expensive organic produce in the shops that is probably as unfresh as you can get. So everyone get foraging...there's a load of FREE food out there for us...just make sure you wash it well first otherwise might also get some insect protein!!

My second secret was that I always prioritised my health above anything else...a lot of people spend all their money on drinking alcohol, eating out in SAD restaurants, buying expensive gadgets, DVDs, CDs, etc...ever since going 100% raw I've found myself content but much less and I don't waste my money on all these things I used to. People have got into the mindset that minimal should be spent on food but I think that is wrong to an extent, our health is sooo important to us and I would rather ensure that by spending a bit more on quality organic produce than go out and getting some fancy gadget that I will probably get bored of.

My third recommendation is try to go to the source of produce (if not foraging of course!) so you cut out as many middle men as possible. I do this through my local organics shop which, even though small, knows the locals, the farmers and can get the produce DIRECTLY from them...FRESH. Also I can buy in BULK all my fruit and veg for the week which further reduces the cost.

The fourth idea, though not possible in my particular situation, is to perphaps get a job during study in an organics shop if you feel you have the time for it. I've known people to have done this and they get free produce, major discounts and additionally you make friends with like-minded people healthwise...can't be a bad thing.

As I said, hope these few ideas are of help to you guys and anymore ways you've discovered for keeping the costs down please post.

[tvillemom]

Matt, those are some great ideas! Thanks for sharing, even though I am not in college...thinking of keeping things "low cost" for my growing family....
Don't forget to mention SPROUTING, seeds are cheap, and growing them is easy!
Wendi

[mattm]

Thanks, good one on the sprouts. Forgot to say that if anyone out there really can't afford the cost of organic produce then there are definitely vegetables and fruits that are better and worse for you in terms of pesticides, chemicals etc. As a good rule of thumb for fruit, those with a thick skin (pineapple, papaya etc) tend to be a lot better. The following from FDA data shows those fruits and veg most 'tainted':

1)Strawberries
2)Bell peppers (green and red)
3)Spinach (tied with number 2)
4)Cherries (grown in the United States)
5)Peaches (grown in Chile)
6)Cantaloupe (grown in Mexico)
7)Celery
8)Apples
9)Apricots
10)Green beans
11)Grapes
12)Cucumbers

For more detailed information check the following link out http://www.organic-store.co.uk/organic-vegetables.html

All the best

Matthew

[Random Violin Guy]

Excellent post, Matt!

Any ideas on where I could get some good foraging information? Any videos/documentaries out there? I know there's books out there as well.

[mattm]

Hi Random Violin Guy thanks...happy these posts are helping everyone out...as I said in my post I admit to being a complete novice when it comes to foraging and have just bee using information taught to me when introduced to the idea by a friend at uni. I've look up more info on the net which there's lots of and Carmella has written a good piece on it at http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com ...the links at the end of the post are resources I've found interesting before as well. I'm in the hunt for a good book now as well and am sure a quick look on amazon will produce results but if you find anything in the meantime I'd love to know. As I said though, even with my limited knowledge of some of the most abundant greens here in the UK I could come back to my halls of residence at uni with literally bags full of produce. It's great fun finding out what is around you to eat and you really feel more in touch with nature gathering your food.

All the best

Matthew

[Random Violin Guy]

The only thing I'm really worried about is harvesting wild food that's been sprayed with chemicals, or that's been sitting next to traffic 24/7.

There is this one ebook somebody else on here posted. Not much help to you, I don't suppose, but for all of those in the US or Canada, it's probably a pretty good book. I haven't started in yet, though.

http://www.swsbm.com/ManualsOther/Us...ul_Plants.html

[Rossk]

My second secret was that I always prioritised my health above anything else...a lot of people spend all their money on drinking alcohol, eating out in SAD restaurants, buying expensive gadgets, DVDs, CDs, etc...ever since going 100% raw I've found myself content but much less and I don't waste my money on all these things I used to. People have got into the mindset that minimal should be spent on food but I think that is wrong to an extent, our health is sooo important to us and I would rather ensure that by spending a bit more on quality organic produce than go out and getting some fancy gadget that I will probably get bored of.


Matt couldnt agree more on the dvds and such . Since going raw really all i spend money on is Food and stuff for my health and money i give to my parents .
I agree I feel Id get bored of most of the consumer retial things now for some reason , I prefer going to the library and getting out loads of books now

Plus I no longer spend a gold mine on "skincare" products which did nothing for me , my skin is beautiful from raw plus with washing with simple baking powder and some vitamin e oil rubbed in , much cheaper much more effective.

[silverundertone]

lots of good points in your post. my usual grocery bill for the week averages between $50-$100 (for one meal a day..sometimes a smoothie or fruit for breakfast...crazy!) I try to buy alot of whats on sale and try to the best of my ability to mix up my meal ideas thruought the week.

about not spending money on dvds, cds etc...im really not into shopping. in fact, i cant stand it most of the time. about once every couple of months ill go down to the used book/cd store and spend about $25..but otherwise you would almost have to pay me to get me to go into a store.

the alcohol is something i need to cut back on..(and smoking..) ive kind of figured out that on average, i spend approx. $120 per month on smokes...and almost twice that on alcohol.

im working on growing my own vegetables, but im not sure if that saves me any money in the long run. the plants, soil and pots still cost a decent amount of money.

..i do find it funny that no one has really mentioned cutting out unnecessary driving...these days, gasoline prices (as well as car insurance, maintenance..etc) are horrendously expensive. ...which is probably for the best.