Episode 125: Budget Friendly Solutions

Is your idea of eating on a budget mean peanut butter and pasta? Does the idea of budget meal planning bring up thoughts of dread at how difficult it will be? It does not have to be that way. Amanda will take you through 10 helpful tips to consider when making that meal plan that will help you get back to eating healthy nutritious food while saving you money.

About the Host:

Amanda Elise Love is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who teaches women how to cook simple but delicious allergy-friendly healthy meals and to integrate a holistic approach through mind, body, and spirit.

Amanda also has a long history of illness which culminated with the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia at the age of 20 in 2010. She holds a diploma as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, certifications in gut health, culinary nutrition, and more.

Join the Cooking with Love Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3y67neb 

Connect with Amanda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaeliselove/

 

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Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:02):
You're listening to Physical, Emotional and Health Secrets with Amanda Love. If you're a mom, dealing with autism and issues dealing with sleep issues, trauma mindset or any other health issues, you are in the right place. And this show we cover all those topics and more. My name is Amanda Elise Love, and I'm a registered holistic nutritionist and welcome to physical, emotional health secrets with Amanda Love. Let's get to improving our health and let's get started.

(00:32):
You have a ton many ways to start your journey. I'm meal prep and episodes 121 21 And I want to talk to you today about budget friendly solutions for a kitchen that is grain free, sugar free, dairy free, egg free and soy free. This was a transition for me 11 years ago when I first had to cut out soy, eggs, gluten dairy for my life and 2011. This was because I learned I had high sensitivities to all of those. And I found out I had two genes that predispose me to a gluten sensitivity, one set from each parent, the highest in the Wellness Coach practice office at the time, and I was only 21 years old. This also meant learning a different way of eating and watching what I ate more than ever. I thought I was eating healthy but found out those foods were giving me pain, headaches, extreme fatigue and more. And I had to learn what it meant to cook foods that didn't make me sick. This is why I teach others that cooking red Scratch is important to feeling better about your health. And that's why I became a holistic nutritionist to help others feel better. A log with helping you with supplements, mindset and more. There are several ways to start budgeting when you're cooking healthy meals, and as is supported to get the best foods for your body. A monthly meal plan is a great way to save money on your food budget and it does take some time intentional thought on your end. It can help prevent food spoilers later on, they'll break your food bank, and this episode is to help you cut your food costs. You might think a budget meal planning it take endless days of peanut butter and pasta, which is not allergy free and not how I want you to live. You could save a time by just eating rice and beans. But that is not the way either. I want you to know that a budget meal plan is to not deprive you of your favorite foods that you love. It shows you how to use your resources in the best way possible. And this menu plan that you create will help you save money, but also it will help you to enjoy your favorite meals. Now I'm going to share with you some examples. One way that you could do this is for you to get to know your farmers that are near you and make sure to ask them about bulk purchases. This is a great way to get beat and a whole chicken and bulk from the local farmers which can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Make sure to also buy foods that are in season and large quantities when your farmer needs to get rid of all their excess supply to buy a bulk. There are many things that are significantly cheaper when bought by the case or in bulk. Third, never buy full price for meats and fish. Make sure to look for sale prices on Main and fish every time you go to the store or Farmers Market regardless whether it's on your shopping list or not. If it's on sale, I buy a huge quantity and throw it in the freezer for later. And this leads to my next suggestion for buy a small chest freezer. This how to did not buy full price for me poultry fish. To do that you need a place to store those foods and this small chest freezer helps with those items go on sale. Five, grow your outfit. I recommend doing the most expensive items. Example would be organic lettuces as they can add up quickly. But it's not hard to grow. It gets save you five to $10 each week depending on your family's consumption. Six, look at what you have in your cupboards before shopping. I say this because you should be a carping. What is in your freezer fridge and cupboard first. This helps you fill in any blanks and it will help you get off to a good start when the prep but it also saves you money if you know what you already have on hand. Seven. Check out weekly sales before creating a meal plan.

(04:33):
You might think how do I figure out what is the cheaper item from a different grocery store. There's a great app called the latest deals supermarket comparison app where you can check items in advance. This way you don't have buyer's remorse, eight by the bag of produce. Think of items in bags that are actually a lot less than buying individually. I just You could buy in bags are onions, potatoes is apples and many other fruits and vegetables. Nine. Look for free food on supermarket cashback and food waste apps, supermarket cashback apps like shop men and checkout smart are great for bagging food freebies are always offers on each app for exciting new brands and traditional favorites too. And you can get all sorts for free herbs and spices to a generous this discount on pantry basics like rice, apps like OLIO and karma or other great way to stores free food. Download the apps are free and checking your local area for kind neighbors giving away food that is about to expire or is perfectly good. Sometimes they just don't need it. And don't forget to return the favor 10 Useless expensive cuts of meat stay can be very expensive, less expensive options are ground beef stew, meat and bearing rest. Did you know that less expensive and most nutritious meats are Oregon's the benefit or organ meat is that it's a great source of high quality protein that contains all the essential amino acids your body needs to function optimally and to build lean muscle mass. Additionally, the protein organ meats keeps you full for longer, thus reducing cravings and hunger pains between meals. I love it. Have a flexible meal plan. Say you plan to have chicken and green beans but broccoli unset is on sale. Then that means you get what is on sale and forget the green beets 12 spice and the bulk section or other bulk food, this is a great way to save money. Also bulk spices are mostly more affordable than jarred spices. 13 buy beats with the green attack. If you eat a lot of bass that can be expensive. A great tip is to buy beats with the greens. This way you can use the beet greens just like spinach. This way you don't have to buy the other greens and spinach that week.

(07:13):
I hope you learned a lot from this short but packed episode and I hope you can join us in the Facebook group physical emotional and health secrets with a mandolin. So thank you for listening to physically emotional health secrets with Amanda law. Please hop on over to iTunes and leave us a review and feel free to share our channel with your friends and family. And also you can find us on YouTube, Facebook and www Amanda Lee's blood.com. I would love to hear from you and I hope you take action to improve your health right now. Talk to you soon my health brides