Thanks to the support of Evanston Newbie readers and my very supportive family, we survived the Whole Foods Healthy Eating Challenge, but we spent more than $100 of groceries in a week. If the challenge budget was $150, we would have WON! But there are no losers really in this challenge considering everyone walks away well fed and a little bit smarter about navigating the neighborhood Whole Foods.
What pushed us over the $100 spending goal for a week of groceries? Our addiction to protein! It is much more cost effective to be a vegetarian and tons more cost effective to be a vegan - but in our house, protein rules, especially during dinner.
One fantastic feature that kept us on track was the Whole Foods Daily Deal, pictured here, where each day of the week, an item is up to 30% off. We bought a roasted chicken for $6.99 and where one other blogger who participated in the challenge said the chicken lasted her family at least two meals, we polished it off in one. Maybe we could also try to eat less.
One thing I didn't do a good job of was posting recipes on this blog during the challenge but I blame the time I was spending shopping as I did the challenge daily, and went into Whole Foods searching for flash sales on a regular basis. We scored some amazing New York steaks and delicious boneless pork chops.
In appreciation of all your support and enthusiasm, I am giving away a $100 gift certificate to Whole Foods to anyone who can recommend the best tip on eating on a budget. And "plan, plan, plan" can't be the answer. Post your tip here in the reply section or via email at thelisadshow@gmail.com. I'll post the winning reply and let you know how to redeem your gift certificate.
Also a big thanks to the team over at Whole Foods Evanston South. You are a very kind and friendly staff and I appreciate you answering my 900 questions about food and sales and food prep!
Happy healthy eating!
Hey Lisa D.,
ReplyDeleteYou have already identified that being a vegetarian or vegan would help your bottom line. We only have one meat eater in our household of four but on Monday none of us eat meat because it is Meatless Monday Chez Schaye. On this day I try out new recipes that I think we might all like. One of our biggest hits is Mexican Black Bean Lasagna. Meatless Monday is a movement with this goal: by cutting out meat once a week, we can improve our health, reduce our carbon footprint and lead the world in the race to reduce climate change. This website explains how and why and has recipes. http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
Make your own food and cut down on processed foods whenever you can. Your food will be healthier (less sugar, salt, weird preservatives, etc) and so much cheaper!
ReplyDeleteInstead of buying a ton of packaged processed foods that cost a ton, try buying bags of dry beans, fresh veggies, rice and fruit. You can buy almost 3x as much for how much money you spend on the big name processed stuff!
ReplyDelete