Eating Raw on a Budget

Eating raw can be either super-cheap or super-expensive, or anywhere in between - it depends on what kinds of foods you are buying, where you are buying them from as well as the all-important quality and quantity. The most expensive foods are typically the tropical fruits and out of season fruits, the speciality ingredients from the USA and of course organic foods are generally more expensive than non. The cheapest foods are of course going to be the ones you grow yourself, are given by others or what you'll have plenty of if you take up sprouting for a living! That said, there are always ways and means of getting cut-price produce of the kind you really want, it just takes a bit of time and effort to shop around, and sometimes some clever thinking! But once you've found some good suppliers, tips and techniques, you’re well on your way to saving what can often be substantial amounts of money.

Here follow some ideas which, without exception, will pay dividends, both in terms of time and money...

• Pooling resources with others is an excellent way to save time and money. You can bulk buy from wholesalers such as Suma, pool your knowledge, and also take it in turns to do the shopping or ordering. You’ll also find that when you order with other people you'll likely try new foods you might not have tried otherwise and discover some really lovely new ingredients or main meal staples. And then there's the added bonus of feeling part of a raw food 'community'...
• Grow as much of your own produce as possible. If you don’t have the space or time to get into gardening on any great scale, you can still grow plenty of sprouts and indoor greens which can save you a small fortune (one woman I know cut her food bill by a third by swapping meat for sprouts). Also, as you have already learned, sprouted beans, seeds and grains also supply some of the most live and potent nutrients you will ever find, and for next to nothing in many cases. Look out for a future post on successful sprouting.
• Dehydrate many of your fresh foods which are past their best, but still edible, but which you’re not planning on using before they deteriorate further. Instead you can dehydrate them in a number of ways (slices, chips, marinated then dehydrated, dehydrated then ground into sprinkles and seasonings etc.) and use them later. See a few posts back for mini teach-ins on dehydrators and dehydrating.

• Freeze any bananas that are speckled but not yet black if you’re not going to get through them before they turn. Take the skin off and put in the freezer – within a few hours you’ll have the basic ingredient for a great raw ice-cream or frozen lolly. Do the same with other fresh fruit – most fruits translate excellently into ice-cream or sorbet at a later date.
• One of the very best tips for saving money on a regular basis is to find out when your favourite shops mark down their produce. Typically supermarkets have a day and/or time where they reduce prices on fresh goods by up to 90%, and you can find some real bargains. You just have to know when these days are and what times are best. The quickest way to find out? Just ask one of the checkout assistants!
• Consider advertising or putting the word around that you're looking for organic fruits and vegetables that are locally grown. Lots of allotment growers have excess produce that often goes to waste - connect with them and offer to take the excess off their hands for pennies rather than pounds - top idea!
• Choose to frequent farm shops rather than supermarkets - many reasons why of course, but financially-speaking you can buy fresh produce that is twice as nutritious and half the price from local farm growers - and it's usually not dipped in chemicals like commercial organic produce. This is what I do.
• Call The Fresh Network on 0845 833 7017 and find out what foods, books and equipment are currently sitting in the 'bargain box'. Often we have nut butters and other foods close to their sell-by date that we sell for less than half price, or books that have been damaged in transit on thier way to us that we cannot sell as new. Give Pete a call during office hours and find out what's in there - it may be just what you're looking for.
• When it comes to buying books or equipment, look out for decent second hand pieces in the small ads section of your local paper, online, through e-bay, at car boot sales, through the classifieds section of Get Fresh! magazine, or within the web directory of The Fresh Network.

• And finally, don’t forget the food for free options, such as foraging for wild greens in clean parks and woodlands, mushroom, berry and apple picking, and so forth.

Any more ideas? Please do share them with other readers by posting your top money-saving tips in the comments section. Thank you!

Comments

[Karen Knowler]

Hi Charlotte

It wasn't a typo. Commerical organic produce can be and usually is dipped in chemicals before the produce goes on sale. I know, it is scandalous, but it's true. The Soil Asociation allow a certain amount of chemicals to be used and it is still classed as organic.

[Charlotte]

"and it's usually not dipped in chemicals like commercial organic produce."

Typo? Did you mean just "commercial produce", or are you implying that what is sold as organic in grocery stores is being treated with some chemical? Because, if that's the case, I thought that means it's not organic?

[Maaria]

I'm constantly trying to eat raw on a very low budget (currently £5.70 per day after I pay all my bills) and find that many tips on the internet assume you have a car.... I live in London where many don't own one and rely on public transport and cycling, me included, so visiting farmers or farmer's markets directly becomes difficult.

I am keeping a web diary of my progress, I am now on day 3 of my 100-day raw food on a budget challenge... Hopefully it is ok to post it here: www.cheap-health-revolution.com/100-day-challenge.html

I'm posting it in case it is useful for anyone and/ or for others to give me help and advice...

Thanks!

[johleen]

Karen,

I'm really finding your website inspiring. I found out about raw food a year ago and am still struggling to make the transition. Especially because we do not have a large budget and have two small boys to feed as well! Also a lot of the recipes and budget saving ideas I have read are from authors that live in hotter climes. One budget idea I read was to go round your neighbourhood and find the citrus trees and ask your neighbours if you can have some! Not very useful info if you live in the UK!

I have just qualified as a hypnotherapist and one of my main reasons for wanting to go raw is because I *know* that it will help me understand and help my clients through clearer thinking, better memory, more energy, more compassion etc.

Thanks for the free info on your website. I shall be buying your ebook asap!

Warm wishes,
Johleen

[Coach Handbags]

Great articles and it's so helpful. I want to add your blog into my rrs reader but i can't find the rrs address. Would you please send your address to my email? Thanks a lot!

[jon]

thanks for that karen. i got some useful tips... especially the banana one. do you eat purly organic? organic can rise to almost be double that of ordinary food.

[Elspeth]

This is more of a short-span once-a-year tip: for birthdays and Christmas you can say to friends and family that you'd appreciate edible gifts - fruit/veg/nut hampers, etc. or any other ingredients you may use in your raw food menus (a nice big bottle of olive oil, Tahini, etc). Nice way to stock up on goodies!

Also, I haven't tried this, but now thinking of it ... something like a sou sou could work (with relevant adjustments considering raw foods are perishable) if a group of rawists get together. Instead of pooling money, pool raw foods and whoever's 'turn' it is that week or fortnight or month will get the whole 'harvest' of goods.

Sou Sou: "A savings arrangement where a group of people each pool an equal amount of money for a period time (month, two weeks, etc) and after that time is up, one person in the group gets all that money. They keep doing this till everyone gets their turn and receives that full lump sum at least once."

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sou-sou

[Sanjula]

inspiered by Victoria Boutenkos book Green for Life I started to ask in organic supermarkets when I buy my fruits and veggies if it is ok to select some of the Green stuff that is normaly thrown away as the greens of Carrots, Radish, and other roots. So I collect regulary half a small bag full for free!!!!!! I put them in my green Smoothies but if asked if these are for my rabbit I mostly nod as I do not want to get into any discussions or odd glanzes.
I like especially the carrot and radish greens. taste great in green smoothies or soups.
enjoy :)

[Yang]

Thanks Karen!

[Nathan]

Wow! I'm inspired. Fresh 'n' Wild are pretty expensive! Thanks for the great tips :)