A Peek at Our Real Food Budget

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What does our food budget look like while trying to eat a real food diet on a budget? Today, I welcome you to take a peak into our food budget. We keep to the basics in our eating habits, nothing fancy. I have come to realize that although real foods can cost more up front, the value is worth every penny. We feel better, we are satisfied longer, and we rarely need the doctor. Truth be told…I have realized you can always afford what you prioritize. When we first started out pursuing a more whole foods diet, Aaron and I sat down to evaluate our overall budget. We concluded that if we wanted to spend more on food, other things would have to go. One of the main reasons I chose to cloth diaper, for example, was so that we could eliminate that monthly expense and use the money for food. Other expenses that we chose to eliminate: we own no television, no magazine subscriptions, own one vehicle, eat out less, etc. I have found that if you have the vision and passion to eat naturally, you can make it work!

Our food budget is $400 per month for four of us. Yes, Titus eats his share! ;) Whole foods definitely seem to be more expensive here in the Portland area of Oregon, probably because there is more demand for it. This includes all our food and household products (bath, cleaning, and general household items). Where does it get spent? I have listed out the stores I buy my food from below. These are typically the best sources that we have access to that I have found the best price. As you can see below, I keep pretty much the same list monthly and keep it organized in the Shopper application on my I-phone (which has been very helpful, by the way!). All these ingredients are also based upon my monthly menu plans. This works for our family, but there is always room for flexibility as to the season of life.

Trader Joe’s - I make a monthly grocery trip to TJ’s to pick up various staples. I found they have some of the best prices on good, organic, and preservative free items.

Here is what I buy monthly or as needed, spending around $125 per month:

All Beef, Nitrate Free Hot Dogs – 1 pack
Nitrate Free Ham (lunchmeat) – 1 lb
Chicken Italian Sausage (2 lbs)
Organic Spinach (for smoothies) – 3 bags
Bananas (about 20 – freeze for smoothies)
Avacados (2 packs – mainly for Titus)
Raw Parmesan Cheese (in the bulk form)
Canned Wild Salmon
Organic Ketchup
Organic Mustard
Mayonnaise (sometimes I buy, sometimes I make my own)
Kerrygold Butter (2 pounds)
Olives (2 cans)
Organic Sour Cream (1 container)
Salsa
Peanut Butter (2 jars)
Brown Rice Pasta (1 pack of spaghetti, 1 pack penne, as needed)
Chicken Breasts (1 bag)
Frozen Organic Peas (1 pack)
Frozen Organic Corn (1 pack)
Frozen Wild Salmon (2 lb = 2 packs)
Olive Oil (32 oz container -every two months)
Pure Maple Syrup (every two months)
Organic Quinoa
Organic Raisins
Toothpaste (every two months)
Shampoo (every two months)
Soap Bars
Toilet Paper
Coffee & Beer (for the hubby)

Occasionally, we will get a few treats…such as Jo-Jo’s, (yes, those yummy oreo alternatives), raw bleu cheese, feta cheese, etc.

Azure Standard (whole foods co-op) – $50 per month – most of these items are purchased on an as needed basis

Raw Cheddar (5 lbs) – every two months – grate and freeze it
Mozzarella (5 lbs – every 2 months – also grate and freeze)
Organic Whole Grains, Legumes: Wheat, Kamut, Spelt, Oats, Millet, Lentils, Brown Rice, Black Beans (purchased in 5 lb quantities, oats and wheat in 25 lb bags)
Spices
Organic Coconut Milk
Chia Seeds
Cocoa Powder
Nuts
Rapadura/Sucanat
Leavenings -baking soda, baking powder, arrowroot powder, sea salt
Goat’s Milk Powder (for baby)
Produce on occasion – Organic Apples, Pears (20 lb box)

Milk & Eggs – local source = $75.00 per month
2 dozen eggs weekly – $3.75 per dozen
1 1/2 gallons of milk weekly- $7.50 per gallon – from which I make kefir, yogurt, and some butter, and occasional ice cream

Vegetables/Fruit- local farms- $15-20 per week – $80 per month
I stick with the frugal vegetables and fruits and whats in season for better prices. I rarely if ever buy cherries, peppers, pineapple, etc. We eat a lot of greens, apples, pears, carrots, broccoli, onions, garlic, squash, potatoes, etc. We typically serve raw veggies and fruit with lunch and dinner includes a fresh salad (even if its just greens sometimes), and usually a steamed or baked veggie.

Beef – annual local purchase of 1/4 cow – $375 - $31.25 per month
We typically eat beef twice a week, chicken once, fish once, vegetarian once and pizza and leftovers on the weekends.

Chickens – annual local purchase of 12 chickens (one per month) – $180$15 per month – I cook up one chicken per month from which we make chicken stock.

Produce stocked up on in the summer for freezer- Strawberries, peaches, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes (canned all my own tomatoes for sauce), pickling cucumbers for pickles, berries for homemade jam – I usually set aside $200 for such purchases, but I don’t really include this in our food budget. I just set money aside early in the summer from other earnings.

Other items from different sources:

Organic EV Coconut oil – order from Mountain Rose Herbs (we consume about 1 gallon every 2 months) – buy in quantity and split with friends
Cod liver oil – purchase through Vitacost
Pepperoni – I buy Applegate Farms nitrate free pepperoni from Fred Meyer’s
Bread – I currently buy sprouted bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns from Dave’s Killer Bread OutletI can buy one loaf of sprouted 100% organic bread for $2.10 a loaf in bulk quantities (it’s been one of those seasons when making it from scratch has been a real challenge!)
Raw Honey -from a local farm – Honey House Farms (1/2 gallon every two months)
Vinegar, club soda, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen bleach and a few other cleaning supplies – infrequent purchases at wal-mart or Fred Meyers
Soap nuts – for laundry from NaturOli

What happens when we really need to cut corners? As my husband is self-employed, income is never quite consistent, so there have been times when we really had to cut back. In order to make it work, we cut the following out of our grocery list, and can usually get by with $300 per month:

limit to 1 gallon of milk
1 dozen eggs
no salmon
no lunchmeat
no snacks
make my own ketchup
make my own bread

What products do I make myself?

chicken broth
breakfasts (smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal – meaning that we don’t use packaged products, just use our own homemade recipes)
muffins and other breakfast pastries
tortillas
biscuits
salad dressings
ice cream and other desserts
protein bars for snacks
canned tomato sauce – homemade chili, spaghetti sauce, etc
jams

I may have overlooked something…

What products do we avoid? As you can see, we do really strive to keep to the basics with the ocassional splurge on a special dessert or snack. I try to avoid mixes, cereal, soda, packaged snacks…

You can make it work! You just sometimes have to cut out some of those convenience foods. Alas!

Other Real Food Budgets:

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home – How My Grocery Budget Works
Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers – Breaking Down the Budget

What does your food budget look like? Do you have any tips to share on how to make it work on a budget?

About Lindsay

Lindsay Edmonds is first a lover of Jesus, wife, mother of four, homemaker, and writer. She loves inspiring women around the world toward simple, natural, and intentional living for the glory of God.

183 Responses to A Peek at Our Real Food Budget

  1. Sarah-Anne December 4, 2011 at 6:31 am #

    Hi Amanda, have you used the search box or recipe index on Lindsay’s site? There are recipes for most/all of the items you’re looking for. :)

    Blessings!

    • Amanda December 4, 2011 at 4:35 pm #

      Oh man!!! I didn’t even think about that :) I’m going to blame it on being almost 40 weeks pregnant!! Thanks!

  2. Amanda December 4, 2011 at 4:41 am #

    Hi!

    I loved looking at your real food budget. Money is extremely tight right now and we are trying to make ours work with very little wiggle room. I currently grind my own wheat for waffles, but haven’t found a recipe my husband likes for bread, biscuits, or muffins. Could you share your recipe for these?

    Thanks in advance!

  3. Judy December 1, 2011 at 2:54 pm #

    Thank you for such a wonderful post! I live in NE Portland, OR and would like to know where to find some of the whole foods co-op as well as your local sources for milk, eggs, beef and chickens. I really enjoy your blogs!

  4. Myra November 30, 2011 at 11:54 am #

    I found this very interesting. I’m curious why you would cut milk out of your diet before the beer ? I too have a limited budget and when funds allow, will purchase beer for my husband. Since it has no nutritional value and he is the only one who drinks it, I would never purchase it if I could not afford other things like milk and eggs.

    • Samara November 30, 2011 at 12:49 pm #

      it makes sense to me. many of us make ‘health food’ choices that our husbands kindly tolerate, and even pay for, but wouldn’t choose if it was up to them. it only make sense to not cut their favorite things out when the budget is tight. better to cut my favorite thing out and show my gratefulness to him for his provision and love by finding room in the budget for something he likes.

      • Samara November 30, 2011 at 1:11 pm #

        I thought I would just mention that my “favorite things” are raw cocoa powder, grass-fed butter and raw milk. My family can get along without them, by using conventional products, or alternatives (non-dairy milks)…I don’t like it as well and I don’t think it’s as healthy, but I can tolerate it :) :) :)

    • Lindsay November 30, 2011 at 2:59 pm #

      When on a tight budget, we certainly cut back on the beer consumption as well, but not all together. It’s nice to have on hand when he’s had a stressful time at work. We drink a lot of raw milk for pleasure and not necessity since I don’t cook a whole lot with milk. We like to drink it with our meals for the most part. So you see both milk and beer are more pleasure purchases than necessity at our house. They are both easy to cut back on as needed.

  5. Sarah-Anne K. October 23, 2011 at 1:06 am #

    I hope it’s okay I’m asking again, but is your food budget still about $400 a month? If not, do you mind sharing how much you’re spending each month?

    I’m working on our food budget and meal plan, and hoping our EBT will cover a monthly meal plan similar to the one you recently posted. I’m not quite stretching the money far enough with our current plan (or frequently: lack of a plan!).

    If you have a moment to answer, I greatly appreciate it. Be blessed.

    • Cathy December 8, 2011 at 5:33 pm #

      I’m curious, too, with all the price increases the past few years. We’ve held relatively steady on our budget but are getting ready to raise it substantially.

  6. Carol July 23, 2011 at 4:09 pm #

    Thank you so much for your web site. I just found it as a link from GNOWFGLINS. I am a grandmother of 6. I am excited that Godly websites are available like these. Thank you so much for sharing information about fermenting food, and wonderful healthy recipes that are affordable. I live in Central Oregon and I’m fortunate to be able to get eggs from my son and his family. And to purchase affordable local grass fed beef. I am gluten intolerant and allergic to dairy. I plan to share your website with my 3 daughters and my daughter-in-law.

  7. Erin June 13, 2011 at 7:19 pm #

    I refer to this OFTEN and have found it sooooo wonderfully helpful! This may be way too much to ask but I have been hoping that somebody would do a current or updated budget since prices have gone up and your children are older now. I’m trying to keep as close to this as possible but am finding it nearly impossible so I’m just wondering if it may have something to do with food prices going up? (I also have four children—all with good appetites) Thank you! LOVE your blog!

  8. Tiffany Longo May 21, 2011 at 11:37 am #

    how do you freeze the banannas? Do you freeze the entire smoothie? ANd you also mentioned that you buy one pack of chicken for the monht….do you just not have chicken very often or do you stretch it between meals? I would LOVE to know!

    I have 4 little ones (7 and under) and one on the way and we get the two packs of organic chicken roasters (whole chickens) from Costco once every two weeks…if there’s other stuff I need, then I only get it once a month – BUT – I roast the two chickens at the same time in the oven. I remove all the meat and use a little less than half that night. There is meal # one (with sides, of course). THen I take the bones/skin and make a huge batch of chicken sotck, which I strain, add some of the cut up dark meat, carrots, noodles and that is chicken soup (meal #2).
    Then, I have all the leftover white meat that was not used in the first two meals, and use that for meal #3. This has seemed to work for us, and we have SIX EATERS!!

    I would LOVE any suggestions on how to use the leftover shredded chicken. It is so tender and tasty but mexican gets old, sometimes! THanks Lindsay!

    • Lindsay May 22, 2011 at 6:03 am #

      I freeze the bananas by first peeling them and then dividing them into 2-3 chunks. I then put it in a ziploc freezer bag and take out a chunk as needed for smoothies. I do not freeze the smoothie, but rather the ingredients. I purchase my berries in the summer when they are fresh and put in the freezer for the year. You can about how I make one chicken stretch for multiple meals here. It is very similar to your approach.

  9. Donna March 21, 2011 at 12:16 pm #

    Lindsay, I love your website, it is always so comforting and informative! I just wanted to tell you, Aldi’s food stores are owned by the same people who own Trader Joe’s and carry many of the same products. I was so surprised, yesterday, I did our shopping there, and found two different varieties of Kerrygold cheese from Ireland at 2.99 a brick each! We have tried the gouda, and it is so delicious. Each time we did our shopping at our former grocery store, our bill was always around $ 150.00, and this was after coupons. My bill yesterday, with a full shopping cart, was $69.00! They even have organic tomatoes and Tropicana oranges. Needless to say, this is such a godsend to our family, as I too, am a stay-at-home mom with three children. I just wanted to share this with you, as you are always so kind in sharing info. with your readers. Hope you are feeling well and have a healthy baby and speedy recovery! Donna

  10. Amy Davis February 7, 2011 at 9:44 pm #

    What type of oats do you buy? I am putting my first order in for Azure and they have Oats and Oat groats?

    • aevi March 6, 2011 at 8:43 pm #

      You may already have ordered…but in case you haven’t, thought I’d mention that I buy rolled oats for breakfast cereal or to put whole into oat breads or bars, and buy oat groats for grinding into oat flour.

  11. Damaris January 26, 2011 at 7:52 pm #

    I enjoy following your posts! I have been looking for an inexpensive shampoo. I see you buy it at TJ, but they have several varieties. Which would you recommend?
    Thank you so very much for this ministry!

    • Lindsay January 26, 2011 at 11:45 pm #

      We use the Nourish brand and like it alot.

  12. Bobbie December 5, 2010 at 9:11 am #

    What type of mayonnaise do you buy? We love Hain’s safflower mayo but I have read that safflower is a ”bad” oil. We are having trouble geting pastured eggs because of moulting so making my own is not an option right now.

    • Lindsay December 6, 2010 at 8:31 am #

      This is kind of a toughy. I prefer to make my own with a combination of olive oil, coconut oil, and non-toasted sesame oil, but it’s not always practical. Most of the time I just buy Trader Joe’s Real Mayo. IT uses canola, but no other crazy sweeteners or preservatives. IT’s most convenient for me at this time. Hain’s Safflower is suitable as well…not the best, but still okay. Wilderness Family Naturals makes a coconut oil mayo that is fabulous and probably the best option, but not so practical as it is expensive and hard to get apart from ordering online. Azure carries it but its not often available.

  13. Tessa November 9, 2010 at 4:58 pm #

    I usually do one roast per week or fortnight. I save all the little bits of meat and bone and make a lovely natural stock that night. The next day I use it to make a soup with vegetables and beans.

    For example:
    1. Roast chicken – use carcass and then add red lentils, corn, vegetables, a amount of cream and whatever else you like to create a creamed chicken and vegetable soup.
    2. Roast lamb – use bones and leftover meat with tinned organic chickpeas, pumpkin, spices and whatever vegetables you like to create a moroccan style dish.

    It makes two meals quite cheaply and my family have a fortnightly or weekly roast to look forward to. It also saves me time and keep our meals wholesome and natural.

  14. Megan Austin November 3, 2010 at 4:21 am #

    I’ve been blessed with a hunter for a husband! It saves loads of money on meat. We still buy some pork and beef from whole foods, but having a freezer full of venison sausage, steaks, and ground is a life saver!

    • Michelle November 24, 2010 at 1:54 pm #

      Me too – my husband is an avid deer hunter! We have found one of the best and easiest ways to eat the meat as well – to pressure cook it! Sound interesting (canned meat:) and looks it too, but it’s the most delicious and tender meat! It’s right up there with the best roast beef I’ve ever had! Cut up chunks of venison into about 1 inch pieces, place in mason jar, add one piece of beef on top and 1 teaspoon of salt. Put on lids and rings, then cook according to your pressure cookers directions. You just warm it up when it’s time to eat. We eat it plain, or add barbeque sauce for loose meat sandwiches, or add it into burritos (kind of like chipotle burritos if you’ve ever eaten those). It’s great!

  15. Stephanie November 2, 2010 at 6:28 pm #

    Hi Lindsey,

    Do you really get a quarter of cow for $375?? That is incredible! I have been looking at farms where I live (Florida) and they are all charging at least $500 for a quarter! Am I doing something wrong?

    • Lindsay November 2, 2010 at 7:32 pm #

      Yes. This is the only source in our area that is this low and they gal lives about 1 hr away. I find that the farther out you go in the country you can get better prices. It’s worth the drive for sure especially when it is only once a year. And our gal actually drives to us because I get a large group order arranged for her.

  16. Ashley October 27, 2010 at 9:29 am #

    Lindsay,

    I recently discovered your website through a friend of mine and have been truly blessed and challenged by what you have posted. It has even inspired me to help others by sharing my experiences as a wife on my blog.

    Also – I made a trip to Trader Joe’s this week for the first time and was very impressed. I will be going there once a month from now on as well. Thank you for the tip!

    Ashley

  17. Reidun October 20, 2010 at 4:18 pm #

    My favorite grocery budget thing to do is to try to come in under budget, and then put the leftover money in an envelope to put toward larger bulk purchases that we don’t purchase regularly. Once spur of the moment I bought 30 quarts of honey from a honey farm because I had the fund to cover it (it was significantly cheaper than from the store). It pretty much covers all our meat which I get right from the butcher in large quantities a few times a year. Right now it’s saving for either a Vitamixer (or equivalent) or a milk cow for our own source of raw milk.

  18. Jane October 6, 2010 at 4:05 am #

    Hi Lindsay
    How do you make your own tortillas? Do you soak or sprout the grain? Can you please pretty please post your a recipe? Sprouted grain tortillas are not available here in Australia, so I just don’t buy them. I would love to make my own as I do love tortillas and miss them! Many thanks for all the info you share here too – I just love your blog!

    • Lindsay October 6, 2010 at 5:07 am #

      I use my own soaked tortilla recipe. It works great!

      • Jkf March 26, 2011 at 7:39 am #

        We found your site about 2 months ago and it has been the BEST resource for us! I have made most of your recipes and- unlike other healthy recipes we’ve tried which turn out tasteless and bland- we are thrilled with the delicious results every time!

        My husband actually makes these tortillas weekly and they are DELICIOUS!!! My mom is mexican and so i have grown up with tortillas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These tortillas taste even better and we feel great knowing that they are good for us. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

  19. Tammy September 23, 2010 at 8:40 am #

    Thank you for this… such a big help!!! I am wondering, which cod liver oil do you purchase through Vitacost (brand, flavor, etc). I’ve wanted to try this for months, but haven’t fit it into the budget yet. Our budget is REALLY tight right now with my hubby in school… any suggestions for what is ESSENTIAL in the “real food” budget. It’s so disheartening to have to purchase processed garbage b/c it’s all you can afford… so I’m looking for the most bang for our buck right now! I already make tortillas, soak grains and try to stay away from processed snacks and HFCS. I do not have my shopping down to an art yet, like you do, but that is where I would like to be ASAP!! (Our food budget is probably about $300/month – still working through the budget too)
    Oh how I wish I would have had this all mastered at such a young age like you do!! BIG pat on the back for you, Lindsay!! You are SUCH a wonderful example of a Christian woman/wife/mother to all of us!!! Blessings :)

    • Lindsay September 23, 2010 at 12:10 pm #

      Cod liver oil is unfortunately very expensive, so I would probably recommend you put that on the back burner for now and focus on the essentials. We honestly are not using it right now because I wanted to move to the fermented brand (Blue Pastures), as it is most nutritious, but it is expensive. Make sure you are getting some good wild seafood (salmon, tuna, clams) in your diet on a regular basis and that will definitely help cover yours bases. Beyond that, get some good quality fruits and vegetables, avoid HFCS and sugar, and definitely try to make things from scratch as you are able. If you can find good quality meat (grass fed is preferred) than you can certainly make that stretch but still get the essential B vitamins. Sounds like you are off to a great start!

  20. Heidi September 17, 2010 at 12:49 pm #

    THANK YOU for sharing, i am passing it along. so helpful ;)

  21. Amanda September 15, 2010 at 11:08 am #

    This was exactly what I needed to help me in my menu planning and grocery shopping. Thank you so much!!!

  22. Rachel -- Following In My Shoes September 15, 2010 at 7:17 am #

    Ok — just left a comment on you rmonthly meal planning post and then read this one; THIS post makes the monthly meal planning make so much more sense to me. From here, I can see what you’re doing with produce/dairy (such as grating/freezing cheese) and this seems so much more feasible to me.

    Fantastic . . now I want to try the monthly thing for sure!

  23. Becky August 31, 2010 at 12:42 pm #

    One thing that helps my food budget is making my own snacks. I have been able to find every recipe I need on http://www.allrecipes.com including pretzels, graham crackers and wheat crackers!

  24. jan August 20, 2010 at 3:39 am #

    Glad i found your site!!

  25. Erin August 11, 2010 at 7:48 pm #

    Hi Lindsay! I am a long-time (quiet) reader. I wanted to share that we were also paying close to $8/gallon for our raw milk. We kept searching and searching and recently found a superb, small dairy with wonderfully healthy, grass-fed heifers that sale their milk for $3.75/gallon. We feel so blessed! We now buy 12 gallons each month to make our own butter, kefir, cream fraishe, cream cheese and whey.

    Your blog has been an incredible blessing to my family and I enjoy checking in weekly. I especially appreciate this post and look forward to watching you grow in the future. Keep searching for a small, local dairy and you may get as lucky as we have. (BTW, we live in Alabama, so unfortunately I can’t recommend our dairy to you, lol).

    God Bless!

    • Wendy August 27, 2010 at 7:22 am #

      Erin,

      We are also in Alabama. I would love to know where you get your milk.

      Thanks!
      Wendy

    • Christi September 15, 2010 at 9:08 pm #

      I am down to $400 a month as well for our family of 5, we have a 3, 2 and 6 month old.
      I am having to budget in to make my own baby food now as well as regular meals. I homemake everything I know how and am always learning.
      We just started on Raw Milk for a local Colorado dairy at $32 a share for half a gallon a week. I had to cut back my share because it was so expensive but I really want to know how to make my own yogurt and cream etc. Can anyone help me with this? I have the millk and my kids LOVE yogurt but I don’t know how to make it! I buy Organic Plan and add local honey to it for the kids and they love it. Please help if you can!
      THis is very inspiring to me!

    • Amy September 16, 2010 at 1:02 pm #

      Erin,
      We also live in Alabama and would love to know where you get your raw milk. We have been searching as well. What part of the state are you in?
      Thanks so much!

      • Lindsay September 16, 2010 at 1:17 pm #

        Have you checked out the list on realmilk.com?

  26. Emily July 6, 2010 at 10:01 am #

    Hey Lindsay,

    Thanks so much for posting your budget and resources. It is so helpful in trying to find quality ingredients in the desert- which is where I live the Mojave desert. I have to purchase most of my items online because it is hard to find a local source. We don’t even have a Trader Joes!

  27. Sarah July 2, 2010 at 6:30 am #

    have you looked at the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil?
    I’m trying to figure out the best for our money. Plus the best for our body. Let me know what you think

    • amannda August 12, 2010 at 10:14 am #

      I always buy from them, if you get a group to do a buyers club split, great. If not you can watch the sales and buy accordingly.

  28. Sarah July 2, 2010 at 6:24 am #

    some of these things I have found at Costco, I also love TJ’s. I haven’t compared the prices of organic spinach or butter. Have you? Are you a fan of Costco?

    • Denise Flanders September 28, 2010 at 8:07 am #

      in NC, organic spinach is way cheaper at costco. it’s $3.79 for a tub of 16 oz, versus at TJ’s you’ll pay $2.29 for a 5 or 6 oz bag. i think the kirkland organic butter ends up being cheaper than kerrygold at TJ’s, but kerrygold is only 2.69 for 8 oz, and i like it better, so that’s what I buy.

  29. radmamma June 13, 2010 at 7:25 pm #

    What do you use the goat milk powder for?

    • Lindsay June 14, 2010 at 12:37 pm #

      I use it for a natural milk supplement with my infants when my milk supply isn’t all the sufficient. Read more about it here.

  30. Sarah Doll June 7, 2010 at 4:33 pm #

    Hello! I was wondering where you get your raw milk for $7.50 a gallon! A great price! I also live in the PDX area (washington) and cannot seem to find raw milk at that price! Thanks!

  31. Kristen May 27, 2010 at 3:44 am #

    lindsay, your blog is a direct answer to my prayers. thanks for all that you’re doing! quick question, does your family drink raw milk? i’m considering making the switch and i was wondering your thoughts…?

    • Lindsay May 27, 2010 at 1:18 pm #

      Yes, we absolutely love raw milk! It is so rich and fresh and wonderfully nutritious. Highly recommend it! For more info, please check out: realmilk.com.

      • Kristen May 28, 2010 at 10:40 am #

        thanks, that’s a great website!

  32. mayme May 26, 2010 at 1:11 am #

    This is great for ideas AND to make me feel a little better. :) I had been feeling bad about the cost of our groceries/household items – $550/month for a family of 7 (one exclusively bfeeding). But unfortunately, right now none of it is organic. With no TJ’s or Whole Foods around, organic is really hard to come by.

  33. April May 25, 2010 at 6:12 pm #

    I see you get coconut milk. What do you use coconut milk for what are the benifts to using coconut milk?. I bought some and use it in my bread recipy and wow what a difference. It was realy good bread. For the first time I see that I can afford a good healty whole food diet. I’m gald you broke your food buget for us. I was a little overwelmed about starting to eat a whole food diet. I just put in my first order from Azure Standard. Ya there is a drop off only 30 min from me.

  34. Angi May 13, 2010 at 12:19 pm #

    Wow, I wish our food budget looked like that! We eat very similarly to what you have described, but we spend about $200 a WEEK on groceries! We are a family of 6 with 4 teenagers who eat us out of house and home, so that might have something to do with it! I am going to be looking into buying more stuff in bulk. Maybe that will help us out somewhat. Any suggestions for a co-op on the East coast?

  35. Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama May 12, 2010 at 5:16 pm #

    Every single time I read a post like this (and they ARE very helpful), I think, wow. My family must really eat a lot. There are 4 of us, two adults and a toddler and a baby. Your “monthly” list — we could go through that much in 2 weeks or less! We eat about 3 doz eggs/week (sometimes more), 1 gal milk, 5 lbs. or so beef, 9 – 12 lbs. chicken…it’s ridiculous. I have to make 1.5 – 2 lbs. of meat per meal (dinner) even if I’m making a big salad, grains, etc. I sprout all my own grain and bake my own bread. We buy in bulk, we belong to a CSA. And I still spend…well…I guess $400 – $500 on food each month. So not that different, and we don’t eat that differently from you. But I still think my family just eats a lot!

    • Maryanne November 4, 2011 at 2:30 am #

      Wow. I’m really thinking I have to move to the country, NOW. Anyone else around the Boston area who can NOT reduce their grocery bill down to $400/month? We’re currently eating almost the same as your family, Kate, and we’re spending about $150-200/week. This includes shampoos, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. Every 2 weeks, I go through 3-4 dozen eggs, 2-3 gallons of milk (we drink one, and I use the other for cream, baking, etc), a ridiculous amount of butter (Kerrygold @ 2.99, but I’ll start making my own – though not sure that’s any cheaper, given the price of raw milk around here), a couple of pounds of meat for dinner, etc. There are 3 of us, and I usually make enough for leftovers for lunch the next day as well. I think maybe I’ll have to look into a meat CSA – although they are ridiculously expensive around here, but still (hopefully) cheaper than buying from any store every couple of weeks. I hate to have that big up-front expense, and I’m not sure I have enough room in my freezer, but somehow I’m going to buy me half a cow next spring.

  36. Tammy February 22, 2010 at 8:28 am #

    This post is exactly what I have been looking for – thank you so much! My one question is with Azure – how do you get around the shipping cost – I wanted to order my grains/flour/beans and the shipping was $42.00!!! Is there something I am missing? Thank you!

    • Lindsay February 22, 2010 at 4:52 pm #

      Azure Standard offers drop spots all over the NW and Midwest. They drop for free within their routes. Check out their website to see if you live in an area where they have a drop spot. Otherwise, you have to pay for UPS shipping and that can definitely add up.

  37. Jennie West February 19, 2010 at 12:26 pm #

    Ok, there is just no way one pound of lunch meat would last us a month. What other options do you feed for lunches. We do sandwiches so much and maybe if I had other options I could cut back on the very expensive cost of weekly lunch meat??? Oh do help please!

    • Lindsay February 20, 2010 at 3:49 pm #

      We honestly don’t eat many meat sandwiches on a regular basis because yes, it does cost a lot. I mainly make meat sandwiches for my husband to take to work. At home, the kids and I eat PB & J, tomato soup & grilled cheese, burritos, leftovers, salmon melts (find recipe in recipe section), etc. Leftovers is what we mainly eat for lunch though.

  38. Melody February 18, 2010 at 11:21 am #

    Where do you get your Chickens & Beef? I’m down in Salem and lost my source so I’m looking for a new one and would be happy to drive!

  39. Musings of a Housewife January 28, 2010 at 8:52 am #

    This is incredibly enlightening. THANK YOU!

  40. Kari January 26, 2010 at 12:36 pm #

    Thank you, thank you for this post! We are a family of five, and I have just, in the past few months, cut my budget to $85/week (food and toiletries) from $170/week…yes, in half! But, we were eating stuff we’d never eaten before..boxed potatoes, velveeta..whatever I could find on sale to pair with coupons. I couldn’t stand it anymore, and really prayed and asked God to show me how to do our menus healthy on our new budget, have read alot of blogs, but this is the first that shows me HOW! :) I have printed out this post and plan to go over it and make notes for myself! :) I’m so very excited! Praise God! thanks, again!

  41. LM January 7, 2010 at 11:20 am #

    I was just looking over your food budget as we start CSA payments the end of this month. I like the way you have it all sorted…very helpful, THANKS. Do you have a specific source for your sesame seeds/tahini ingredients???

    • Lindsay January 7, 2010 at 3:33 pm #

      I purchase all my seeds, nuts, etc from Azure Standard. You can also find tahini at Fred Meyer Nutrition.

  42. Krissi December 27, 2009 at 2:13 pm #

    After following your example and tweaking it for me, I have cut my budget in half for the last two months!!!

  43. Nina Nelson December 2, 2009 at 4:18 pm #

    I just found your blog today and I’m so glad I did! This posting is especially helpful since my husband is finally on board with changing our diet. Yay! I’m in central Oregon so I’m pretty sure I can find most of this stuff. I checked out Azure Standard and I’ll definitely be ordering from them. (I thought it sounded familiar and sure enough my dad was telling me about them a month ago. Apparently he went up to their farm and really liked it. Small world.) Thanks for the good information!

  44. Willow November 30, 2009 at 8:36 pm #

    Hope this isn’t a redundant question – I couldn’t find a comment with the answer. I am looking for a good local source to buy eggs from, hopefully that would support a local farm, and I noticed on your natural resource links that you did have one source but when I checked into them they are 4.50 a dozen. I noticed you pay less in your budget and was wondering if you could share with me where you get your eggs. We are local here in Vancouver as well.

    Thanks so much!
    Willow

    • Lindsay December 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm #

      Please email me personally for this information because I cannot post it online. Thanks!

  45. Samara Root November 25, 2009 at 10:48 am #

    Dear Lindsay,

    So…does this include ALL the random household stuff…like:
    baby feeding spoons
    razor blades
    occasional purchase of washcloths, towels, etc

    I mean, do you have any other budget allocated for household stuff, or is it all im with your food budget?
    Right now we have a food budget and a separate household budget but I was thinking of combining and I was surprised that if you do have all of the household stuff in that budget, you could keep it down to $400!

    • Lindsay November 25, 2009 at 12:13 pm #

      It covers all the regular household purchases (razers, bath & body products, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc). Purchases that need to be made on a consistent repeated basis. But it does not cover the infrequent larger purchases related to the household. We do have a small monthly budget for general household repairs, and that would cover towels, water filters, furnace filters, bibs, baby spoons, light bulbs, sheets, etc. Does that make sense?

  46. C November 25, 2009 at 9:40 am #

    What do you use as a body soap in the shower now if not Bronners?

    • Lindsay November 25, 2009 at 12:14 pm #

      I have been changing so frequently on this one, I don’t rightly know. ;) Right now we are using the NaturOli Soap nuts soap bars or any soap bars from Trader Joe’s.

  47. Nancy November 24, 2009 at 10:33 am #

    I haven’t read through all of the comments yet, so I’m not sure if you touched on this or not, but I noticed you had toothpaste on the list. We are currently using Toothsoap (except for my husband), but I was going to try your homemade recipe once we ran out. Are you not making it anymore for your family? And if not, did you find a satisfactory store-bought substitution? Just curious. I figured that would save some money, if I started making homemade toothsoap. Thanks!

    • Lindsay November 24, 2009 at 3:41 pm #

      I usually make homemade toothpaste as a back-up. I found it is not a significant money saver to make it yourself, especially now that I don’t buy Dr Bronners regularly. TJ’s is just $2 for a tube of all natural, flouride free toothpaste…so that works for us!

      • Nancy November 24, 2009 at 4:14 pm #

        I wish we had a TJ’s nearby! I miss it terribly. So I was wondering, if you’re not using Dr. Bronner’s soap now, what are you using for your body products? I was thinking I’d try the Soap Nuts for that use as well as cleaning, once I buy some. Have you tried that? I am also looking to make your shampoo recipe once we run out of other stuff. Thanks!

        • Lindsay November 25, 2009 at 9:29 am #

          I found the soap nuts is too liquidy for us to use in body products, but if you don’t mind that, it works great. We just prefer a little thickness and more suds (probably more of my hubby’s preference). I only used Dr. Bronners for shampoo and toothpaste in the past, and now I buy those products most of the time or use a vegetable glygerin in replacement of the Dr Bronners.

  48. Summer November 23, 2009 at 8:39 am #

    Wow! We’re trying to cut down to $400, but it’s more around $500. The junk food addict in the house doesn’t help. LOL

  49. Kristin November 18, 2009 at 7:42 am #

    What an informative post! I was wondering, so do you use just one chicken for all four chicken meals?

    • Lindsay November 18, 2009 at 7:47 am #

      I do buy a pack of chicken breasts at TJ’s once a month.

  50. Janelle November 17, 2009 at 5:53 pm #

    You mentioned that you buy 3 bags of spinach per month. Do you buy it frozen or fresh? If you buy it fresh…how do you keep it for a whole month? Mine never lasts more than a week in the fridge.

    • Lindsay November 18, 2009 at 7:02 am #

      I buy it fresh. No, it doesn’t last us for the whole month. I buy various other greens from local sources, but it would be easy enough to freeze extras or buy more and freeze for smoothies as it doesn’t affect the texture.