Eating Clean on a Budget

This is probably one of the hardest things;
Buying quality, organic, healthy, allergy free food on a tight budget.

My goal for December is to really cut back on my food expenses.

I spend close to $700 on food each month.
That's more than my rent and bills combined.

SICK.

not cool.

I can't keep doing this.
Now it's time to budget myself and start to save money!
It's going to take a strict plan but I think I can do it!

I'm going to make a list of things I love to eat and what their prices are.

Divide how much I would eat per day.

And see where that leaves me.

I'm done with random stops at the store "just because"

Homegirl can't afford this anymore!

But I want to maintain my healthy lifestyle AND eat enough to grow for my next competition!

Talk about a challenge!

Ready, Set, GO.

Sunwarrior Protein 2.2 bag: $40
47 servings

1-2 per day

Tilapia 3lb bag: $13

12 servings

1-2 per day

Raw Spinach 16oz: $6

6 servings

2 per day
Rice Cakes 4.5oz: $2
14 servings
1-2 per day
Sweet Potatoes: .89 each
2 servings per potato
1 per day
Organic Prairie Ground Turkey 12oz: $6
3 servings
1 per day
Frozen French Style Green Beans 5lbs: $7
27 servings
2 per day
Protein Plus Peanut Flour 32oz: $23
30 servings
1 per day
Unsweetened Coconut Milk 1/2 Gallon: $3
8 servings
0-1 per day
Phil's Organic Eggs: $2
12 servings
3 per day
Fiji Apples: $5
11 servings
1 per day
Avocados: $1.24 each
4 servings
1-2 per day

That's just a basic list.
If I were to buy all of those things it would be $112.63
Now lets break down how many time I would have to re-purchase some of these items.
(this is taking some serious concentration, I don't do math!)

• Sunwarrior protein: 1.5 bags per month
• Tilapia: 3.5 bags per month
• Raw Spinach: 10 boxes per month
• Rice Cakes: 4 per month
• Sweet Potatoes: 15 per month
• Organic Prairie Ground Turkey: 4-5 per month
• Frozen French Style Green Beans: 2 bags per month
• Protein Plus Peanut Flour: 1 bag per month
• Unsweetened Coconut Milk: 1-2 per month
• Phil's Organic Eggs: 10 per month
• Fiji Apples: 3 bags per month
• Avocados: 14 per month

Now time for the cost..
If I were to eat only those things for the entire month of December,
without buying anything else, it would cost me:
$311.74
That sounds a HECK of a lot better than $700!

$311.74/31 days= $10
I could feed myself healthy for around $10 a day.

I need to do this. Starting December 1st, this will be my plan. I will allow myself $50-$75 for other "fun" items. But no more random trips to the store!
This budget needs to stay firm so I can start to save some money!

This post probably means nothing to y'all but this will help me out so much. I just needed to sit down and write it out and I felt like my blog was a good place to do it! So YAY!

XO. MEGHAN