Is it possible to eat a real food diet, follow your conscience when it comes to animal treatment and being environmentally friendly, and have a single income or otherwise tight budget?
If you ask the nine ladies of the Eat Well, Spend Less series, the answer is an unequivocal YES. You’ll have to work harder, and you may need to make a compromise here or there, but I do believe it’s possible. 
In case you’ve missed some of the great information here and at my colleagues’ posts the last three weeks, feel free to peruse:
- When to Splurge, Settle, and Skip (an opinionated post detailing our family’s priorities when we make food spending choices)
- Cutting the Budget on Whole Foods (my best money saving tips for finding real food in unexpected places and cutting the budget by cooking differently)
- Week One Wrap Up (links to all participating blogs; authors share their best tips and specialties for saving money on food)
- Frugal Pantry Storage Tips (guest post with loads of information, even the best place to get a vacuum sealer in the comments)
- 5 Favorite Frugal Meals (and a challenge for you)
- 5 Frugal, Must-Have Real Foods (my top 5 ways to save money in the budget because of what I buy and how I prepare it, not how many coupons I can find)
- Week Two Wrap Up: Over 40 Frugal Meal Ideas (links to all blogs)
- How Does Your Real Food Budget Grow? (Actual figures from our two years’ transition to real food)
- Eating Locally: Food Sources in Michigan and the Midwest (plus inspiration on how to find the best real food sources in your neck of the woods, preserving food, and deals, too!)
- Week Three Wrap Up (links to all blogs; find your location on the continent)
We’ve been so overwhelmed with positive comments and interested questions that, as a group, we want to do two things for our readers:
- Give you a little something (like $50 to spend on groceries, times nine!)
- Continue feeding you ideas about eating well while spending less
Today we get to accomplish step one - One KS reader will win a $50 gift card to Kroger, which can also be used at
- Supermarkets – Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Hilander, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Scott’s Food & Pharmacy
- Multi-department stores – Fred Meyer
- Dillons Marketplace, Fry’s Marketplace, Kroger Marketplace, Smith’s Marketplace
- Price-impact warehouse stores – Food 4 Less, Foods Co
If you don’t have one of these stores in your area (like my community, actually) and wouldn’t be able to make use of it as a Christmas gift, I can trade it for an applicable grocery store or cash card. We’ll work it out at the end of the giveaway!
All nine ladies from the series are also giving away a $50 gift card, so you can bop around and enter at any and all of the blogs involved!
- Aimee from Simple Bites
- Alyssa from Kingdom First Mom
- Carrie from Denver Bargains
- Jessica from LifeasMOM
- Katie from Good Life Eats
- Mandi from Life Your Way
- Shaina from Food for My Family
- Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes
Step two, feeding you more about healthy eating on a budget, means that we’re going to continue the series once a month. (Phew! I can use up all the extra ideas and tips that didn’t fit in a short 3 weeks!) If you have any ideas for topics, let me know and I’ll pass them along. We’re most likely starting with how to feed a crowd on a budget, just in time for summer BBQ season.
ENTER HERE
Grab your chance for the $50 gift card at Kitchen Stewardship right here (then head on over to the other ladies’ blogs for eight other giveaways).
Giveaways at Kitchen Stewardship are run via a survey, which means comments on this post do not count (and will be deleted). In the long run, this is quicker for you if you go for extra entries.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY CONTEST. GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED; THANKS FOR ENTERING
There are 6 possible entries! Here’s what you can do to win:
- *Mandatory entry: what was the most helpful part of Eat Well, Spend Less series OR do you still have a question on real food for less?
- Subscribe in a reader or via email to Kitchen Stewardship (or tell me if you already do).
- “Like” Kitchen Stewardship on Facebook (or tell me if you already do).
- “Like” Kroger on Facebook (or tell me if you already do).
- Email 5 friends about this giveaway along with the link to it. (Email subscribers can forward their message.)
- Follow @kitchenstew and @KrogerCo on Twitter AND tweet this:
$50 from @KrogerCo will help me #eatwellspendless if I win @kitchenstew ‘s giveaway! [ENTER URL HERE]
Remember, comments here DO NOT COUNT. You must use the survey form.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY CONTEST. GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED; THANKS FOR ENTERING
I will use random.org’s integer generator to choose the winner, who will be announced on the blog and will receive an email. The giveaway is open to anyone who can use a Kroger card (or associated retail stores). Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 28 and I’ll post the winners the following day.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Disclosure: I received no products for my review, but the $50 gift card is sponsored in full by the Kroger Company. See my full advertising disclosure here.
Official rules and small print stuff: 1) No purchase necessary to win 2) must be 13 or older to enter and have a mailing address within the sponsor’s boundaries (see above) 3) only one survey entry per person 4) odds of winning depend on number of entries 5) employees of Kitchen Stewardship, LLC or sponsoring company not eligible for participation 6) contest sponsored by Kroger 7) prizes must be accepted as is and are not redeemable for cash 8 ) Kitchen Stewardship, LLC and sponsoring company are not liable for any injury or damage to persons and/or things as a result of the acceptance of the prize offered.
doesn’t look like this gift card would be usable in our area (GR)- I don’t think we have any of those stores around here?
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Katie Reply:
April 26th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Sara,
Katie
You know, I didn’t even think of that! I know there are a bunch of Kroger stores in the Lansing area, but you’re right, none right here. I think I’ll update the post letting people know that I can trade the Kroger card for a store in their area if need be, okay? Feel free to enter!
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sara Reply:
April 26th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
sounds good
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Katie, do you have a good suggestion for coconut oil? I used to buy it by the gallon from nutiva, but the price has gone way up!
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Katie Reply:
April 26th, 2011 at 10:57 am
Tara,
Here’s my source: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/13/a-good-deal-on-top-fats/
Refined price went up recently, but not the unrefined (fingers crossed).
Katie
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I loved learning about the simple ways to eat fresher and save more. Loved learning how to buy dry beans cook, eat then store them. Saves a ton!
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A great series, however being very new to this I have to admit I am extremely overwhelmed. We started a new diet for my son in hopes to keep him off ADD medication. Somehow I ended up on your blog researching foods for that. So I feel like I need to get that under my belt for a month or so and then incorporate some of the bigger items like making yogurt ets. My family has land and I think I have about convinced my dad we need to raise a cow for beef and I may try raising chickens again. I wouldn’t be able to use the cards either it looks like.
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Katie Reply:
April 26th, 2011 at 11:05 am
I know, it is totally overwhelming at first, especially with the pressure you probably feel with wanting to avoid prescription meds for your child. KS is all about baby steps and doing what you can – evaluate the changes you’re looking at and determine which ones will make the biggest impact first, for the smallest time/money/energy investment. For example, what does your son eat most of? What have you discovered is the most evil ingredient that you want to avoid? Start there, and when you feel like that item is under control, move on to the next.
My top 10 basic changes are here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/11/28/overwhelmed-start-here/ but keep in mind that your family’s needs might be a bit different from the normal baby stepper.
May this post give you some encouragement: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/04/03/mary-and-martha-moment-baby-steps/
Katie
Whatever you can do is enough for today! God bless your efforts, and may you achieve your valuable goal and improve the whole family’s health in the meantime.
PS – I can trade the card for a store in your area, FYI. I just updated the post, so feel free to come on back.
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I appreciated the post on eating from your pantry. I am terrible at using up all the food in my fridge before it goes to waste. I also appreciated the recipes of using what you already have on hand.
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I gave up on coupons. Nine times out of ten, if there’s a coupon for it, you shouldn’t be eating it anyway. After a while of making the rounds, I’ve memorized who has what cheapest, and I try to hit whatever store is on my way back from whatever errand I’m running, and then stock up on the things that are cheapest there. As a result, I go to the grocery store about seven times a week, and yet, I never make a special trip there, so I’m not burning any more gas in the process.
That’s one thing people don’t factor in: your time and gas. If you burned a gallon going there, then you had better have “saved” $4.00 in the process or it’s a net loss.
Same with coupons. The average home printer cost about 27¢ to print a page, so if you printed a 25¢ coupon, you just lost two cents. Print more than one per page, or even shrink them down to print 8 or more, if you can.
Cheers!
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Annie Reply:
April 26th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
I totally agree. Coupons are SO rarely worth it. 99% of them are for junk. If they have to advertise their “product” it makes me wonder if it’s really food. Real food doesn’t need advertisement. I’d rather spend my time and money looking for a farmer selling real food than a food-like product.
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Katie Reply:
April 27th, 2011 at 8:00 am
Steve,
Katie
totally appreciate the note about gas savings – I didn’t mention that one, but I definitely think about it. Sometimes it’s just better to stay home! I’m like you, too: if I can’t combine grocery shopping with another trip, I just won’t go (except the Farmer’s Market; that just has to happen once a week, but if I can combo it, I will!). Thanks!
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I enjoyed the frugal meal ideas the most. Thank you!
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I’ve learned to do more from scratch- eliminate the nasty food additives. Thanks!
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I really enjoyed the Frugal Meals part—seems everything I cook takes a lot of ingredients, time, and money. These really helped with ideas for meals!
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I am currently working on a price database for the stores that I shop and the most common items I buy so that I can pair my coupons with sale items for the best price possible.
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It was all helpful but I greatly appreciated the mother’s sharing how they eat well for less. The encouragement was the most helpful!
- Megan
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To save money on REAL Food I always look for the Kroger Manager Specials on meats and veggies!!–FB Friend!!
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I loved learning more about how to store and use dry beans.
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Reminder: Enter To Win A $50 King Soopers Gift Card // Apr 27, 2011 at 3:09 pm
[...] at goodLife {eats} Aimee at Simple Bites | Mandi at Life Your Way Shaina at Food For My Family | Katie at Kitchen Stewardship Tammy at Tammy’s Recipes | Alyssa at Kingdom First Mom Thanks for reading Denver [...]
Reminder: King Soopers Gift Card Giveaway // Apr 27, 2011 at 4:09 pm
[...] at goodLife {eats} Aimee at Simple Bites | Mandi at Life Your Way Shaina at Food For My Family | Katie at Kitchen Stewardship Tammy at Tammy’s Recipes | Alyssa at Kingdom First [...]
This series has me thinking about making more trips to farmer’s markets this summer to build my meals around fresh seasonal produce.
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thanks for ideas about beans and farmer markets
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I enjoyed all the meal ideas, as I love to try to recipes.
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I thought of a really good tip for getting the most “bang for your buck” with organics, after reading an article today (article link at bottom).
It turns out that the most important time to go organic is pregnancy. Children’s IQ was affected by pesticide exposure of the mother during pregnancy (seen in numerous studies), but then after birth, the child’s pesticide exposure WAS NOT A FACTOR in IQ.
So I had this ephiphany that if I want to get the most “bang for my buck” in terms of non-organic vs. organic produce, I should load up on organic during pregnancies, and allow myself to be slightly more lax when feeding my children. Sounds counter-intuitive, I realize that.
And by “bang-for-your-buck” here, I am simply talking about conventional pesticides’ impact on a child’s brain development (so not talking about things like cancer, endocrine, etc, which were not looked at in these studies in article).
I am going to show that article to my hubby, to help justify spending more during my future pregnancies. And maybe it will help me feel better if I can’t always feed them organic later on. I am planning on becoming a crazy/obsessive organic-only gal when pregnant, at the least.
It is kind of crazy, reading these studies, to think about how many people may have done the opposite (not eaten organic during pregnancy because they didn’t think it mattered), simply because they didn’t have this information. So I am passing it along!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42692080/ns/health-pregnancy/
(pay attention to second half of article, where it talks about the one study in detail and says child’s ingestion ended up not being a factor).
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Katie Reply:
May 1st, 2011 at 1:03 am
Oh, good, I get to drink more creamy raw milk than the children!
Just kidding. This is a really interesting line of reasoning, and one that makes sense to me without putting too much thought into it. Thanks for sharing! 
Katie
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Just wanted to add that looking at Wikipedia briefly, you can see that ingestion of Organophosphates can cause ADHD in children. So that is something to consider too, in terms of possibly affecting/contradicting what I just said. But it still seems to me like pregnancy is the more important time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organophosphate
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I left five comments for the giveaway on 4/27 and none of them wre published
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Katie Reply:
May 1st, 2011 at 12:39 am
Cheryl,
Yep, as stated in the post, the giveaway runs via survey only and comments will be deleted. This former teacher believes in reading directions – but I am sorry you felt missed because of it. –Katie
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