photo credit: Shannan Casper Photography
I honestly can’t believe it. For 100 days our family of four (pictured) survived on real, fresh, whole, organic, local, non-processed food for less money than we would have if we were on food stamps. At times, I truly doubted that this could be done. For only $125/week we repeatedly enjoyed fresh local milk (which was delivered directly to our house) and food from both the local farmers’ market as well as (what some would consider to be) an upscale health food store, Earth Fare. It’s not to say that there weren’t some (okay, maybe lots of) sacrifices, but we somehow found our way in the “tight” budget world and more than survived. As a reminder, and especially for those that are new here, check out the ten reasons why we cut out highly processed food in the first place (no matter the cost). And I would also love to remind everyone about some of the benefits we’ve personally experienced since changing our diets at the beginning of 2010…
- Our youngest daughter’s constipation was completely “cured” within 5 days of cutting out highly processed food. And things continue to be pretty regular in that department…for all of us actually (how embarrassing to share)!
- In 2009, this same daughter suffered from five separate episodes of wheezing (due to mild asthma) as well as croup and bronchitis. She did not have a single occurrence of wheezing (or croup or bronchitis for that matter) for the entire year of 2010, which was of course after we changed our diets.
- All four of us have made it through this winter (thus far) without getting any fevers or significant colds. Neither child has missed a single day this school year due to sickness. Our youngest had one 12-hour stomach bug after a plane flight, and this has luckily been the only virus we’ve dealt with so far this season (knock on wood)!
- Overall I feel like I have more energy and need less sleep.
- My husband and I have both lost a few pounds.
- Just imagine what else has changed in our bodies that we don’t even know about yet…like reduced chance of certain diseases even including some cancers.
- And in addition to these changes in our health we’ve also all been lucky enough to experience a change in our palates (for the better) including less desire for the junk. My husband and I also seem to need to eat a lot less food in order to feel full…because real food is filling!
For more details on our health benefits check out this “Day 47” post from the middle of our first 100-day pledge.
Now I don’t think I need to list the reasons why one would want to save money while food shopping. So instead here are some valuable lessons I learned that helped us stick to real food and keep it cheap…
- Be organized and plan out meals for the week
- Minimize waste (i.e. put uneaten food back instead of throwing it away)
- Know and use what you have on hand (especially if it’s perishable)
- Make substitutions in recipes to reduce how many things you have to buy
- Maximize “cheap” foods like bananas and beans
- Make sacrifices (i.e. water instead of milk)
- Reduce your consumption of meat and desserts
- Buy produce that’s in-season
- Check your receipt after you get home to make sure your money was spent wisely (most grocery stores accept returns!)
After all of those warm and fuzzy benefits and budget tips I am allowed to complain a little, right? Because as much as I love and believe in all of this real food stuff I am so happy the budget pledge is over! And just for the record we will still be on a food budget going forward, but it will provide me with a little more money and a lot more flexibility. I know you blog readers didn’t do it on purpose, but reporting out every last detail of my food purchases to all of you was a lot of pressure. Now that it is over I don’t have to worry about the world crashing down if I accidentally lose a receipt or heaven forbid buy the same boring items week after week. 
So, aside from that pressure this is what I disliked the most about being on such a strict food budget…
- Having to meticulously record and worry about every penny spent, which is surprisingly hard to do sometimes
- Not being able to stock up on certain items before we would completely run out
- Not being able to make impulse purchases on basic items like a lemon or an onion “just in case” I needed it
- Not being able to take advantage of sales by doubling up on great deals
- Having to say “no” to my daughters when they begged me for innocent (and expensive) items like a pineapple or string cheese!
- The fear of trying completely new recipes because I could not afford to waste food if it wasn’t a success
- Having to restrict our milk consumption in order to continue to afford “the good milk” that all of us love so much
- Rarely being able to satisfy my sweet tooth since “desserts” were one of the first things to go
- And last, but not least…having to repeatedly put items back when I was checking out at the register, because I could never seem to predict exactly what I could afford
So for those reasons…I am so glad we are done with this pledge! But as painful as it was, I would be lying if I said I didn’t learn from it. Throwing myself into the fire like that was definitely the best way for me to figure out how to shop for real food and stick to a budget at the same time. And I certainly needed all of the help I could get because before this little project my spending was getting out of control. Stay tuned because even though this pledge is over there is more to come. In my next post I’ll share what we did with our last $15 over the weekend, and also the first items I plan to “splurge on” now that we have a little more money to spend. Woo hoo!!
Lisa, you are such an inspiration for me! I just found your site and have only had the opportunity to read a few of your articles so far but it is so relevant for me and my family of 6! My husband and I have been on a strict budget for years and I struggle to keep to it. We eat so much junk and our 4 kids are all so picky some nights after dinner has been outright rejected by all (including my husband) I could just cry! Our oldest daughter is 10 and slightly chunky and my husband struggles with obesity, gout, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I was laid off about a year ago and have put on about 20 pounds. We have to change our eating habits! Thanks and keep writing!
I am so glad you found the blog and want to start making changes! Sounds like you are one busy mom…I think the mini-pledges would be a great place for your family to start. Wishing you the best of luck! http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/06/10/mini-pledge-week-14-five-ingredient-rule/#mini-pledges
Finding this blog is Kismet. I am so thrilled, thank you for sharing your family’s journey. I have a long way to go, but started a month ago and so far, so good.
Thank you for the inspiration and congratulations on your successes! I’m glad your family is healthier for the effort.
$125 a WEEK?! Yikes! I don’t even coupon and barely spend that on food for my family of 4 and two dogs in a week! You have many great ideas on here, but if you really want to appeal to a greater audience (and perhaps the average family), you may want to reconsider what a “tight” budget is…
Not to take away from your great site, however. Just maybe a more realistic challenge.
My readers voted on the budget amount that we used.
Wow, I find it hard to believe that $125 is too much for a budget of food. Our family budget of 4 is $150 and I have a teenage boy might I add, and I find it difficult, but possible to to spend just the $150. I think the $125 a week is a “realistic” amount for a tight budget. Thank you for the great info Lisa!
$125 is a great budget for a family of 4 eating only local real food. Here a gallon of raw milk alone is $6 and we eat $30-$50 just in produce and often run out! Add your grass fed/hormone free meats and other incidentals to that and $125 actually seems impossible to achieve!
Wow, this is great info…My kids have so many issues with allergies, might have to try this challenge..
Your site lists many ways to improve eating habits. One thing I have not seen yet, is a reference about the health consequences of the animal based foods your family consumes. The film,”Forks Over Knives” is well done, factually informative and a serious wake up call on the eating habits we have adopted.
Additionally, the book, “The China Study” details valid, real medical research that has been done on a scale never before attempted.
Lisa,
your site is inspiring&am glad I found somewhere 2 give me a jumping off point. As ive recently become more&more aware of how bad our food really is 4 us. I wanted 2 ask ur advice on how 2 make the switch w.my budget ($200/month), till I saw ur post about food stamps.
U make it sound like every other person i hear who judges those receiving snap bebefits. &AGAIN i felt shamed 2 need the help. It really isnt that much money&does not go as far as u may think! We also dont have the luxury of having xtra $ 2 compensate 4 what our food budgets cant cover!
Ur $125 budget was self-imposed&temporary. Not the case for the families who must rely on assistance 2 keep their families fed. we dont have pantries that are already well stocked. &u may be surprised to see how bare the fridge is by the end of the month! Ur comment “must be nice” was really insulting.
Please considered that u dont have all the facts bout those who receive benefits before u make such statements. instead maybe, u could come up w.ways 2 help those in need also make the switch to a more whole foos diet. As many rely on processed foods 2 get by.
I don’t see her putting down families that use assistance anywhere. She actually admits that she has it a lot easier than some other people. That’s being humble, not judgmental.
I agree with Angela, wow. Instead of being upset with Lisa, how about thankful she even attempted a lower budget? She didn’t have to…
She has no obligation to you or anyone else out there, only trying to help inform people. How about guide your energy toward government policy toward taxing processed foods and subsidizing whole foods?
Hi Lisa, incase you are still receiving replies. I too live on a $200 per month food budget. I do have the benefit of growing my own food, and meat, and milk which helps – however, during the months of winter I do not always have those items available to me.
We make our own bread (100% whole wheat). We purchase a whole turkey or ham and use that for a week or two for meat. Buy thing as often as we can on sale. Our county has several free food distribution days, as well as Ruby’s Pantry ($15 for a full shopping cart). We pick and choose the real food to eat and try to give away the rest to friends & neighbors. I shop at the coop as much as I can, but limit my kids fruit/veg intake to make it last. We cannot always afford the organic items, but feel like we have to make that choice to keep our kids eating fruits and veggies.
When my kids were younger we used Wic & Snap. It was so nice to have access to that benefit. However, i know the shame feeling too. Their food choices are so much better now. They were just starting to be usable at farmer’s market as my kids were aging out.
Keep trying. Choose whole grains, fruits & veggies. Tiny steps forward!
Realizing this comment is a bit late to the party, but it really depends on where you live and how you eat. I agree, reading the food stamp post, I saw some of the “must be nice” and “extra money” comments to be slightly on the insensitive side. However, she obviously didn’t mean it to be that way – my goodness, calm down. In some places benefits are more or less than in other places – these amounts vary from state to state, county to county, and also by the income the family has available. I assume that the $167 a week was determined by a $0/mo income and no available assets? I am a single mom with a young son – our “benefit” would be about $300 a month … currently my food budget is about $90 a week, but I could make cuts if I had to survive on food benefits. No one is meant to survive indefinitely on SNAP benefits – there are other programs that supplement this program for the infirmed, disabled, elderly, etc. If you are consistently having issues making your benefits last, perhaps you need to discuss these issues with someone who can help you, rather than complaining to someone who has no control over these issues, and was only attempting to show that healthful eating can be done on an average food benefit.
I was making my menu today and had already adjusted my budget some when I found this site. My budget happened to be $125 a week for this month. The challenge for me will be slightly harder as I have a family of 7. I have done pretty well keeping it around $150. I am not sure how successful I will be but I am going to try my best. There are definitely sacrifices. I do not do snacks often and desserts are rare. Some things that most people have are a luxury for us. We have lived on a limited budget for quite some time. It isn’t always easy. I find the hardest is trying to have a diverse menu without breaking the bank. Most of the meat that I use is portioned out for more than one meal. We recently bought chicks, some for eggs and some for meat. Hopefully this will help a little.
Good job!
I wish I could afford 125$/ week.
Sorry to ask but I just startied following your blog and I’m confused. When I downloaded your meal plan and grocery list the total was $167. So does that mean you went over your $125 budget every week?
Hi Kellie. The $167 is based on full stamp benefits of $167/week as noted in our 100 days on a budget (the $125 amount was voted upon by our readers). Jill
Wow, a family of 4 on food stamps has more money to spend on groceries per week than we do (also a family of 4). Although to be honest I don’t know what state you live in so I don’t know what the cost of living is like compared to where I live (Philadepelphia suburbs).
That aside, thanks for the post and for taking on this challenge. I’m feeding a family of 4 on mostly whole/local/organic/pastured (except for meat which I can’t make the $ leap on yet) on 125/week on average.
Wow, a family of 4 on food stamps has more money to spend on groceries per week than we do (also a family of 4). Although to be honest I don’t know what state you live in so I don’t know what the cost of living is like compared to where I live (Philadepelphia suburbs).
That aside, thanks for the post and for taking on this challenge. I’m feeding a family of 4 on mostly whole/local/organic/pastured (except for meat which I can’t make the $ leap on yet) on 125/week on average.
I’ve just recently found this website and I am giving it a try. Being a one income household since I stay at home with our son we’re already on a pretty tight budget and unfortunately I don’t even have $125 to spend on food alone as my household items are also included in the budget. I may not be able to afford organic items, but I’m definately buying unprocessed items from now on. Reading the reasons you disliked being on a strict budget I had to laugh a little cause I totally agree with you on all points (I regularly take a calculator with me to avoid the embarrassment at checkout), but at least after 100 days you got to stop. Unfortunately for most of us living paycheck to paycheck and being forced to stick to a strict budget isn’t a “100 day pledge” as much as it is “just reality”
I agree with you Carly. I live in the inner city of new haven in Connecticut and its expensive at the farmsers markets. Kale is $4 a bushel (and awful to eat) fruits $6, corn $3 for 6. There isn’t an organic source for milk. The is a store called edge of the woods but it’s like going into a delicatessen, outrageous prices. Stop and shop has a tiny section where I can get cucumbers but in less than a month they won’t have those anymore. I don’t think I can grow anything in my yard during winter and I currently make way to much to afford food stamp. My budget is usually less than $60 a week for food items so ground beef is what I’m forced to buy. I wish the government would really look at what’s going on.
Alison, have you tried dry beans instead of ground beef or other meat? They’re super cheap and a great source of protein and fiber — much better for you than ground beef. Kale is worth the $$ because of the nutritional punch it packs. Try this recipe: http://thefriendlyhome.blogspot.com/2009/07/sweet-annie-kale-salad.html
I make that kale salad with raisins, apples, pears, or dried cranberries and a few walnuts. It is super tasty!
Wow! Stumbled on ur site and love it! We have been slowly switching over to less processed foods and aside from the fact that I am constantly in the kitchen, it has been an awesome experience! I look forward to trying some of your recipes! And congrats on the 125 weekly budget! It really is so easy to go to the store and spend double that or more a week! You are right, planning is key!
I really enjoyed reading your blogs! I do something fun every year, too. Free February. I commit to not spend any money in the month of Feb with a few exceptions (gasoline, medications and our normal bills like electricity, house payment, water, etc.) So that means NO grocery store, no clothes, no going out to dinner and you have to think ahead about valentines day or DO something instead of buying something. It is really good at making you understand what is a need and what is a want.
Charlene, I would LOVE to hear more about this! Do you plan ahead for food? Or “shop” your pantry and freezer for that month? I am very intrigued. I could easily go a month (and do so pretty regularly actually) without buying new clothes and a lot of other stuff but I’d find not buying food for that long daunting. Would love to hear your tips! This would make a great blog topic, btw.
I am embarrassed to admit that I have fallen into the “American kid food” trap with my youngest child. He is 3, and his food intake consists of gluten-free pancakes with real maple syrup, mozzarella cheese, 2% milk, PBJ, TONS of fruit (doesn’t sound so bad yet, right?–keep reading…) chicken nuggets, pizza, grilled cheese, hot dogs (turkey ones at least), and spagetti.
For the past three weeks he has had blood after a bowel movement, and I know this is all due to his poor diet. He also has eczema on and off, and I have not been able to figure out the trigger. My husband and I have finally cracked down and are trying to expand his palate and food selections, so he’s eating grilled chicken now, nuts, homemade tacos, and a few other things. He has started liking peas but as of right now that is the sole vegetable in his diet. The poor kid has had an absolute ton of antibiotics to his little system due to ear infections as a baby, and he also takes nasal spray, so I don’t want to solve this problem with MORE medicine (I’m sure a doc will prescribe him stool softeners). I want him to eat well and have a normally functioning digestive system and immune system!! I am hoping that some of your recipes can help my family get on the track we should be on.
Congratulations! You proved it can be done–at least with 2 little kids
We eat mostly whole foods (making restaurant choices carefully), and I try to keep the processed foods “organic” and only with ingredients I recognize. I cook a lot, soup being a family favorite (and great for the kids’ lunch boxes).
How active is your family? I have a teenage runner (boy) and tween soccer player (boy) and bike commuter husband. The kids each put away more than I do, daily. A lot more. It is, truly, shocking. And my husband bike commutes. Soup and roast chicken are the only things that get me leftovers, and organic free range chickens are so pricey that is a treat. (And yes, I am active too!)
Hi Dree. Lisa’s girls sound like they are younger than yours. She definitely does not have a teenage and tween son, so, I’m sure your boys food consumption is much greater. Jill
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through your “100 days”. I do have a question. Instead of bringing a calculator or being clueless at the check out, did/do you use mental math? I never use a calculator. When I am writing the price down, I round EVERYTHING up to the next dollar. If Serrano peppers weigh in at 0.32, I put it as $1.00, or bananas weigh in at $2.14 I put $3.00. I have found this method to be highly effective in helping to cover taxes on the purchases as well.
That is what I do as well Leslie … I am regularly under budget just by saving those few dollars. I also know what certain things cost at the stores I shop at and am able to preplan that stuff … there are several apps that work on your phone that allow you to scan products and enter a price, then construct a shopping list from that list of products. Works great if you’re like me and buy many of the same things week after week. I start with my list of staples, and have a dollar amount already set on those, and then I know how much I can afford to add into my cart.
Can you share what app you use?
Sure. I use Out Of Milk. It is great because I share shopping with my mother who lives with us, and we can zap the lists from phone to phone and it even allows you to “cross things off” while you shop just by touching them. Some items you have to add in yourself, but I do that by using receipts – you scan the item, then plunk in the info, and beyond that, it is saved for future use.
We’re a family of 3 and we have $150 to spend for the MONTH, is there any recommendations you have for stretching that dollar even further? We would love to do the complete revamp of our eating, but not sure it’s possible with so little. I have read your postings on mini-pledges, but was hoping you might have some other ideas. Thanks so much, love your blog!
Hi Elizabeth. Thank you for reading! I commend you for wanting to make some changes on a very tight budget. The first thing I would suggest is taking time to read through all the comments as there are many who are having success on less and offer good advice. Secondly, I would say that you will have to prioritize carefully, as I am sure you already do, and try to choose items which are the most nutrient dense and can be stretched the furthest…more bang for your buck you might say. Examples might be brown rice, black beans, bananas, spinach, sweet potatos and other seasonal other fruits and veggies. Preparing large batches of bread, casseroles, soups, etc. and other things you can freeze can also really stretch a dollar. In the end you have to do what works best for your family. Every little bit counts! Goodluck. ~Amy
Have you given any thought about joining the food network and hosting a cooking show. It is really hard for me to enjoy any of the programs offered after following your blog. I know you would create a big fan following and maybe help with educating a few new followers.
I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I actually don’t enjoy being on TV all that much. It’s such a production and also stressful (I get nervous)!
I read every post of your ’100 days of Real Food on a Budget’. I congratulate you. You are an inspiration. However, I just want to note that I have four very active, athletic, teenagers, two boys, two girls, and a hard working husband who does not travel and takes a lunch to work everyday. We have been eating healthy, whole foods for years and although, you inspired me to see where I could cut my expenses, there is no possible way I could feed my family of six on your budget. What I did was use the $7 per person per day formula and have been sticking to it most of the time. It is difficult and I have made many sacrifices. I read somewhere that people were skeptical about your budget and I understand what they are thinking but realise that you have two young girls and your husband seemed to travel a bit and therefore not need food at home. It may be more difficult to attempt this budget when your beautiful girls are older and more active. (I’m sure you will keep your girls active and healthy and assume sitting in front of a TV or computer for hours a day will not be happening in your home.) Again, I love your blog and follow you on Facebook. I’m going crazy trying to find those Ziploc containers here in Canada! I just thought I would share my thoughts on where the skepticism and unnecessary criticism of your budget may have been coming from. People may forget that you have young girls. Your lunches are brilliant, healthy, full of protein, and certainly enough food for them. Perhaps people are thinking of what they eat, or what their older children are eating. Or perhaps, as most of America, they are just feeding their children too much. Thank you for inspiration. Sue
Thank you, Susan. Your feedback is appreciated. Our reader’s various perspectives help inform what we do. ~Amy