Raw Foods on a Budget: The Complete Guide and Workbook to Living a Budget-Friendly Raw Food Lifestyle

8/8/2019 Raw Foods on a Budget: The Complete Guide and Workbook to Living a Budget-Friendly Raw Food Lifestyle

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Copyright 2010 by Brandi Rollins

Front cover design by Brandi Rollins

Interior design by Brandi Rollins

This publication is available online at www.rawfoodsonabudget.com.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying,

recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author. The only exception is by a

reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

For permission to reproduce the information in this publication for commercial redistribution, please email customerservice@raw-

foodsonabudget.com

All the materials in this chapter or book are provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or

instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult

appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.


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Section 1

Introduction


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Raw Foods on a Budget: An Introduction

Chapter 2: Raw Foods on a Budget: An Introduction

You may be asking yourself, Can I really eat a raw foods diet while living on a tight budget? The answer

is YES! Its a myth that most people cannot afford a raw foods diet; instead, the reality is that most people just

dont know how to do it while on a tight budget. Many of the raw foodists I know struggle with their grocery

bills, and most raw food newbies have trouble buying the fruits, vegetables, nuts, raw food products, and equip-

ment required by most raw food cookbooks. In fact, the high costs of the raw foods lifestyle is a topic that many

raw food enthusiasts brush to the side until they realize that by ignoring this issue, they have led themselves into

debt. But, here is the great newseating raw foods on a budget is simple, and this book will show you how!

Raw Foods on a Budgetwas designed for readers like you to provide the first comprehensive guide to eat-

ing raw foods on a budget. Designed as a workbook, this book goes beyond just listing the various ways tofi

ndlow-cost raw foods and, instead, takes a more holistic approach. Learning to eat raw foods while on a budget is

about changing how and where you buy food; how you eat,prepare, and store food; and your overall relation

ship with food. This book provides strategies and hands-on activities to help you master these dimensions of

eating raw foods while on a budget, a detailed guide to help you create your own raw foods budget, and over 75

delicious, low-cost recipes to get you started. There is even a chapter about growing your own food!

In the next section, Strategies for Eating Raw Foods on a Budget (section 2), I will present over 40 de-

tailed strategies and plenty of fun activities to help you learn how to eat raw foods while on a budget. Chapter 3

the first chapter in section 2, shows you how small changes in how you buy food can significantly reduce your

grocery bills. In fact, this is probably the most important chapter in the whole book because changing how you

buy food will allow you to take advantage of the low-cost food sources provided in the following chapter. In

chapter 4, we will journey through all the different ways you can access high-quality, low-cost fruits and veg-

etables from farms, health food and grocery stores, the Internet, and other unexpected sources. These strategies

will help you lower your grocery bills while supporting your local farms and community.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 teach you how to get the most out of the fruits and vegetables you purchased. Chapter

5 shows you how to store produce, nuts, and seeds to keep them fresh longer. Chapter 6 presents innovative

ways for substituting low-cost ingredients for more expensive ingredients in your raw food recipes. Lastly

chapter 7 shows you how small changes in the way you eat can lower your grocery bills and maximize the ben-

efits of a raw foods diet.


7/242 Section 1: Introductio

In chapters 8 and 9, you will learn strategies to help you change the way you think about budgeting an

enhance your overall relationship with food. Its a common response for people to feel restricted and constrain

when they are on a budget; however, it doesnt have to be this way. Chapter 8 will show you how to feel goo

about your budget. In chapter 9, you will learn all the ways you can start growing your own food right now.

todays world, there are so many ways for people to garden that dont require a backyard or access to a plot

land. Gardening will not only provide you with high-quality, low-cost fruits and vegetables, it will also enhan

your understanding, appreciation, and love of food.

In section 3, Raw Food Start-Up Costs, chapters 10 and 11 provide a comprehensive overview of th

equipment and food start-up costs associated with the raw foods diet. This is an overlooked topic that really do

impact your budget, and if you are not careful, you could end up with a lot of expensive equipment and raw fo

products sitting on the shelf gathering dust (I know I did!).

Section 4, Creating Your Raw Foods Budget, brings together what you learned in chapters 3-11 and hel

you create your own monthly raw food budget. In chapter 12, you will set realistic spending goals and crea

the foundations of your raw foods budget, using my own food budget as an example. In chapter 13, you w

finalize your budget by choosing from the strategies presented in section 2 and creating a reasonable plan

implement them. Because so many strategies are presented in this book, picking and practicing the ones thatyour lifestyle is a strategy within itself, and this chapter will show you how.

Section 5, the final section in the book, presents over 75 tested, low-cost, delicious raw food recipes f

juices, smoothies, nut milks, breakfast, entrees and sides, soups, salads, dressings, dips, breads and cracke

pies, ice cream, sorbets, cookies, and even recipes for preparing your own dried and frozen foods. These rec

pes are simple and dont rely on many fancy raw food products, because I truly believe that the best raw fo

ingredients are the ones you already have access to through local farms and health food stores. In addition, eac

recipe includes detailed instructions, recipe cost estimates that can also be used as a shopping list, nutriti

information based on the United States Department of Agriculture nutrition database, and tips for reducing t

costs of the recipes even more!

Raw Foods on a Budgetis a great resource for individuals who already eat raw foods, desire to eat mo

raw foods, or simply want to find new ways to access high-quality, low-cost fruits and vegetables. Some of yo

may be long-term raw foodists and need help in reducing your grocery bills. Others may be new to raw foo

and are struggling with the seemingly high costs of fruits and vegetables and ingredients that many raw foo

books require. This book is unlike any other book out there because it was designed by readers like you wh

want to enjoy the benefits of eating raw foods without breaking the bank. I am confident that you will find wh

youre looking for in this book!


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Section 2

Strategies for EatingRaw Foods on a Budget


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Raw Foods on a Budget: An Introduction

Chapter 3: Change How You Buy Food

Before I reveal all the ways to access low-cost, high-quality produce, it is important that you first consider

how you buy food. In fact, how you buy food is more important than where you buy food. For example, lets

take our friend Impulsive Ida:

One Sunday morning before lunch, Ida goes to the grocery store and she notices that her favorite

kale is on sale. Normally, a bunch of kale costs $2.49 and now it is on sale for $1.49. Ida gets

really excited and decides to buy three bunches, costing her a total of $4.47, rather than the one

bunch she would normally buy. One kale-filled week later, Ida managed to only eat two bunches

of the kale she purchased. Sadly, the remaining bunch of kale remained in the back of the refrig-

erator for weeks and Ida eventually threw it out. In the end, Ida wasted food and money. How doyou think that she could have prevented this?

There are several strategies that Ida could have used to avoid this problem. Ida needed a better sense of

what she needed. At the grocery store, Ida wanted three bunches of kale, but she only needed two bunches.

This chapter will show you how to shop for the foods you need rather than the foods you want. Also, you may

have noticed that Ida went to the grocery store hungry. She went before she ate lunch and probably experienced

the eyes are bigger than your stomach effect. When we are hungry, we tend to buy more foods than we can

realistically eat. The end result was that Ida spent $1.49 more than she needed to. So, as you can see, the prob-

lem was the way that Ida bought the food, not the price itself. In other words, in order for Ida to take advantage

of low-cost, high-quality produce and successfully stay on budget, she needs to learn how to manage how she

shops for groceries.

This chapter will present six strategies to help you change how you buy food:

1. Buy what you need, eat all you have

2. Plan your meals

3. Use a shopping list

4. Do not shop when you are hungry

5. Buy only 3-4 days worth of food


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6. Buy whats in season

This chapter provides the MOST IMPORTANT strategy to eating raw foods on a budget, so lets g

started!

Strategy 1

Buy what you need, eat all you haveThis is the most important strategy in the whole book! If you always buy the produce you want rath

than what you need, you will always spend more than you budget. And I know it can be difficult to resist tho

immediate wants like raw vegan chocolate, ice cream, cheesecake, and fruit and nut bars at the grocery stor

but buying these wants can wreck your budget. Plus, you can make ice creams, pies, and cookies yourself a

much lower price. Just take a look at the dessert recipes on pages (TBD).

The first step to buying what you need is to figure out how much food you need. The easiest way to s

how much produce you need is to measure how long it takes you to eat a specific amount of produce. You c

do this by eating all of the produce currently in your house before buying any new produce. You might cringe

this idea; I know I did when I first thought of it because it meant that I couldnt make any impulsive trips to tgrocery store to buy a food I was craving. Nope, I had to eat all of my food until it ran out. Aughhh!

Though this may seem like a daunting task, you can learn so much from this exercise. This task will gi

you a picture of how much food you actually need. And you will probably learn that you need a lot less food th

you originally thought. Plus, this activity can be a very creative experience. As you get down to a few food

you probably will have to be more creative in making recipes. One week, I was down to a few carrots, cele

stalks, and lemons. I had just returned home from the gym and was looking for something to eat. But I am n

a big carrot fan, so the thought of making a dish primarily composed of carrots was definitely not in my futur

However, I decided to try juicing the carrots with a few stalks of celery and a whole lemon. I also picked som

parsley from my garden and juiced that, too. It made a very delicious juice that I even included in the recipsection of this book (see pages TBD). What a nice surprise! The juice was tasty and full of electrolytes from t

celery. In times like this I have created other dishes like Sweet Veggies (on page TBD), in which I cut up som

veggies (i.e. whatever I have in the refrigerator), add a little salt and rice vinegar, and sun-bake the veggies f

8 hours. I still cant believe how sweet and tasty these veggies taste. Yet, I wouldnt have been this creative i

wasnt forced into it. Allowing my food to run out forced me to experiment with new recipes.

There are other tactics you can use to help you buy what you need. You can plan your meals for 3-4 day

use shopping lists, and/or avoid shopping when you are hungry. To provide you with more insight into the

tactics, read strategies 2-4!

Strategy 2

Plan Your MealsPlanning your meals in advance will not only tell you how much food you need to buy, but will also he

you avoid wasting money or food. Meal planning may seem like a daunting task, but it really isnt. It is com

monplace for people to plan their meals in advance. For example, many people prepare for the work week

buying their breakfast and lunch foods (e.g. coffee, English muffins, bread, deli meat, cheese, mayo, etc.). Th

is meal planning. Often parents buy their childrens lunch foods (juice boxes, sandwich ingredients, cookie

chips) for the school week ahead of time. This is meal planning. Sometimes people buy ice cream and pies


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advance for their after dinner dessert. This is meal planning. I think you get the point. We do meal planning all

the time. The only difference is that now the meals will be raw vegan.

Raw vegan meal planning can be time consuming the first time you do it, but when you do it more often,

it will become more automatic and natural. For example, when I go grocery shopping I have specific meals in

mind for the next few days and I shop specifically for these meals. First, I will think about the recipes I want

for lunch and dinner for the next few days (I tend to hold a lot of recipes in my head) and then I will shop spe-

cifically for those recipes. Because I love my own recipes, I will plan on making these recipes 2-3 times until

the ingredients run out. My thoughts wouldnt be as organized if I hadnt gone through the process of planning

my meals on paper. And I also keep my meals simple. For instance, breakfast tends to be fruit rather than an

elaborate raw vegan meal. I save the more fancy stuff or combination recipes like salads for lunch and dinner.

Snacks are whole fruits or cut-up veggies, or something I dehydrated over the weekend. Integrating simple

meals throughout the day speeds up the meal planning process.

To help you create your first raw vegan meal plan, a meal planning worksheet is provided on pages 17-18

Strategy 3

Use a Shopping ListUsing a shopping list while grocery shopping helps you stay on budget. The logic is simple, if you have a

shopping list, it is easier to resist those impulse purchases. Did you know that 60 to 70% of grocery purchases

at supermarkets are unplanned (Underhill, 2008)? Thats a lot! Just think about how much money we could be

saving if we reduced our impulse or unplanned purchases.

So, where do you start? How do you generate a shopping list? A great place to start is to figure out exactly

what you need. This brings us back to Strategy 2. Planning a menu, as described in Strategy 2, can help you

figure out exactly what you need to buy in advance for the next few days. Simply take your menu plan and list

all the ingredients required for each recipe. This will help you keep your shopping list focused; however, youmay find that a few non-menu items will creep onto the list. It is possible that these items are justified purchases

however, you must first ask yourself is this food a need or a want? If the food is a need then keep it on the list

but if its a want then drop it like a bad habit. Once you have your shopping list, look around your kitchen to

see if you already have that item. To help you create your own shopping list, a shopping list worksheet has been

provided for you on page 18.

Strategy 4

Dont shop when you are hungry

An easy way to prevent impulse buying is to avoid grocery shopping when you are hungry. When some

people are hungry, they tend to buy more food (Mela, Aaron, & Gatenby, 1996; Nisbett & Kanouse, 1969) and

are more likely to buy unhealthy snack foods for immediate consumption (Read & Leeuwen, 1998). For raw

vegans, this may mean that we splurge on expensive raw snack foods like cookies, chocolate, and crackers to

satisfy our immediate hunger rather than waiting to eat a delicious meal at home. If you know that you tend to

buy more food when hungry, satisfy your hunger first and then go shopping. But, if you find yourself hungry

while grocery shopping, buy a quick snack like an apple or bag of nuts from the grocery store first before you

start shopping. Although you will have to check-out twice, it will save you money in the long-run.



Strategy 5

Only buy 3-4 days worth of foodI am often asked this question: How many days do I buy food for? This is an important question becau

it can be difficult to estimate how much fruits and vegetables you will be able to eat before they go bad. The

seems to be this tension between not buying too much food, not having to return to the grocery store too ofte

and not wasting food. I find that 3-4 days worth of food helps me to balance this tension. You may want to folow a similar strategy because it is easy for food to be forgotten. Plus, you may find that the food you buy f

3-4 days actually lasts 5-6 days. Thats 2 extra days! This can occur because you might miss a planned meal

snack (e.g. someone treats you to lunch, you are not hungry, or you eat a meal not on your menu plan), or yo

have leftovers from the last meal. Plus, eating raw foods is about freshness, so you dont want produce sitti

in your fridge for long periods of time.

When you buy 3-4 days worth of food, you will probably visit the grocery store 2-3 times a week. Th

may be more frequent than you currently shop or wish to shop; however, it comes with the raw food territory.

order to have fresh fruits and vegetables in your home, they must be purchased often. But, you can reduce t

amount of time you spend grocery shopping by visiting stores that are located close to each other or by goin

to the grocery only when necessary. For example, I typically visit my local health food store once a week,

I schedule it when I know I will be in the area. However, when I dont need to go, I dont go. I also schedu

blocks of time to do big grocery shopping trips. On Tuesday afternoons, I pick up my CSA farmshare from

community center, visit a produce shop at a local farm, and then visit my local health food store. On Saturda

mornings, I visit an international market and 1-2 grocery stores. These excursions only take me 1-1 hours p

trip! This is a small price to pay for good health.

Strategy 6

Buy whats in seasonThere are so many reasons to buy whats in season. For one, fruits and vegetables are cheaper when th

are in season. For example, I can buy one quart (i.e. 4 cups) of blueberries for $3 when they are in seaso

however, when they are not in season, pint (i.e. 2 cups) will cost me $3.99 at the grocery store. Tomatoes a

another good example. I can buy 24 pounds of organic tomatoes (1/2 a bushel) through my CSA program f

$7.50; however, when tomatoes are not in season, I can only purchase 1 pound for $3.99 at the grocery stor

As you can see, it is cheaper to buy produce when its in season. In addition, produce tastes much better wh

it is in season. Strawberries in June taste much better than strawberries in December. Just because you can bu

a strawberry in the winter doesnt mean that it is edible or tastes good. Moreover, out-of-season produce ten

to be shipped long-distances from other states and countries. Large chain grocery stores are able to stock ou

of-season produce like strawberries, apples, and melon in the winter because they are grown in countries lik

Mexico and New Zealand. Just think of how much pollution is created by shipping produce such a long distanc

Also, in order to ship fruits and vegetables long distances, they are picked while they are unripe. This affec

the nutrient content of the produce. The longer fruits and vegetables are allowed to ripen on the vine, the great

their nutrient content. Because local in-season fruits and vegetables are picked when they are ripe, they typical

have a higher nutrient content than produce shipped long distances. And lastly, when you buy whats in seaso

you support your local economy. You can support your local farmers by buying in-season produce from farme

markets and CSA programs.

Eating by season can be a little daunting, especially when you see strawberries, blackberries, and oth



juicy fruits all year round in your grocery store. However, there are ways to help you adjust to eating by season

One way is to join a CSA program. Farms only grow produce thats in season, so its very unlikely that you wil

receive strawberries in the winter. Another useful strategy is to taste a food like blueberries while its in season

so that you can appreciate its full flavor, and then eat that same food when its not in season. I did this when I was

desperate for some blueberries in the winter. After tasting the out-of-season blueberries, I immediately tossed

them out because they had no flavor whatsoever. Another strategy is to gorge on a fruit or vegetable while its

in season. For example, when strawberries are in season, I eat pounds and pounds of them. Then at some pointI am done with them and dont really miss them until they come back next season.

To help you determine when specific fruits and vegetables are in season, pages 10-13 display fruit and

vegetable availability calendars for the northeast, midwest, south, and west coast regions of the United States.

You should be able to find these foods (and more) when they are in season at your local farm, farmers market

and grocery store. Note that farms frequently store vegetables and grow leafy greens in greenhouses during the

winter, so many foods like beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, leeks, apples, and lettuce mixes will be available all

winter long.

When reviewing the produce availability calenders, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First

these calendars are estimated timetables because weather and soil conditions can delay or speed up crop matu-rity. Second, these calendars may not display all of the produce you have access to locally, so it is a good idea

to talk your local farmers about the produce grown in your area. Third, it was not possible to include every state

in these calendars, so you may find it useful to look up the produce availability calendar for your state at http://

www.fieldtoplate.com/guide.php or at your states Department of Agriculture website.

REFERENCESMela, D., Aaron, J., & Gatenby, S. (1996). Relationships of consumer characteristics and food deprivation

to food purchasing behavior. Physiology & Behavior, 60, 1331-1335.

Nisbett, R., & Kanouse, D. (1969). Obesity, food deprivation, and supermarket shopping behavior. Journa

of Personality and Social Psychology, 12, 289-294.

Read, D., & van Leeuwen, B. (1998). Predicting hunger: The effects of appetite and delay on choice. Or-

ganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 76, 189-205.

Underhill, P. (2008). Why we buy: The science of shopping--updated and revised for the Internet, the

global consumer, and beyond. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.



Seasonal Charts for the

Northeast Region of the United StatesBased on produce availability charts for Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut




Midwest Region of the United StatesBased on produce availability charts for Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri




South Region of the United StatesBased on produce availability charts for Louisiana (LA), Georgia (GA), and Kentucky (KY)

Abbreviations in the calendar indicate when a food is only available for that state.




West Coast Region of the United StatesBased on produce availability charts for California (CA) and Oregon (OR)

Abbreviations in the calendar indicate when a food is only available for that state.



Produce Availability Calendars Sources

Northeast

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Pennsylvania produce: Simply delicious. Retrieved from http://ww

pafarmnews.com/Articles/2007/070207_PDA_seasonalchart.htm. Connecticut Department of Agricultur

Connecticut grown crop availability calendar. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/doag/lib/doag/images/seaso

jpg. New York State Department of Agriculture. New York state fruit and vegetable harvest calendar. Retriev

from http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/HarvestCalendar.html.

Midwest

Illinois Department of Agriculture. Illinois...whats in season. Retrieved from http://www.agr.state.il.us/agr

happenings/farmers.php. Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Produce availability cale

dar. Retrieved from http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/harvestCalendar.as

University of Missouri Extension and University of Illinois Extension. (2009). To market...to market: A gui

to locally grown food in the St. Louis Bi-state area. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/ecregio

market/2009MarkettoMarket.pdf.

SouthLouisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Louisiana harvest calendar. Retrieved from http://www

ldaf.louisiana.gov/portal/Portals/0/MKT/Farmers%20Market/LOUISIANA%20HARVEST%20CALENDA

pdf. Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association. Availability chart of GA grown produce. Retrieved fro

http://gfvga.org/georgia-grown/availability-chart-of-ga-grown-produce/. Kentucky Department of Agricultur

Kentucky proud produce: Produce availability guide. Retrieved from http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/farm

market/documents/PRODUCEAVAILABILITYGUIDE.pdf.

West Coast

The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. Fruit and nut calendar. Retrieved from http

www.cuesa.org/seasonality/charts/fruit.php. The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable AgriculturVegetable calendar. Retrieved from http://www.cuesa.org/seasonality/charts/vegetable.php. Oregon Depa

ment of Agriculture. Oregon grown fresh produce: Seasonal availability. Retrieved from http://www.orego

gov/ODA/docs/pdf/pubs/produce_calendar.pdf?ga=t. Tri-county Farm Fresh Produce. Season guide. Retriev

from http://www.tricountyfarm.org/season-guide.



ACTIVITYIt is time to have some fun and do an activity or two! These activities will help you practice some of the

strategies provided in this chapter.

Activity 1: Learn what you need by eating all you have

One week, plan to eat all of the produce in your refrigerator before you buy additional produce. The goalhere is to help you decipher how much produce you actually need. Because we tend to overestimate how much

we need and underestimate how long it takes us to eat all the produce we buy, doing this activity will help you

stay under your budget.

First, list all of the produce you have in your house on a piece of paper and place it on the refrigerator. Tha

way you will know what you have right now. Second, begin eating all the produce on the list until every food

has been crossed off the list. In addition, pledge that you will not buy any additional food until you have eaten

all of the foods on your list. Also, avoid going to the store while at work or when on the go; just tell yourself tha

you are committed to eating what you have.

You may encounter difficulties when you do this activity. When I first did it, it was hard to resist buying

cherries and grapes from the grocery store. I wanted things I didnt have. However, once I began to get low on

produce, I began to feel this sense of accomplishment. And I became more creative. I started making juices and

dishes that I wouldnt have thought of if I hadnt gone through this experience.

Activity 2: Plan your meals and create your shopping list.

Plan your meals for the next 3-4 days! It takes practice to get into the habit of doing this, so get started to-

day. Planning your meals not only helps you spend what you need, but also makes your transition to raw foods

much easier. You will find that it is easier to eat raw foods when you have a plan. Browse through the recipes

section of this book, and then use the guide and worksheet on pages 16-17 to create your menu plan.

Once you have created your menu, it is time for you to create your shopping list (use the worksheet on page18 to help you). Look at the cost estimation tables of each recipe in the recipes section of this book and use it

as an ingredients list. You can also use this table to estimate how much it will cost you to buy these ingredients

Because these cost estimates are based on the amounts of ingredients the author used in each recipe, try to buy

your oils, nuts, spices, and sweeteners in bulk. Many health food stores now sell these items in bulk, saving you

money on packaging.

Activity 3: Buy 3-4 days worth of food and see how long it lasts

This is a great activity to see how long 3-4 days worth of food will actually lasts you. In my experience,

3-4 days worth of food will actually lasts me 5-6 days. That is 2 whole days longer than I expected! Typically,

the food lasts longer because I will miss a planned meal or I will eat an unplanned meal (e.g. someone treats me

to lunch, I make a different recipe, etc.).

To do this activity, simply buy 3-4 days worth of food and eat it until it runs out. It is helpful to make a list

of the foods you purchased and tape it on your refrigerator. Be sure to write down the date you purchased this

food. As you eat each the foods on the list, cross them out on the list. When you have crossed-out every food,

then simply count how many days it took you eat all of this food. Keep in mind that some foods dont need to

be on the list like vanilla and spices because only small quantities are used in recipes and, as a result, they tend

to last a long time. In addition, you may purchase large amounts of foods in bulk like a 5 pound bag of cashews



however, it is unrealistic that you would eat that many cashews in 3-4 days. Though it should still go on yo

list, dont expect that you will eat all of these bulk foods in 3-4 days.

Plan Your Menu For the Next 3-4 Days!Get started and plan your menu! Menu planning is simple; however, there are several strategies you m

want to consider when planning a menu within your budget:

1. In the example menu plan shown below, notice that several of the meals and snacks contain the sam

recipe. Most recipes have more than one serving, so depending on how many people you are feeding, you w

likely have leftovers. Therefore, pay attention to the serving amounts on each recipe.

2. Many of the recipes listed in the example menu plan require similar ingredients. You will want to d

something similar because making a recipe once is very expensive. It is much cheaper to reuse the same ingr

dients from one recipe in another recipe.

3. Notice that on Thursday, I have planned to eat leftover fruits and vegetables. I expect that there will b

left over fruits and veggies from the recipes I made earlier in the week because there are always left over ingr

dients. This way I will make sure that I eat all the food I have before I buy additional food.

Now, its your turn!

Create your own menu plan on page 17!



Create Your Shopping ListNow that you have planned your menu for the next 3-4 days (or have a menu organized in your head),

is time to create your shopping list for this menu plan. First, find all of your recipes and then begin listing t

ingredients and amounts you need for each recipe. You may find that several recipes call for the same ingredien

Rather than listing that one ingredient multiple times on your list, create a running tally of the amounts requir

for each ingredient (as shown in the example below).


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For more chapters and free recipes and article about living a

budget-friendly raw food lifestyle, visit:

www.rawfoodsonabudget.com

Have a beautiful day!

-Brandi Rollins

Documents

Raw Foods on a Budget: The Complete Guide and Workbook to Living a Budget-Friendly Raw Food Lifestyle