Hey Guys! With January already looming I figured I’d share some of my personal knowledge to make your future Whole30 Rounds easier. Some of these tips can easily be applied to life after round so these are definitely worth a read. I split it up so there are generic tips and some more specific tips. Hope you guys find these helpful!
WARNING: Will some of these tips make your round a little harder…potentially because prep-work will be mandatory but in the end every dollar does count! You can make the choice whether you want to spend the money to make your life easier but you can no longer use the excuse “eating healthy is so expensive” because it just isn’t true!
GENERIC TIPS
- This is an after you buy, but freeze your leftovers…ie meal leftovers, coconut milk, homemade dressings. This is especially helpful for foods that can go bad like fresh fruit and veggies. Here is a list of fruits and veggies that can be easily frozen:
- bananas
- berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
- kiwis
- apples
- pineapples
- mangoes
- cherries
- watermelon
- grapes
- peaches
- papaya
- oranges
- onions
- tomatoes
- squash
- pumpkin
- spinach
- chard
- kale
- green beans
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- carrots
- brussel sprouts
- asparagus
- beets
- turnips
- Don’t shop at Whole Foods aka Whole Paycheck…be open to exploring other stores like Aldi, Costco, Amazon and your local grocery stores.
- Learn to eat the same meal a few times a week and change your mindset about what foods should be eaten during certain times of the day. For example, there is nothing wrong with having dinner leftovers as Whole30 breakfast the next day.
- Don’t shop for ingredients, but rather shop for a recipe. What I mean by this, is to first take inventory of what you already have at home, then look for a recipe, and only then go to the store to get the remaining ingredients. I strongly suggest Pinterest when “shopping for a recipe”.
- Don’t buy organic or grassfed. This is entirely up to you, but not a requirement of Whole30.
- Try to always be prepared with emergency snacks to avoid an emergency situation where you run to a convenience strong and pay an inflated price for a Chomps stick or Rx Bar.
- Stock up on the frozen veggies, they tend to be a very cost effective option. Just always make sure to read your ingredients!
- Shop the sales ads…seriously though. I started to seriously shop the sales and it has made a huge difference in getting the most bang for my buck especially for meat!
SPECIFIC TIPS
- Make your own homemade compliant mayo and ranch. Trust me this is a HUGE money saver. A jar of compliant mayo runs you at least $7….a big bottle of avocado oil or light tasting olive oil is around $10-$12 dollars and you can make at least 4 batches of mayo…same size as the jar. Also if you want the mayo to be even cheaper use Light Tasting Olive Oil instead of Avocado Oil.
- Avoid convenient bars like Rx Bars, Larabars, R bars, Chomps, Epic Bars etc and instead either make your own or think more basic snacks like veggies, eggs, nuts etc.
- Avoid Whole30approved product lines…there are a lot of options out there now that are still compliant and not endorsed by the Whole30. YOU DO NOT NEED THESE PRODUCTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
- Buy Nutpods at Home Goods, TJ Maxx & Marshalls or learn to drink coffee black!
- Shop generic brands for items like mustard, hot sauce, sparkling waters, certain spices etc. You’d be surprised how clean some of these generic brands can be.
- Buy raw nuts and roast them yourself…also buy these in bulk if you can. Costco has a huge bag of almonds that can last WEEKS for about 12 dollars. Trader Joe’s and Aldi are also great to buy smaller portions for raw nuts.
- Cook with eggs outside of breakfast! Get creative!
- Save your leftover bacon fat to cook in!
- Make your own ghee. Its surprisingly easy and super cost effective. All you really need is a sauce pan and a strainer.
- Make your own pasta sauce/marinara from canned tomato sauce!
- Canned salmon can be expensive, but mackerel is a good substitute!
- In all honesty, seafood can be pricey and if you’re not a huge seafood foodie, then you can easily avoid those recipes!
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