Nutrition

With the rising cost of gas, and therefore increasing food prices, many people are looking for ways to save money on their grocery bill, including me. I am shocked at how much the cost of food has increased! Gas prices are expected to keep rising, so the price of food is going to get even more expensive. Here are two ways I'm saving money on food while still eating healthy:

Planting a garden. While growing up, my mother always planted a garden and canned foods in the summer. I never learned to do it, but this year is the year I decided to plant my own garden and learn how to can my own foods. I'm somewhat excited and can't wait for my veggies to be ready to be picked, cut, and canned. So I'll have fresh vegetables in the winter, and I'm even going to make my own pasta and pizza sauces and salsa. Yum!

Buying from a local farmer. For those foods that I'm not planting in my garden, I am going to a local farmer's market or local farm to buy. I have found that buying from a farmer's market or going and picking the fruit (and vegetables) from a farm is actually less expensive, and the produce is fresher and more flavorful than when buying from the store. If you don't know where there is a farmer's market or farm near you, check out Local Harvest. However, I do not buy from Local Harvest online because their online prices to be a lot more expensive than just going somewhere local.

While I'll still have to purchase some food from the grocery store, I look for the above two ways of saving money on healthy food to cut my grocery bill by at least half.