How to Lower your Grocery Bill and eat healthier

Hi. I’m Andy, co-founders of Foco Academy, functional health and wellness coaches. As the world starts to wake up to the new normal, a lot has changed so we are also tweaking the focus of our messaging on how to get ahead in this new environmental, this new world. We are still focusing on time, health, and relationships and we are still utilizing the same set of success principles. 

As we are getting closer to Thanksgiving, have you noticed that the food aisles in the supermarkets are getting more empty?

Minna and I have been noticing that there are more empty shelves at the local supermarkets and at Costco. We don’t know if it is because people are panic shopping and stocking up, or if they are buying more supplies to host bigger parties, or if we really have a shortage of food supply. After all, who knows what is stored in all those container ships that were stuck at the port of LA and couldn’t unload.

But if you really look into it, it is a specific type of food that are in shortage, and coincidentally,  the same ones that have gone up in price 20-30% over the last year. 

Recently, I did a scouting trip, walking down the aisles of my local grocery markets. This is not typical as Minna and I usually just shop the outside perimeter of the store. We mostly just buy fresh fruits and vegetables for ourselves and fresh sliced turkey for our cat babies and then the back aisle for our heritage free range eggs and seafood.

Regardless of which supermarket we go to, the fresh fruits and vegetables are always on the outside perimeter. Statistically, the middle aisles have the heaviest traffic and is where the processed foods, the stuff that is canned, boxed, bottled and bagged, are placed.

In the middle you will find the canned fruits and vegetables, juices, soups, cookies, chips, soda and pasta.

 Interestingly, lately, it is these middle aisles that are more empty than usual.

Products such as 

Oreo cookies, Twinkie's, pasta, bottled sauces, canned soups, instant noodles, frozen dinners, juice boxes and bottled juice, bottled water, Kool-aid all seemed to be low in supply. Even the supposedly healthier options such as organic and gluten free cereals, breads, pastas and juices are also low in supply.

And this got us thinking, how come we never noticed much inflation in our grocery bill since we moved to Texas? Inflation of food prices are everywhere across the United States.

The headlines news says us that food prices have gone up 20-30%! But for us, our grocery bill seemed to have gone down since we left California. 

Do you wanna guess why?

When we are eat at home, we eat as fresh and organic as possible.

We rarely have anything canned, boxed, or bottled. In our pantry, the only bottled products we have are honey and fresh brewed kombucha.  In bags, we only have organic flour to make fresh sourdough bread, and all the rest are super foods such as ashwaghanda, bee pollen, amino acids, healthy protein powder and raw nuts. In terms of canned goods, we have sardines and coconut milk.

The one bad thing, or should I say least healthy that we have in our pantry is creamed corn from Green Giant which we sometimes use to make corn soup when we don’t feel like cooking.

That’s it, we try to eat as clean as we can when we eat at home and make everything from whole, real and organic foods that are in their rawest form.

So with all that being said, if you noticed that your grocery bill has gone up 20-30% within the last year. Maybe it’s time to rethink your grocery list.

Rather than buying soup from cans, you can make your own large pot of soup from fresh whole ingredients that you can save and eat for the rest of the week or you can even can it yourselves to be eaten later. 

Technically, canning is really just storing them safely in glass mason jars and not actually in cans. If you want to drink juice, make your own from fresh ingredients, if you want a sweet snack, eat a banana. If you want a savory snack eat some fresh roasted nuts.

No matter what marketing gimmick they use on the packaging, processed foods that are in boxes, cans or bottles will never be as healthy as the real thing. Think of all the chemicals, flavoring, color and preservatives they must use to make the food look and taste the same even when they have been sitting for months on the shelf or now in some cases on a cargo ship parked along the LA harbor.

There is no better time than now to lead a healthier lifestyle and to eat healthier. Especially  now when you can actually save money while living a longer and healthier life.

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We are not medical doctors. This blog is not intended to diagnose medical condition, or replace your health care provider. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your personal physician before starting any fitness or exercise program or changing dietary habits. The content of this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services or counsel provided by medical professionals. However, we do hope to inspire you to become healthier, more self sufficient, and more aware of options.