Easy ways to eat sustainably and save money

Eating sustainably isn’t all that tricky, but saving money while doing so may seem complicated at first. Luckily, there’s not too large a learning curve.

Learn to do it yourself: Growing a garden is one way you can learn something that results in healthy sustainable food. Learning to cook whole foods from scratch is another. You can learn to make foods organically that cost a lot more to purchase. From organic yogurt to whole grain breads to sauces to soups and more. Almost everything you buy premade can be made by scratch, but cheaper, especially if you’re going organic. I like the Moosewood cookbooks, but there’s a whole world of other cool cookbooks at your library, including vegetarian and vegan. Plus, you can look online and find a good healthy recipe for almost anything nowadays.

Purchase in bulk: Bulk food is less expensive (in most cases), usually offers organic and natural choices, and comes packaging free so it’s ultra smart and eco-friendly. The bulk food issue that most folks seem nervous about is storage and bugs. If that’s you read bulk food storage. Also, keep bulk packaging free by skipping the plastic baggies and taking one of these cool reusable bulk bags above to the market.

Eat with the season: In season organics are far cheaper than exotic out of season organics. Find what’s fresh and local right now in your community.

Plan for awesome leftovers: Food waste is a big issue in this country, and it’s not very sustainable. Even if you compost the leftovers, foods still take energy and emission and other resources to get to your table, so why waste them? Also, of course this is a huge waste of cash. Plan meals that do double time – like chicken breasts that later can be used in tacos. Learn more ways to minimize food waste.

How are you eating sustainably while saving money?