When it comes to discussing nutrition with a client, one of the largest misconceptions I run across as a healthcare provider is the excuse of “eating healthy is too expensive”. This statement is purely false and I would like to show you how eating healthy can be very inexpensive.

The first issue I have when it comes to eating healthy is many people are obsessed with the word “organic”. They feel if the product says organic then it must be healthy. This is completely false and one of the reasons why eating healthy can be expensive. For example, when I go to the grocery stores I will see people with a bill of $400 but they are buying organic oreos, organic animal crackers, organic pizza, organic donuts, etc. They think that by buying these products is healthy because it says organic. Anytime you are buying processed organic food it is going to be much more expensive than the non-organic but still creates a negative impact and drops a bomb of inflammation into your body. Would you feed organic oreos, donuts, or organic pizza to your dog? Why not? If your answer was because it will get sick then think about what that garbage does to the human body. Fortunately for dogs they feel it much faster but for humans we can adapt to those toxins for longer until they build up into some chronic disease.

In order to shop healthy at the grocery store on a budget there are certain steps that must be taken first so we can rule out certain foods.

Step 1: Ingredient List Understanding

One of the areas where I feel grateful to have learned at a young age is how to read ingredient labels and determine what is bad and good.  If the food is not a fruit or vegetable then I am going to look at the ingredient list no matter what the marketing on the front says. Here are items in food that you must stay away from and rule out of your grocery list. If you have some you would like to add please comment on this post so we can work together for a healthier community.

* High fructose corn syrup
* Corn syrup
* Fructose
* Modified corn starch
* Refined wheat flour
* Soy lecithin
* Soy protein isolate
* Aspartame
* Sucralose
* Glucose
* Canola oil

Step 2: What To Eat Organic and Non-Organic

When it comes to the food I choose to eat organic vs non-organic I primarily stick to the dirty dozen, meat, fish, and poultry. There are many foods that do not need to be eaten organic but if cost is irrelevant to you then feel free to buy everything organic. For those where cost is important then stick to the following foods being organic no if, and, or but’s.
1) Apples
2) Kale
3) Beef (100% grassfed: USDA organic)
4) Celery
5) Peaches
6) Strawberries
7) Blueberries
8) Nectarines
9) Bell peppers
10) Grapes
11) Lettuce
12) Cherries
13) Fish
14) Chicken (Cage free)

Now that we have our list of organic foods down and what foods to avoid we can go in to the grocery store with an educated mind. Here is an example of what our shopping experience looks like with some of the food we buy and where we buy it from:

Cohen Shopping List

Trader Joes
Boneless chicken breast – Comes in a 4 pack of freeze wrapped chicken
Grassfed Beef Patties – Comes in a 4 pack and still needs to be cooked
Raw Creamy Almond Butter – Great to dip celery or apples for a cheap breakfast
Premade beets – Comes in 4 beets premade and is great to add on a salad
Arugula – Great lettuce for the salad base
Shredded brussel sprouts
Raw blue cheese – Throw this into the salad with brussel sprouts, beets, chicken, and avocado
Himalayan sea salt

Whole Foods
Apples
Bananas
Blueberries
Red bell pepper
Avocado
Kale
Coconut water
Coconut oil
Eggs

I want to give you 3 recipes of easy food to make that is very cost effective and super healthy.

Kale Avocado Salad
3 Avocado
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Red Onion
1 Stalk Kale

Cut up all ingredients and put into a bowl and mash up together.

Paleo Pancakes
4 Eggs
1 scoop flax meal
1 ripe banana
1 scoop raw creamy almond butter (Trader Joes)
Blueberries (optional)

Put all ingredients into a bowl and stir up as this will become your batter. Heat up a pan with coconut oil. Place the batter onto it and let it cook to your liking. If you like blueberries then feel free to add into the mix.

Quinoa Bowl
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
Any veggies you want (jalapeno peppers, onions, mushrooms, squash, and zuchini)

Stir fry vegetables in pan with coconut oil. In pot put quinoa and water. Cover and wait for water to evaporate. Once the water has left the pot than throw all vegetables into a big bowl with quinoa. To season it use Bragg-Apple Cider Vinegar, olive oil, himalayan sea salt, and oregano.

Eating healthy can be easy, inexpensive, and taste great as long as you follow many of the protocols outlined above. Please feel free to share any recipes you have that are cost effective and very healthy.