Budget Friendly Tips, use this with the Grocery list

Budget Friendly Tips 

• One budget friendly tip is to find the organic fruit & vegetables that are on sale!! always buy sale items, because this usually means they are in season. This also gives you a chance to try new food. All the different kinds of apples, and oranges available, why not?! 
• When you buy bananas buy them by the box. Most stores give a 10 cent discount per lb if you buy a whole box of bananas. Since you are buying organic this knocks down the price to about 50 cents a pound depending on where you live (I live in Austin, Texas). Trust me you will eat all of the bananas and none will go bad!! Once they are ripe I freeze them for smoothies, they add a creamy texture that can't be beat!! 
• Instead of buying pre-cut fruits & vegetables take the time to cut your own and store in bpa free containers! This goes for leafy greens as well! The bags of spinach, and romaine are at least $2 more than the fresh ones. To store greens, I rinse them, cut them and let them dry then I put into a Tupperware container, with two paper towels, one at the bottom and one at the top of greens. This keeps them fresher longer! 
• Have quick snacks ready for when you are hungry! This means fruit that is already washed and ready to eat, does not need to be peeled/ or cut. I have apples, and canned pineapple around for this. I buy canned pineapple with no preservatives, in it's own juice. 
• Not all fruits/ vegetables need to be organic! The link below will direct you to a list showing the top fruits/and vegetables contaminated with pesticides. If you have money to buy all organic, I would recommend doing so, right now I cannot so I use this list for my groceries all the time.   The Dirty Dozen & Clean 15
• Shop around to find out which store sells the cheapest dates. Dates are a staple for this diet, they are loaded with nutrients and give you a good amount of calories for breakfast & lunch. I find that a banana date smoothie, fills me up and gives me a good burst of energy in the morning. (I will post recipes, in another blog) Medjool dates are usually around $8-9, these are a treat that I will buy at least once a month. The Dates I use are called Deglet dates, I live in Austin and sprouts has them on sale for $4-6, which is very affordable for the amount that I eat. Usually 17 but sometimes 34 if I drink two smoothies with dates. 
• Store bought juice, is the cheaper option for additions to smoothies, or to refuel you. I recommend buying fruit juice that is NOT MADE FROM CONCENTRATE!! Concentrate fruit juice has been through too many chemical processes and is similar to high fructose corn syrup in our body (meaning it raises insulin levels). The juice I choose is from the Brand Simply. I do not buy orange juice, if you want to know why check out the Formula for orange juice. I do buy the apple juice from them, and the cranberry juice since they are minimally processed. Whole foods has fresh squeezed orange juice you can buy, it is expensive but not made in a factory. If you buy the large bottle, you will have a whole meal! It is around $9 but it is better than buying fast food, or not following the raw till 4 diet if your in a rush head there to buy some juice. (HEB has fresh squeezed juice as well!!) 
• When you are buying potatoes, the bag of organic potatoes is always the cheaper option. I go through about 1 bag a week sometimes two. The cost is around $5-6 but provides dinner for 3-4 days. Sweet potatoes do not need to be bought organic, as well as corn. So find deals on these and buy in bulk. Corn will keep in the fridge as well as potatoes. 
• Look for grocery coupons, Target has online coupons you can print out. Sometimes there are $3-5 coupons for fruits/vegetables. HEB does deals, and so does Sprouts and Whole foods. Save money!!