It's Cheaper to by Donuts

Grocery shopping on a tight budget should be considered an art. Especially when you trying to eat healthier. And although I am trying, it is not easy. Companies like Hostess, Tasty-Cake and Frito-Lay make it very hard. Why? Because buying their products is easier and sometimes way cheaper then buying healthy foods. I love asparagus, but one bunch in the store is 4$. Buy a Lean pocket loaded with all the unhealthy fats and sugars and you get two in a box for two meals and it only costs about $3. I was a bargain shopper, coupons and all. Got things that were cheap and went far. Add a few fruits and veggies that were on sale and I was proud. We had an overload of food and I was buying healthy..... wasn't I? I stopped to read some labels and my mind was kind of blown. Some of the stuff we were eating, like progresso light soups was so high in sodium it was a wonder we didn't have strokes. Seriously. 100% wheat bread? Did not have whole wheat in it. That blew me away. So now I am looking. Looking for better bargains on the good stuff. And to my surprise, there is not that many. What do I do now? We are on a budget and we need to eat. We don't have a car, so we have groceries delivered and so we can't shop around like most people can. And so for the last 3 days, I have been reading ingredients and tweaking my grocery bill just so we can have some healthier foods, better for us foods and decent snacks that have no sugar in them. Not so easy. I have a headache from looking and reading. And I did pretty good. More than half of the grocery list is fruits, veggies and meats. Some veggies and fruits are frozen. Way cheaper. With multiple servings we can have several servings instead of just one. Bought a few things in bulk, so that I don't have to worry about buying them for a while. Like onions. Bought a big bag and I will freeze most of them. Little things. Of course I wish I had more money to more, healthier things, but I'm not buying donuts, chips or cookies. Im not buying sodas, ice teas or chocolate milk. I getting things that Ted and I can benefit from. Higher in fiber, lower in sugar and whole grains. No, it may not be perfect and I am sure a health nut would critique everything I have bought, but from where we were to where we are now, I would say we have made some pretty big steps in eating better. 
Here are some tricks that I learned. Buy your fruits and veggies that are in season. They are cheaper and more abundant. If you have to buy canned fruit, buy the ones that are in water. Canned veggies? Buy the ones that have no sodium. Buy meats on sale. Buy extra and forget the other meats you want. Maybe next time they will be on sale. And buy in bulk. Separate and freeze. Lasts longer. Buy no frills. You don't need name brand. I found that no frills and store brand are just as good, higher in bulk and cheaper. Example? Triscuits. I love them. But a 9 oz box of triscuits is 2.99$.  Store brand? 9.5 oz box for just 2.50$. It makes a difference. And they taste just as good. 
These are all just my opinions and what I have learned this week. Fresh foods is not cheap. Not by a long shot. But guess what? It is cheaper than hospital bills and losing work. Or worse.... losing your life. 
Ted and I will be joining a co-op in April. We have done this before and it can be awesome. Look into them, because they can offer a variety of cheap fresh foods for just volunteering and helping out.
So this is my discovery this week in my journey to be healthy. I learned a lot and I will use this to help Ted and I achieve our healthy eating goals. We still have a long way to go but hey... who said journeys had to be short?