RAW Blog

When I first decided to start transitioning into a raw lifestyle, I found that money was flying out of my purse - something I didn't quite expect. In fact, I thought that since I would be buying all raw and less frozen foods, the bills would drop.

Well, so far, I'm wrong...here's why:

• + I had to completely restock my cupboards with new foods and spices
• + Some recipes called for expensive ingredients and didn't turn out right - I'd buy coconuts, open them up, and find that they'd gone bad; at $3 per coconut, that was a loss worth crying for - and how can one check inside the coconut to be sure it's good before you buy it? Especially the Tahitian coconuts!
• + I had to buy new utensils to use in the kitchen including a food processor, a cleaver, a blender, a juicer (and I haven't even picked up a dehydrator yet or invested in a blender that can handle ice lol)
• + book expenses such as recipes and how-to's (finding raw recipes is easier with great sites like Gone Raw, but it's always good to have a book or two at home to practice making your own concoctions)
• + I've also found myself at the grocery store every single day or every other day because it's important to have fresh vegetables and fruit, and also because I'm obsessed with my green juice for breakfast. For green juice ingredients (as some may know), many can't be purchased in bulk more than 3 days worth at a time (my green juice calls for 1 head of romaine lettuce per shot and those heads don't keep more than 3 days in the fridge before the leaves begin to turn and the inner core becomes soggy).

At the end of the first 4 weeks, I had spent nearly $600 on groceries just for myself - and I have a husband and two kids to boot! Another $400 went for their food, creating one of the largest food bills I've ever seen in my household to date!

I'm a very frugal person, so this hurt. I didn't know at first if I should buy all-organic or stick with the store-bought and pray I wasn't ingesting too many chemicals. The truth is, I knew that getting this ball rolling wasn't going to be easy. It's important when detoxifying your body to focus on what's good for you, not necessarily how expensive it is. To me, it was worth the money; after all, my health has no price tag.

Now, before you figure that going raw is a horrible thing, let me turn the tables a bit and tell you about some benefits!

• + After you do your initial cupboard stock, it's all about keeping up with it; many of these new ingredients have been with me now since I first stocked up 6 weeks ago - I probably won't need to replace any of my spices for at least a year, so I know I am saving in that department
• + Many foods now last much longer in my household because I'm not consuming them such as milks, ice creams and other snacks. Although I've turned the family over to whole grains, it's still a bear to get them off of those milk products!
• + Once you figure out what you need, and what you like, you can stop experimenting. I believe much of my expendiatures in the beginning (and to date) have been on experimental foods. I don't know what I'm going to like, so I try a little of everything to find out. Sometimes it's costly but other times it works out great.

I hit the stores on deal days and stock up on whatever is cheap. For instance, recently, my local Publix had big sales on canteloupe - each for only $1.29. I bought about 4 of them and ate them all week long. I can usually pound a canteloupe a day, so that was 4 days worth of breakfast for $5.20. Not bad.

Although I do have to let the deals dictate my weekly consumption in terms of breakfast and sometimes lunch, I end up saving enough so that I don't feel that I've overspent and I still end up with great dinners.

A few other suggestions:

• + stock up on coupons
• + check your local Whole Foods for events and savings days, same with Publix and other grocers
• + get fruits and veggies when they are in season for the best prices
• + find out what is produced locally in your area and buy from the farmer's markets; many times, you can get bulk tomatoes and the like for much cheaper
• + strike a deal with your local growers and pick up some fresh produce weekly for bulk prices

I know that this life isn't for everyone, and the abundance of unhealthy foods for cheap is on the rise, but remember that your body is worth the money and the time - and YOU are worth the great feeling you get from eating raw, natural foods!