The Recession Diet
There is an inevitable, looming recession around the corner for the Western world. Inflation and supply chain issues have caused the price of nearly everything to go up—and in typical American fashion, wages have yet to catch up with the cost of living.
Some families may already have inflation hedges. Perhaps you bought a house 10-20 years ago. Maybe you have a sizable, (liquid) nest egg. Maybe you already own your own car and have little to no credit card debt. If that’s you, then great news! Rejoice in your relative economic security… But you still have to buy groceries.
There’s a new trend of social media influencers pushing an off-grid lifestyle. It sounds great in theory, but let’s be honest with ourselves. Is it a practical solution for most? The answer is, of course, “No. No, it isn’t.”
Although a house in the mountains with some land and a regenerative farm sounds like an exciting pipe dream that I can absolutely get behind, it isn’t practical for those who have already established lives in the cities. And most of us do in fact live in cities.
So how do us city dwellers take control of our food security? The obvious solution is to dramatically change our way of eating, therby rethinking our entire grocery shopping strategy.
Here are the 5 steps you can take to substantially reduce your grocery bill and take control over your family’s food security:
Stockpile Non-Perishables— This one sounds obvious, but it is the most important prepping commandment. Most people are doing it wrong, focusing on foods that require electricity and refrigerator space to store (like meat). People also have a tendency to not stockpile enough. One giant bag of rice isn’t going to do it. You need to take your stockpile seriously, and that might mean storing more food than you’re comfortable with. The name of the game here is saving space, so you should reorganize your pantry and create new spaces to store food.
Some of the best foods to stockpile are rice, dry beans, pasta, cereal grains, coffee/tea, canned and jarred vegetables, nuts/seeds, flour, spices, oil, nut butters, sauces, condiments, vinegar. If you insist on keeping meat in your diet, canned meat and seafood is an economical option. Now isn’t the time to be picky. If you choose to maintain fish in your diet, canned sardines are actually an economic and healthful option in moderation. Get the fresh fish while you can, if you insist, but just understand that affordable fresh/frozen seafood will eventually come to an end.
Make sure your stockpiled ingredients can form the basis of a simple meal that fits your protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs. There’s a reason that rice and beans have been a staple of humanity for a long time. When combined together, rice and beans form a complete protein source. They’re cheap and you can easily store them for years. (I recently bought a few 20 lb bags of dry pinto beans from Walmart for $14.76/each. That’s less than $1/lb.) To save money on your grocery bill, we’re going to need to take a look at how historically poor populations and regions around the world have delt with scarcity. It is not uncommon to find giant bags of rice and beans in India, Asia, Africa and Latin America. We can also take advice from elderly Americans, who survived the Great Depression. These people know how to eat healthfully on a budget and we should heed their advice.
Grow Your Own Fruits and Vegetables— Don’t expect this step to save you a lot of money unless you can do it in a large scale. Growing your own food is great, and it is one of humanity’s most valuable past times. If you have the land and ability to do this, then you should. It is, in my opinion, a vital part of the human experience.
That being said, when done on a small scale on your back patio, it will feel more like a moderately expensive hobby, rather than a step towards food security. If you choose to grow your own food, you can save some money by learning how to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs from seeds, rather than buying established plants at a nursery. Another way to make gardening more affordable is composting and taking the steps to maintain healthy soil.
If you’re thinking long term, planting a fruit tree and caring for it diligently in the first 5 years of its life will yield amazing results for generations to come. Sacrificing the grass in your yard for a sustainable garden is an act of rebellion against our wasteful consumer culture. You don’t need grass. You need edible plants. If you have the means to do this, I encourage you to start as soon as you can.
If you’re in an apartment, then you might be limited to potted plants. In that case, something is better than nothing. Grow the things that are expensive in stores. Herbs and peppers are both pretty easy to grow in pots. Leave the corn, potatoes, rice, beans, wheat, etc. to the farmers (if you have limited space). If you have plenty of space, then try it all! Just don’t go crazy racking up a sizable monthly Lowes/Home Depot bill.
Maintain Your Stockpile While You Still Can— Don’t assume that once you establish your food stockpile that the work is done. You can and SHOULD start eating out of your stockpile right away. Why? Three words. Rotation, rotation, rotation. You don’t want to get caught 2-3 years later with untouched food stock pile on the verge of expiration. Start eating your cheap food right away and keep replenishing it and rotating the stock. Another benefit to using your food stockpile immediately is that you start saving money right away. Don’t think of your food stockpile as a rainy day fund, but rather, a new way of life. Keep buying the rice, beans and other stuff while you still can. Maintain your food supply while the groceries are still somewhat affordable. If your non-perishable food supply starts dwindling, we should be in the throes of a post-apocolpytic nightmare. Don’t let it get to that point if you can help it.
Empty Calories are a Waste of Money and Space— I’m going to get some pushback from this one, but I have to say it. Alcohol, desserts, sugar, oil, coffee, and most processed foods are not necessities. If you feel that you need to have them, then stockpile accordingly. You are responsible for your own budget. But you don’t want to be caught with a full liquor cabinet and an arsenal of gluten-free Oreos, while struggling to provide your family with real sustenance. Alcohol also depletes your body of the nutrients you need, causing you to have to eat more to make up for your nutritional deficiencies. The cost of alcohol and other junk-food vices go beyond the wallet. If you’re thinking about eliminating alcohol from your body and budget, check out my earlier blog post Heineken 0.0 is a Revelation.
Stop Relying on Prepared Foods— The restaurant industry will hate me for this, but convenience foods will kill your budget. You don’t need me to tell you that restaurant food is expensive. Even fast food is expensive, and the quality of ingredients is usually garbage. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you’re saving money by going to McDonalds or Taco Bell. Avoiding prepared foods goes well beyond restaurant food. Frozen meals, deli foods, frozen proteins (vegan or not) like chicken (or chik’n) nuggets, and any other pre-made ready to eat snacks and drinks will quickly consume your food budget. Learning how to cook will save you a lot of time and money.
Don’t have time to cook every day? Me neither. Dedicate one day per week to batch cooking ingredients and meal prepping for the following week. Remember those rice and beans that you stocked up on? They’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least a week after cooking them. If meal prepping is overwhelming to you, focus on batch cooking ingredients instead—rather than creating full blown, complete meals. You’re much more likely to eat the potatoes, rice, beans, and pre-cut vegetables if they’re ready-to-eat in the fridge. Another benefit to making all of your own meals, besides the money saved, is that you might actually feel better and start losing weight!
There you have it. My 5 Commandments for saving your grocery budget. If you found this information relevant, then my previous blog post, How to Practice Dietary Minimalism, is right up your alley.
Happy Prepping!
-Duncan
