Raw Food on a Budget – Book Review

The raw food diet is quite popular nowadays; it is similar to what most people call veganism because this diet also majorly deals with fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and nuts. While raw food diet has several health benefits, it is still hard to get your hands on raw food while staying on a budget.

To follow a proper raw food diet, one may actually need plenty of money on hand to spend on buying even the necessary items. However, following some tips can save you some money.

As the name of the book implies, Raw Food on a Budget deals with the troubles of keeping in a budget while following this diet. Also, the book focuses on solving these issues by providing the best tips to avoid spending too much money just to feed yourself.

The purpose of talking about this topic is not just about money but also allowing more people to have access to a healthy lifestyle. More than saving money, the tips shared in the book are likely to help you earn more, so you have more to spend. Even the people who do not follow the raw food diet can benefit from the book as it will allow them to improve their living standards.  

The Importance of Sprouting or Growing Your Own Food

The author has explained the importance of knowing how to grow some essential organic food supplies on your own.

You can sprout most pulses, nuts, and seeds, so experiment to see what you like best. They all have a slightly different taste, and it is great to have a wide variety, as each has a different nutritional profile.

(eBook Excerpt)

It implies that one who wants to save money on buying expensive organic produce can build a small garden in their own home or lawn. This way, you can save money on buying sprouts, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other raw food essentials from the market and the expenses of traveling to and from the market as well.

The author has also discussed the nutritional benefits and taste of the produce grown in your own garden. As mentioned in the book:

Anyone who eats food straight from the garden agrees that it tastes better than the supermarket produce.

(eBook Excerpt)

In fact, the author has provided the readers with a complete guide to staying on a budget with the help of gardening skills.

Ways of Buying or Collecting Raw Foods 

The author has given a complete insight on the right way of buying stuff in bulk, which is surprisingly different from what most people think bulk buying means. As the author mentions:

There is so much more to buying in bulk than this. But at its most basic, it does just mean buying more significant amounts to save money. Most people do not take advantage of this simple solution due to a lack of planning.

(EBook Excerpt)

The author implies that one must know how to plan before impulsively buying raw food diet essentials.

On the other hand, the book also talks about foraging for wild food. Even though it might not work for everyone, it still is a great way of getting organic and healthy raw foods without paying a penny.

The book explains different ways to keep the pantry filled with raw foods without spending more than the budget.

Another great trick that the author has recommended is the use of cheaper substitutes of necessary ingredients that cost way too much. Not just that, the author has also explained how the nutritional difference can be judged between a product and its substitute.

People often get confused when asked to use a cheaper substitute, and the book gives detailed guidance about every possible way to save money and eat healthy all at the same time.

Some Shopping Tricks

The book also consists of some great tricks to get better and cheaper raw foods. The author suggests that buying at the local farmer’s markets and ethnic stores is the best way of getting great products at a better price.

The author explains the benefits of buying your fruits and vegetables from the local farmer’s market.

These markets are an excellent resource for those who want to add seasonal variety to their raw food diets without incurring the costs often found at the grocery store.

(eBook Excerpt)

The truth is that the products at these markets are extremely fresh, and the prices are lower than the store-bought produce. Not just that, the author recommends this because of all the nutritional benefits it comes with.

Talking about the ethnic stores, the author states how these ethnic stores have fresh produce in bulk amounts. Buying in bulk means you pay less and save money.

… you are bound to find a few items that you regularly use, particularly herbs, spices, rice, pulses, nuts, and unusual fruits and vegetables. Some products might be more expensive, but you can skip those items.

(eBook Excerpt) 

Other than suggesting the places to buy the raw food diet supplies, the author also has some great tricks that can help everyone, such as shopping from different shops and shopping for raw foods at the end of the day. All these tips can actually get one into eating healthy, saving money, and supporting the local businesses all at the same time.

Lifestyle Changes that May Help

The book also deals with some major lifestyle changes that can help maintain the raw food diet. The fact that our lifestyle determines our budget can never change, and the author has talked about it while keeping the concern under consideration.

No one has ever talked about changing the lifestyle to easily afford the expenses of healthy food; instead, the random advice gets people thinking they need more money to buy food items. However, the author has talked about how eating healthy is all about priorities. One can make some basic changes in their lifestyle to afford supplies for raw food diet while staying on a budget.

The book talks about downsizing the lifestyle, ways of earning more, use of secondhand appliances, as well as changing the place one lives at.

It may not be easy to follow all the tips, but getting help from even one of these can lead to a better and healthy lifestyle. The main concern of this book is to make people realize that good health is not something that one should take for granted, as if lost once, it’s hard to get back to normal.

Talking about downsizing and using used appliances, the writer describes different ways in which one can cut off on some unnecessary expenses and save more money to buy fresh produce. As the author mentions:

… solution is a little more radical and involves downsizing your lifestyle to have more money to spend on healthful and nutritious food.

(eBook Excerpt) 

The book doesn’t only enforce cutting off expenses but also on how one can earn more or even move to a certain place where one can enjoy almost the same lifestyle and healthy eating but at a lesser price.

While these two solutions might seem hard to adapt to, the author has explained all the possible ways that can make them easier, along with the benefits one may enjoy either by increasing the income sources or making a move and start living in a cheaper country or city.

Of course, there are some costly parts of the world, but there are some very affordable areas where you can have an excellent standard of living and all the Western conveniences you could want.

(eBook Excerpt)

This is one great thing about this book; while reading it, one can feel how much thought the author has put into writing it. There are solutions to problems as well; for example, if you can’t downsize your whole lifestyle, just try to move abroad. If you don’t want to use secondhand appliances, get some work done and increase your income to afford the lifestyle you love.

Choosing the Right Raw Foods

Choosing the right foods is another major aspect when it comes to following a raw food diet while staying on a budget, and the author knows well how to help the readers understand this topic.

The book guides about making the right choices when choosing raw foods, such as getting the fruits, vegetables, nuts, pulses, etc., that are in season. The logic is quite clear here. Foods that are in the season actually cost lesser than foods that are off-season. As the author states:

The first benefit is cost. When strawberries are growing in abundance, buying them in the summer will cost a small fraction of buying them in the depth of winter when they are imported from the other side of the world.

(eBook Excerpt)

However, the author gives insight into this topic beyond the money one spends on raw foods. The nutritional aspects of in-season foods are also different than the ones bought off-season. Not just that, it also allows one to have variety in the raw food diet. As you may read in the book:

Buying fruit in season usually means it is fresher and has a higher nutritional content.

(eBook Excerpt)

The author talks about ways to actually work for what one wants to eat but on a budget instead of just complaining about the prices going higher. Trusting nature and eating what it has for you in a certain season may be the best thing for good health that’s also easy on the pocket.

Methods of Preserving Raw Foods

While most people think of filling their pantry, very few think of preserving the food properly so it lasts longer and the money spent on them doesn’t go to waste.

The book talks about different methods of preserving the raw food diet supplies, such as fruits, vegetables, sprouts, and other things. The first method the author has talked about is dehydrating the food. This method of preserving food has been around for decades, and it may be the best way to preserve fruits and vegetables for later use. If one knows how to dehydrate food properly, they can buy fruits and vegetables in bulk and save them for off-season use. The author says:

Fruit and vegetables are ideal for drying and will keep for many years if stored properly.

(eBook Excerpt)

The other method that the author suggests is freezing the foods. This way, one can preserve raw foods but for a shorter period. The author states:

As with dehydrating, the beauty of freezing your food is that you do not get any of those nasty additives that manufacturers seem to love.

(eBook Excerpt)

Modifications in the Raw Food Diet

One may think that following a 100% raw food diet is the only way to keep a healthy lifestyle intact; however, the author is there to rescue you from such misconceptions. There is always a way to modify and alter the diet according to your budget, health, and other requirements. It doesn’t have to be entirely according to what the diet “gurus” say.

A diet is only great until one is completely comfortable following it, and that should be the beauty of the raw food diet as well. So instead of torturing yourself both physically and financially, modify it as the author advises.

Raw Food on a Budget is a detailed guide for anyone who has already started following the raw food diet. Instead of talking about what and what not to eat in this diet, the book deals with another major concern of such people: staying on a budget. Not everyone can afford ingredients that cost a lot, so we recommend everyone read the complete eBook and learn everything that can be helpful with budgeting a healthy lifestyle. Everything that the author has written is worth a read.