10 Tips For Beating Inflation At The Grocery Store This Summer

Content reviewed by Donna Gates
Written by Body Ecology on June 29th, 2022

beating inflation

 

body ecology cookbook

I am sure you’ve seen the price increases all over the board due to supply shortages and inflation. We here at Body Ecology are feeling those increases as well. However, we are committed to absorbing those costs for our loyal customers for as long as we possibly can. 

We only exist because of your support, and we want to show our appreciation. We believe that if you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, you need a reliable source of high-quality, affordable products. Prodcuts that are not only good for your gut but help strengthen your immune system too! So while it costs us more to produce our products today than it did a year ago, we are doing our best to not pass those increases on to you at this time.

This article will also show you how to beat inflation and stretch your budget farther by making smart food choices.

Eat Less Meat

 

Especially in the warm summer months, our bodies simply don’t need as much heavy meat and salt. And with meat shortages and higher prices, this is a great time to explore more plant-based protein foods and include more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. 

Tips: 

1 Make a stir fry

Instead of using a pound of meat in a stir fry, use half a pound and increase the amount of veggies. Check out the recipe below for a delicious turkey and veggie stir fry using carrots, celery, broccoli, and yellow summer squash. 

2 Don’t buy cheap meat

While it’s tempting to save money, low-quality meat comes with the hidden costs associated with animal welfare, higher risk for contamination, antibiotics and fillers, and an overall lower nutritional value. Even scarier, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans

3 Follow the Body Ecology 80/20 principle

Fill your plate 80% with high-quality land or ocean vegetables and 20% protein OR grain (not both!). 

stirfry recipe

Eat Cooling Foods

Cooling foods are essential in the summer as they trigger a cooling effect, aid in detoxification, and help reduce inflammation. It’s also convenient that cooling foods are mostly fresh fruits (low sugar fruit like berries for example) and the many garden vegetables that are abundant this time of year.

Cooling foods include:

Fruit

Pomegranate juice extract (nice in a smoothie)

Lemons

Limes

Berries

Mandarin oranges (are low FODMAP — just one or two)

Vegetables:

Cucumber

Carrots

Cassava

Celeriac

Daikon or another radish

Zucchini and summer squash

Green beans

Lettuce and arugula

Bok choy

Cabbage, red, green cabbage, Chinese

Collard greens

Kale

Turnip

Ginger

Dulse, wakame, arame, nori – (ocean vegetables)

Fermented beets

Herbs

Note: All of the above are low FODMAP (fermentable sugars that cause gas and bloat if you have IBD, SIBO, SIFO)
Note: E. coli is often the pathogen in IBD and SIBO. Body Ecology’s EcoPhage are beneficial viruses that kill E. coli) 

Dairy:

  • In stage 2 – fermented A2 cow or goat’s milk made into kefir
  • In stage 2 – raw sheep or goat cheese in salads 
Note: In countries like Poland and  Russia, kefir is very popular in the summer because it’s a cooling food. 

Tips:

4 Make your own milk or non dairy kefir to save money

Making your own kefir at home is super simple! Use Body Ecology’s Kefir Starter with slightly warmed A2 cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or coconut milk. You can stretch your budget even farther by starting your next batch by using 10 tablespoons of the first batch of your kefir and adding it to a new fresh quart of warmed milk. 

kefir5 Make kefir popsicles

Take your homemade kefir and blend it with cooling fruits, berries, ginger, fresh mint, and some BE Sweet for refreshing popsicles. Check out this popsicle recipe using coconut milk kefir for a dairy-free version. Be sure to get the kids involved – they love the sweet and tangy taste of kefir popsicles and they’re getting beneficial gut-healthy probiotics! 

6 Oatmilk makes great popsicles too

We like oil free, sugar free, gluten free oat MALK best. Oats are a grain so don’t combine well with fruit. If you want to flavor it try ginger, vanilla or even frozen butternut squash. If you digest everything and anything like a billy goat, then don’t worry about food combining. 

immune power shake7 Make green smoothies

These easily digestible, alkalizing drinks are cleansing and energizing. You can also boost the nutrition of your smoothie with an add-in, like a scoop of plant-based protein with our Body Ecology Immune Power Shake, superfoods with our Super Spirulina Plus, or a scoop of Bifidus Power Blend for a boost of probiotics. Blending your greens and veggies “pre-chew” the fiber so that the nutrients are more available to you. These nutrients also enter your bloodstream faster since it takes less time for your body to digest and absorb these fiber-rich foods.

Eliminate Processed Food

Processed, junk food has no place on the Body Ecology Way of Life for obvious health reasons. With soaring prices on these ‘convenience’ foods, now is a great time to totally eliminate them from your diet. If your family is ingrained in the American snack culture, this can be easier said than done. The Body Ecology system of health and healing gives you the tools to change your relationship with sugar and junk food. With time, your body will crave healthier alternatives – like celery instead of potato chips when you want something crunchy! Probiotic Liquids and Cultured Veggies are sour and will dampen your desire for sweets. 

Tips:

8 Shop the perimeter of your grocery store

You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s a great tip during inflation. Fresh foods (produce, dairy, meat, etc) are typically located around the perimeter of most grocery stores. Canned, boxed, and bagged processed food is mostly located in the aisles. With the exception of venturing into aisles for spices, healthy oils, teas and other pantry staples for cooking whole food recipes, stick to the perimeter. Not only is it healthier, but you’ll avoid impulse buys!homemade lemon mint soda

9 Make your own ‘soda’ 

Sugary soda is addictive and bad for our health on so many levels. Skip this aisle all together and make your own soda instead! Choose sparkling mineral water and add natural flavors, cucumbers, mint or other herbs, and a healthy sugar substitute like BE Sweet to taste. We love fresh squeezed citrus for a classic lemon-lime soda. You can also brew a tea, like one with hibiscus and rose hips, and mix it with a squirt of pomegranate concentrate and sparkling mineral water. If you use any kind of juice, be sure to buy a concentrate with no sugar added. This is healthier, and stretches your money further because you use so little of a concentrate.You can also combine one of Body Ecology’s probiotic liquids, like our new Mojitobiotic, for a refreshing gut-healthy beverage that you’ll feel good about drinking and serving to your kids.

10 Find healthy snack swaps you actually enjoy

BE Sweet

– Not everyone in your family will be wild about eating celery instead of chips, but there are plenty of healthy snack alternatives if you get creative. A few ideas include crispy air fryer chickpeas, lacinato kale or zucchini chips, kefir popsicles, low-sugar fruits, low-oxalate nuts, homemade pasture raised beef jerky, etc. 

Focus On Immunity

At the end of the day, you should always be putting food in your cart that supports immunity. Now that we’re into year three of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have become complacent. Because everything costs so much right now, the last thing you need is to miss work, pay for another doctor’s visit, or disrupt your gut’s healthy bacteria with a round of antibiotics. 

Not only can you save money by buying high-quality, nutrient-dense food and eliminating processed foods, but you’re building a strong immune system and a robust inner ecosystem. A healthy microbiome more effectively metabolizes your food, so you don’t need to eat as much for your body to absorb nutrients. Less really is more!

Even though inflation is hitting everyone hard, there’s a silver lining to be found when you focus on eating for your health. 

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