With the economy looking bleak, and food prices set to rise, is there a way to be mindful of your grocery spending, while still eating healthy and/or organic? Here are some tips and tricks…

1. Make a weekly menu and shop to it.

I can’t stress enough how helpful this is. Speaking from experience, I have found this to be the only way I can put nourishing meals on the table each evening. Usually on Friday or Saturday for about 20 minutes, I sit down with my cookbooks and compile a menu for the week. I outline 6 meals and write my corresponding shopping list. This way I buy exactly what I need for the week and don’t stray from my list in a moment of desperation or frustration.

2. Invest in good cookbooks and make things from scratch.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds. Making the weekly menu helps. I have recently come across 2 great cookbooks that embrace healthy eating and simplicity: The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, and The Planet Organic Market Cookbook.

3. Buy Unpackaged Foods

When possible, hit up the bulk food section of your local grocery store. Buying a can of precooked organic kidney beans can cost two+ dollars, yet buying those same beans in bulk and cooking them yourself will cost just a few cents. Less packaging is obviously easier on our planet, but no packaging is ideal.

4. Shop the perimeters of the store.

Most of your grocery staples are found around the perimeter of the store. Fruit, meat, dairy, and bread are almost always found on the outer edges of the supermarket. The center aisles are where you’ll find boxes, cans and ready-to-eat foods which are not only less healthy but heavier packaged; you pay more for the packaging, not to mention the effect on our planet.

5. Don’t get sucked in to buying the free samples.

I am certainly not suggesting you ignore or avoid the samples booth! On the contrary, sample your little heart out, but unless they’re sampling something that’s on your grocery list, don’t be tempted to buy it. Never go to the grocery store hungry. We’ve all done it, and end up buying groceries with our stomach, not the best thing for our pocketbook.

With a little recession saviness, we can all do our best to weather these challenging times. I’ve already stocked up on dry, organic goods such as legumes and am trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our weekly menu plan. I soak, then cook big batches of beans then freeze them in meal size portions. They’re inexpensive, and healthy.