7 Great Ways To Eat Kosher On A Budget

Annalise Abrams
5 min readNov 10, 2022

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Food is essential to our survival and Going kosher is tough, especially when you’re out of town on kosher europe tours or kosher cruises. Finding kosher ingredients and meals can be challenging. In addition, The price of food goes up while the number of foods that fit your dietary restrictions decreases drastically.

Kosher food is highly regulated and follows certain rules on what can and can’t be eaten. This can make it more expensive than non-kosher food. But that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank to follow this diet. Here are some ways you can eat Kosher on a budget.

Eat meatless meals most often

You can always prepare a meatless meal even if you are not vegan. Meat substitutes are a great way to cut costs. Eat more beans, legumes and lentils. You can also try dairy products like cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese. If you eat eggs, try an egg-based meal or buy frozen eggs to save money on fresh ones. You can also add nuts as a healthy filler for sandwiches and salads. Try tofu as well for its versatility in every meal!

Cutting down on meat is also possible by eating whole grains and vegetables together, which is filling and nutritious. Vegetarian protein sources like chickpeas, soy milk, pinto beans and kidney beans can be added to any dish as a hearty replacement for meat.

Buying cheaper brands

While there are many who consider brand loyalty to be a virtue, you can save money by considering generic products instead. Generic brands tend to be cheaper than their name-brand counterparts, and they often contain the same ingredients at their core. This is especially true for common pantry staples like flour and sugar.

When it comes to comparing generic and name brand prices, a good rule of thumb is that going with the generics will cost about 30% less, although this can vary from product to product and store to store. You can find out for yourself whether or not generic brands are cheaper by consulting the unit price listed on each item’s price tag.

Plan your food shopping with a list

Taking the time to plan your food shopping with a list will help you stick to your budget. Plan your meals and make a list of everything you need to buy before going shopping.

If you are hungry while shopping, you will be tempted to buy all kinds of yummy things that aren’t on your list. You should also avoid making impulse buys. Impulse buys are things like cookies at the checkout counter.

Using a list will help you remember what items or ingredients you already have at home, so that you don’t accidentally buy them again. In other words, it’ll help prevent wasteful spending! You can also use a list to keep track of the food items and ingredients that are running low at home, so that they won’t run out during the week and cause any last minute trips to the grocery store.

Bulk buying

Bulk buying is a great way to save money on food. It can help reduce waste, and you’ll often get a discount for buying more than one item. Perhaps most importantly, buying in bulk will save you time — you won’t have to run to the supermarket every few days, and you can spend more time on other things.

Depending on where you live, there may be multiple options for stores that sell food in bulk. The best approach would be to visit your nearest ones and ask about their kosher options, as well as any discounts they offer and how often they restock their products. You’ll have to do some research based on your location, but once you find out which store or stores to visit regularly, you’ll be all set!

Shop the sales (and coupons)

Use the two tried-and-true tactics of buying in bulk and shopping sales. Kosher food is no different from any other type of food, except that it’s more likely to be found at kosher-specific supermarkets. Those stores are often more expensive than other grocery stores, but be on the lookout for deals and promotions, especially as you shop more frequently.

Keep an eye out for coupons, too: They can save you anywhere from a few dollars to 20 percent on your purchase of a single item or your whole cart. If you go to a store that doubles coupons, your savings will compound! You can find coupons online or in physical circulars in newspapers. Many coupon apps may also have some kosher food items available with discounts.

Finally, keep in mind that while nonperishable items like canned goods and rice last longer than vegetables or meat, they might cost more than perishable items over time because you need fewer of them at once; also, it’s important to factor in storage space when deciding what to buy.

Use your freezer to store food that’s in season

You already know that the best way to save money on fruits and vegetables is to buy them when they’re in season. But what if you buy a ton of apples in July, only to realize you’re sick of them by September?

You can freeze most fruits and vegetables without blanching, which will save you time. Blanching means cooking the food briefly before freezing. All you have to do is portion out your produce into airtight containers or freezer bags. You can use a vacuum sealer for especially moist foods like carrots or tomatoes, but this isn’t necessary.

Freezing your food in a deep freeze instead of the freezer compartment of your fridge will slow down the process of oxidation and prevent browning, which happens when oxygen reacts with chlorophyll molecules in plant cells.

Grow your own produce

  • You can grow many common fruits and vegetables in your own backyard — just remember to protect them from hungry pests, like birds or deer.
  • If you have water running through your house (a hose or faucet) with an easy-to-open valve, then you can keep some fish that need clean water under your sink! In this case, the water needs to come out of the toilet (not directly into the sink). Also make sure to change the water frequently so it doesn’t get too dirty.
  • Of course you can also go through a local store and buy canned goods (like canned fruits and vegetables) instead of eating fresh produce grown in your own yard.

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