What you fuel your body with is SO important. After taking classes in college on Food Science, Nutrition, Health Education, and even Entomology (“the study of insects”, which is actually where I first discovered the pesticides applied to crops were really risky to human health), I’ve learned so much about food and what goes into food and what goes on our crops, and I’m still learning! Honestly, it’s one of those things that once you open that can of worms, there’s no going back.

Recently, I’ve been trying to find more ways to save money on groceries. My budget has been tight because I’m hoping to travel this summer, and I’m trying to save up more than usual. I looked into a lot of options in an attempt to save. I looked into getting a Costco or Sam’s Club membership because I heard from friends that they saved a lot of money supposedly by shopping there, but I didn’t want to just take their word for it before spending $65+ on a membership card. So, I checked the online websites for each store and did some price comparisons with Kroger (my usual grocery store of choice), and for the items I checked, the prices were either the same or priced higher. I was thankful that I decided to check online before paying for a membership card because that would have been a huge bummer to dish out that money on a membership just to discover shopping there wouldn’t be any cheaper. Now, I don’t doubt there may be some items that you can save on at Costco and Sam’s Club. I don’t think my friends were in any way lying, but for the items I purchase regularly, getting a membership would have been no benefit to me.

If you’re like me and opt for organic, seed oil free, non GMO, and grass fed groceries when you can, you may discover that big warehouse grocery stores like Costco and Sam’s Club aren’t catering their deals to your groceries of choice either, but I decided there must be a store that is!

Misfits Market turned out to be what I was looking for. I still shop at Kroger for some of my groceries, but I’ve discovered that a lot of items (such as snack foods) that I was hoping to find at a discount can be found on Misfits Market. I’ve even discovered some products that I had never heard of before.

I appreciate my local Kroger for their consistent fair prices on organic fruits and vegetables and bulk packs of grass fed beef, but the prices on healthy snack foods at Kroger were getting out of hand. I’m going to list some of my favorite money saving finds on Misfits Market below. Here’s a link for $15 off your order (which I’ll also include at the bottom of the article as well): https://www.misfitsmarket.com/?promo=COOKWME-BM9TWZTQFBTMLI

1. Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is a very consistent purchase for me. For the longest time, I only purchased the Chobani Plain Whole Milk Greek yogurt. I, of course, added my own sweetener to it by mixing in honey. I don’t know how anyone could eat it just plain. It would taste like eating a bowl of sour cream. Blah. Anyway, I choose the whole milk Greek yogurt because the higher fat content helps to level out any blood sugar response, because it’s Greek yogurt it has 15 grams of protein per serving, and with it being plain, I can control how much added sugar is in my bowl of yogurt. However, as much as I love the Chobani yogurt, it’s pricey! It’s always $6.99 for a 32 oz tub of yogurt, which only lasts for about 5 servings. My dog is also a huge Greek yogurt fan (he’s a big dairy guy and also LOVES butter), so I usually end up giving him some as well when I pull out the yogurt. All this to say, I go through yogurt pretty quick.

On Misfits Market though, I discovered a Greek yogurt that was not only whole milk based and plain but also grass fed! Bonus points! It does come in a smaller 16 oz tub, but if you purchase two to get the same quantity of yogurt, it’s still cheaper than one tub of Chobani.

For direct comparison:

Chobani Whole Milk Plain Greek yogurt: $6.99 / 32 oz.

Misfits Market Grass Fed Whole Milk Plain Greek yogurt: $5.26 / 32 oz. (or $2.63 / 16 oz.)

If you are like me and go through a 32 oz tub about every week, purchasing from Misfits Market saves you $1.73 a week, which maybe doesn’t sound like much, but to put it into perspective, that’s saving $89.96 a year. Imagine the difference choosing the cheapest quality products could make over a year.

2. Snack Foods

As mentioned earlier, I had pretty much cut out snack foods to meet my budget goals, which I knew wasn’t sustainable for me because I always get hungry at work before lunch and need a quick something to eat, but I was waiting to hopefully find a better way to buy budget-friendly snacks that also aligned with my personal nutrition and wellness goals, and I was so relieved to finally find that on Misfits.

Here are some of the snacks I chose:

Snack Bars

• MUSH Mini Protein Bars – 8 count for $7.49-$9.49 (depending on flavor)
  • I thought these were incredible! I’ve tried both the peanut butter chocolate chip and the double chocolate chip flavors, and both were very good. I had never heard of these protein bars before, but I’m impressed with the price point for the quality. They may be mini, but they are surprisingly filling for a small snack. With 8 grams of protein, only 5 grams of added sugar, organic oats, CHOCOLATE CHIPS!, and no seed oils, I’m super happy with this find.
• OLYRA On-the-go Snacks – 4 count for $4.39-$5.49 (depending on flavor)
  • Again, I had never heard of these before, but considering the organic ingredients, the low added sugar, and the high fiber content, I decided to give them a try. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Now, if you take a look at the ingredients list, you will notice that they do use palm oil and/or sunflower oil, but hear me out… these are organic seed oils. Why does this make a difference? The true issue with seed oils and inflammation, in my opinion (that I’ve based on research), is that the majority of seed oils are manufactured and processed using chemical solvents, like hexane. However, these organic seed oils are prohibited from using these chemical solvents in order to maintain the “organic” label, so they are instead processed through expeller pressing. No chemicals involved!
• CHOMPS Grass-Fed Beef Meat Sticks – 6 count for $11.99
  • This is an amazing deal! I stopped buying CHOMPS at Kroger because they were so expensive. A pack of 8 at Kroger is $20.99, which is insane. That’s $2.62 per meat stick. At that price, a pack of 6 from Kroger (if that size existed there) would cost $15.72. Again, this adds up significantly over time. I was so excited about the 6 for $11.99 deal at Misfits Market. I would say this may have been one of my best finds, but the competition is steep because I really am happy with so many of my discoveries on Misfits Market.
  • If you’ve never tried CHOMPS before, it’s similar to a Slim Jim beef stick, but personally I think they taste much better. They’re made with high quality grass fed and grass finished beef, are non-gmo, gluten free, have no added nitrites or nitrates, and have 10 grams of protein! These are a great pick me up between breakfast and lunch when that mid morning hunger hits and I need to eat something to power me through teaching middle school students.
• Popcorn – 32 oz of kernels for $2.39 (compared at $7.29 for 30 oz at Kroger)
  • Ok, so you’re probably thinking “why would I buy popcorn kernels? Making popcorn on the stove is so hard!” Yes. It is. I don’t make my popcorn on the stove though. I make it in the microwave, and I’m about to tell you how. I have this awesome glass microwave popcorn popper from Amazon, and I think it’s one of the world’s greatest inventions. I pour like a couple of tablespoons of kernels into the popper, put the lid on, put a pat of butter on top of the lid (there’s holes in the lid for it to melt onto the popcorn as it heats up), and throw it all in the microwave. I love it! It saves so much money too.
  • To break it down for you, 32 oz of kernels makes about 30 servings of popcorn. With the kernels from Misfits, that’s $0.07/serving. If you’ve been buying typical microwave popcorn bags, not only are they loaded with inflammatory seed oils and sometimes have food coloring as well, but it’s also much pricier at about $5 for a box of six pouches. By buying popcorn kernels, you can save money and also control what oils you’re using to pop your popcorn. I choose real butter and then add a sprinkle of salt after it pops.
  • Here’s a link to the popcorn popper on Amazon: https://amzn.to/46J7OhQ

3. Meats

With the meat for sale on Misfits, there were some that I found were cheaper at Kroger and others that I was totally sold on. A couple of my favorites include:

• 14 oz Diced Chicken Breast – $7.29
  • This was game changing for me. Chicken has in the past been a meat that I have avoided because it seems difficult to me. I hate dealing with it raw, so I’ve avoided cutting it before cooking, which means it always has taken a long time to cook and sometimes ends up dry. This diced chicken breast from Misfits Market has made cooking with raw chicken easy and painless. It’s already cut into bite sized pieces (Win!), it marinates really well in under 30 minutes because, again, small pieces, and it cooks easily on the stove in under 5 minutes because it’s small pieces. I don’t ever even have to touch it either. I cut open the pack, dump it into a bowl with oil, vinegar, and seasonings to marinate while I prep everything else for dinner and then dump it straight onto the hot pan to cook real quick.

• 16 oz Wild Caught Shrimp – $8.99
  • Another quick price comparison to Kroger, the shrimp from Misfits saves $2-$4 (depending on if the shrimp is on sale that week). I liked that this shrimp was already peeled and deveined and cut into smaller pieces, which isn’t something any other store offers (that I know of). It made it perfect for stir frying with vegetables, and it was ready to eat quickly. I’ve made shrimp and grits and shrimp fried rice with this shrimp and both turned out really well. Speaking of shrimp fried rice…

4. Sauces

• Primal Kitchen Yum Yum Sauce – $8.49 for a 10 oz bottle (Kroger – $9.49)
  • This was SO GOOD on the shrimp fried rice I made, and it’s made with avocado oil instead of the seed oils used in other Yum Yum sauces. Highly recommend this.
• Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing – $7.49
  • Also, really good. I used it as a quick dip for some chicken tenders recently.
• Tzatziki Sauce – $4.39 for 8 oz
  • This is the key to a good Greek bowl, which is a staple in my regular meal preps. I love making a Greek bowl with couscous as the base, some roasted or fresh chopped vegetables, chicken or salmon, and Tzatziki sauce. Sometimes, I even add some feta cheese if I decide to dish out a few extra dollars to buy some that week. It’s so easy and perfect for any time of the year. I typically make it a warm bowl in the fall and winter and a cold one in the spring and summer.

5. Sides

• Organic Macaroni and Cheese – $1.99 for a 6 oz box
  • I don’t usually buy boxed Mac and Cheese, but chicken tenders, green beans, and macaroni sounded perfect when I really needed a warm comfort meal the other week without much prep. I truly enjoyed it paired with the green beans and chicken tenders I popped in the oven, and I would definitely make it again at some point.
• I haven’t explored a lot of the other “sides” on Misfits yet, but they seem to have a good selection.

This was just a summary of my finds on Misfits Market. There is truly so much they have to offer, so check it out for yourself! Here is my link again that will save you $15 on your first order: https://www.misfitsmarket.com/?promo=COOKWME-BM9TWZTQFBTMLI

Thanks so much for reading! Please subscribe to my email list to keep up to date on latest posts! I hope this helps you in your search to save money on quality groceries.