Good Food on a Real Budget: Why Perfection Isn't the Point

I was in the grocery store last week when I noticed a young woman staring down two packages of chicken—one organic at $21, the other conventional at $12. She looked torn, as if she was trying to make the "right" choice but knew she had bills to pay—we’ve all been there.

What I wanted to share with her is that good food choices aren't about perfection—they're about strategy.

My Own Learning Curve

I used to be that person who felt guilty about every grocery decision. Even with my food background, I'd stand in aisles second-guessing myself. Should I buy the expensive tomatoes in January or wait for summer? Was I failing my family if I grabbed frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones?

Then I had teenagers.

When your kids can inhale a four-litre jug of milk in a single day, buying organic from the quaint local dairy just isn't an option (not that I ever did that, but now it definitely wasn’t an option). My carefully curated shopping lists didn’t stand a chance against teenage appetites. That's when I learned a valuable lesson: sometimes frozen peas and simple macaroni are exactly what your family wants, and that's totally fine.

When Premium Makes Sense (And When It Doesn't)

After years of working closely with chefs and food producers while feeding my own family, I've learned that every ingredient has its moment to shine and its moment to just do the job.

That $21 organic chicken? Absolutely worth it when you're making Sunday dinner for someone special. But when you're meal-prepping for the week ahead, those $12 thighs—bought on sale and portioned for the freezer—will serve you just as well. The trick is knowing which is which.

I remember being completely stressed about this until I changed my mindset. Instead of "cheap versus expensive," I began asking "what's this ingredient's job today?"

Sometimes it’s the star. Sometimes it's just supporting the other players.

Sure, we’d all love to eat local, organic meat and vegetables every day—for our own health and to support our farmers and producers. But we have enough things in our lives to feel guilty about. All we can do is buy the best quality food we can afford in any given moment. It will all balance out in the end.

Cutting Through the Noise

Eat meat, don't eat meat, go vegan, buy only organic, avoid dairy and gluten, but no—eat healthy grains and sourdough bread. All of this contradictory advice is exhausting, and honestly, it's enough to make you want to give up before you even start.

Here's what I've settled on after years of trying to follow everyone else's food rules: just eat real food, and buy the best quality ingredients you can afford at any given time without breaking the bank. Some days that might be marcaroni or eggs, other days it might be lobster. Both are perfectly valid choices.

Rather than trying to be perfect about everything, I've learned to pick my battles. For our family, it's about avoiding heavily processed stuff when we can—those ingredient lists that read like chemistry experiments. But beyond that? I've given myself permission to be practical.

The Joy of Simple

Some of my favourite meals have been the most basic ones. Fried eggs on toast when I'm too tired to think. Mashed potatoes, steamed carrots and homemade meatloaf. These aren't Instagram-worthy creations, but they're nourishing, satisfying, and made from scratch. And often they become family favourites!

The more you cook at home—even these simple meals—the better you'll feel about what you're eating. It's not about showing off; it's about knowing what's going into your body.

We're All Just Doing Our Best

As for the young woman—she walked away with the $12 chicken, and that was probably the right choice for her at the time. We're all working with different budgets, different schedules, different priorities.

My kids are grown now, and they call me from their own grocery stores, asking the same questions I used to ask myself. "Is it okay if I buy the no-name tomato sauce?" "Should I feel bad about using frozen vegetables?"

The answer is always the same: you're doing great. Make thoughtful choices within your real circumstances, and don't let anyone—including yourself—try to make you feel guilty.

Sometimes you’re cooking with organic kale, and sometimes it’s instant ramen on a busy Tuesday. Both have a place in a healthy, realistic relationship with food.

Your kitchen doesn't need to be perfect to nourish you well.