I am one of those people who regard the start of the new school year as a new beginning (instead of New Year’s Eve). Therefore, I make all my resolutions this time of the year. Of course I do give myself a second chance on New Years Eve, but I digress. This year we will spend the month of September in Greece, so that Loulou Maya can meet her whole family and we can enjoy some well-deserved vacations as well. This means that I will change my habits for the better, starting October, but some planing ahead never hurts.

This year’s goal is to eat a healthy diet, comprised mostly by organic ingredients, while sticking to a budget. Now, for us this can be quite a challenge, because we tend to make great choices for a couple of weeks and then we indulge and have a junk food weekend, that pretty much ruins our efforts. Don’t get me wrong, I think that we all need a sinful dark chocolate brownie and a huge coffee with caramel syrup every once in a while. But for us it is better to keep those things as treats, when we go out. The thing is that when we go to the grocery store stressed, tired, hungry and/or sleep deprived, we often end up buying much more junk than “just” a chocolate brownie. And this is what I want to avoid, by using online grocery services.

As we are based in the Netherlands, the links on this post might not be that relevant to you, but I am sure you can search and find similar services in your country.

Albert Heijn Online Shopping

This is one of the most well-known Dutch grocery stores and maybe the most pricey one of the “regular” (non-bio) ones. However, I strongly feel that shopping online would help us save a ton, because you don’t have all sorts of temptations. I did create a shopping profile for research purposes and it seems to be worth it. I have also read many positive reviews about this service on the several facebook mama-groups that I stalk belong to. The downside is that you need to order more than 70 euros, in order for them to deliver the groceries to your place, so it needs a bit of planing ahead. I love this idea of the delivery though, because buying in bulk is a great way to save, but I rarely do it, due to the weight.

Albert Heijn Online Shopping

Ekonoom.nl

This Dutch website connects consumers with producers, removing all the in-between logistics, which increase the final cost of products. What is even better is that on EKOnoom you find biological produce. You can order all sorts of products, including fruits and vegetables, eco-friendly cleaning products, healthy snacks and so on. You can also order boxes of fruits, vegetables or a combination. These boxes include in-season produce, grown locally. I like this idea of boxes, because you don’t have to think what’s in season or plan in order to eat a variety. The friendly EKOnoom folks do all the work for you.

EKOnoom

Hello Fresh

This is another interesting concept. I am not sure weather it actually leads to saving money or not, but I think it makes eating healthier a lot easier for busy families. The concept is that Hello Fresh sends you new recipes each week along with the ingredients that you need to make them. There is the original box version, that includes fish and meat, and there is also a vegetarian box option. You can order a fruit box as well. The recipes that you get each week are based on seasonal produce, which is a great start towards a more environmental-friendly and nutrient-dense diet.

Hello Fresh

Approved Food

This is not exactly the definition of healthy food choices, but it can be, if you spend some time to find the healthy options available on the website. This is a UK website, but they do deliver abroad as well. Obviously, the more you order, the more you save, as the shipping costs are per 25 kg box (if I got it correctly). The reason that I decided to include this website and consider using it starting October, is that I hate food waste and this is exactly what it is all about. The website sells products that are about to expire or are past their “best before” date. Keep in mind that some items, like canned foods, stay perfectly fine for a very long time after their “best before” date. However, grocery stores are not allowed to sell them, resulting in a huge food waste. Of course, if you order from abroad, it makes more sense to invest in canned goods, as the fresh produce that is about to expire, might not make it to your door on time.

Approved Food

Now, as I already mentioned, I have not used those services yet, but they do sound appealing to me and I am optimistic that they can help plan our meals more efficiently. I promise I will be back with proper reviews once I have an actual personal opinion about them after our holidays. If you have any more ideas for eco and budget friendly online grocery shopping, please feel free to add them in the comments 🙂