Did you know that saving money on groceries doesn’t have to mean that you and your ravenous brood must dine on ramen noodles, store-brand chips, and manager’s special ingredients?

Of course, dining on all of those selections WILL save you money over time, but we’re willing to bet that they won’t save your waistline or your cholesterol levels. Yep, it’s no secret that some of the most obvious cheap food in the grocery store is also some of the most unhealthy for you. Talk about rude!

But before we get too carried away with the injustices of grocery store pricing, let’s look at all of the upsides to carefully planning out a list BEFORE hitting up your local food store. It’s something that you might have been doing already for years, but we doubt that most — or any — of the ingredients that we are going to share with you today are a part of that list.

Luckily, there are many other ways to save cash when you’re at your favorite store–and it has nothing to do with clipping coupons or waiting around until your favorite food finally goes on sale.

The way to do it is to stick to this handful of items that are almost always set at consistent and fairly low price points. Here are a few examples of these low-cost items which should always be staples on that grocery list of yours…

1. Paleo and Keto-Approved Meats

   What we’re mainly getting at here are the organ meats that many ketogenic and paleo diets promote. Sure, you might not have tried liver and onions since it was put in front of you at your grandmother’s house as a child, but it tastes great as an adult now— and its cost is always low, too!

2. Coconuts

   Believe it or not, coconuts are almost always priced quite low, especially compared to the products that merely contain the ingredient, like coconut water, coconut milk, coconut oil— well, you get the idea! Instead of shelling out tons of cash on those high-priced items, make them on your own with a fresh, store-bought coconut.

3. Olive Oil

   Yet another food staple that can act as a versatile base ingredient for dozens upon dozens of items that you can cook up at home. Personally speaking, we like to take some olive oil, spices, and a bit of balsamic to make our own salad dressing. It’s much healthier and way more cost-effective than the sugar-filled alternatives.

Pretty surprising stuff, huh? To learn more about these consistently cheap grocery items and to unlock the other two items that should always be on your grocery list – bonus: one of them is an alcoholic beverage! – be sure to watch the video below. It’s time to save some money, people!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these low-price grocery picks. Do you eat any of these items regularly? If so, do you have any good recipes that you would like to share? What are some other fairly-priced foods that you buy often?