Bet! Challenge Accepted.

I love all things fitness and nutrition. I love reading about food & exercise, finding new, healthy recipes for my family to try and pushing myself to try a new workout or finish a a run just a few seconds faster than the day before. This stuff floats my boat and makes me giddy. For reals.

For the hubs? Not so much. Don't get me wrong. He loves to be outdoors, he likes riding bikes and he'll do the occasional strength training routine if he has the time. When it comes to food, he doesn't just tolerate my healthy recipes, he actually likes them. And, if we're honest, as taste is his only criteria for a good meal, this is high praise from my guy. However, he really could not care less if it's low carb, Paleo, Whole 30, clean eating, real food or macro compliant. Seriously y'all, if it's straight up McDonald's, my man is happy. And, come on, who isn't happy with McDonald's every now and then. Golly, I do love me a bacon McGriddle...I digress.

Thankfully, his lack of personal interest doesn't affect his complete support and encouragement of me and my passion for wellness. However, there is one sticking point that seems to come up, usually in a playful, harmless way, when it comes to purchasing and consuming "healthy" foods. (Note, I did not say "real" or "clean" foods. I do not think a food must be real or clean to be healthy. Alas, that is a topic for another post coming soon.)

Anyway, we have a set monthly grocery budget and, for the most part, I stick to it pretty well. Admittedly, the end of the month can get a bit tight as my proclivity to make impulse purchases in the form or protein bars, out of season strawberries and Halo Top become evident and we end up eating beans and rice...again...for the third night.

"Why don't you just do all of your shopping at Walmart?" he asked one day as we were discussing financial matters and budget stuff.

"They don't always have the lowest price, " I countered. "And, they don't always have everything I need." And, I thought but did not say, Walmart also does not have a Sushi bar, cheese counter and a Starbucks.

"Right, but they price match and Walmart.com has nearly everything other stores or Amazon have available. Probably cheaper. And Walmart has that grocery pick up thing for free, right?" Ugh, it's annoying when he makes one good point, let alone three.

"Um, yeah," I said. Let's drop this, I thought.

"So?" He pressed. "I bet you could get everything you need, for less money, and still be healthy, all at Walmart. Plus, if we did all of our shopping at one place, budgeting gets a lot easier."

Bet. He said the magic word. In my fourteen-year-old's economy, the word bet is the equivalent to throwing the gauntlet. In fact, you don't even have to say anything else. Simply throw out the word "bet" and the challenge has been issued.

Now, as I often think and process with the brain of a junior higher, when the hubs said "I bet..." I didn't hear anything else. All my brain thought and the only words that came out of my mouth were: Challenge Accepted.

So, folks, here's my mission, should I choose to accept it: Shop for groceries and household items exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com for the entire month of October. No runs to Sprouts for bulk cranberries and Lara Bars, no quick trips to Fry's (Kroger) for fresh baked sourdough bread or a Starbucks while I browse the cheese and wine counters produce section.

I will need to price match some things, but other than that, with the help of Walmart's Grocery App, it should be simple as they will automatically price match and refund me the difference.

My aim is not only to save money and be a steward for my own family, but hopefully prove that eating healthy and taking care of one's self is not only for the financial elite. I intend to show that regular people, on a fixed, moderate income like my family, can eat a Whole Paycheck Foods diet on a Walmart budget.

As we move forward, I will continue to blog about our experience, as well as include samples of what we purchased, information about how we budget, how we eat and maybe even throw in the occasional weekly meal plan with links to our favorite recipes. It should be fun, right?

To be honest I am a little nervous. But, am I up for the challenge?

Bet.