These Top Foods Are Always Worth the Money ...

1. Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables in my opinion are one of those staple foods to spend money on. You just can't go wrong with fresh produce. Whether you buy fruits and veggies from a grocery store or farmers market, they’re always going to be an expensive item. It also depends on the season. However, since they offer you many nourishing nutrients and vitamins, I say that fruits and good quality veggies top my list over anything else.

2. Free-Range Eggs

Being vegetarian and conscious of animal welfare when it comes to the food industry, I’m one of those people that would rather spend money on free-range eggs over caged hen-produced eggs. While I’m not going to go into the semantics of cage-free or free-range (as that’s another article and believe it or not, there are some farms that claim to be free-range producing when they’re not), I still think that this is one of those food items that is worth spending a little bit of extra money on!

3. Fresh Breads

Packaged bread that you find on supermarket shelves tends to have had its wheat stripped of any possible nutrients and it’s usually made from bleached flour; not to mention sugar and salt is added to help preserve it. Unusual loaves that you find in your local corner street bakery are not made in ‘en masse,’ their batches tend to produce heavier loaves that are richer in nutrients. When you’re buying fresh breads, always makes sure it’s made with “whole-wheat” flour or “whole grain” and that it’s only going to last a few days.

4. Honey

Honey is another product that I don’t mind splurging on. I like to know that my honey comes from a certain region and farm. It doesn’t mean it’s bad honey if you buy a generic one, I just like knowing that my honey is either locally produced or is from a certain region or from just one country. Clearly, regionalized honey is going to be more expensive than the generic variety, and it’s worth noting that the darker the honey, the more minerals it has in it.

5. Chocolate

Cheap chocolate is one of those items that can satisfy you quickly because it tends to have a high sugar and fat content but it’s also got less cocoa content. The best chocolates in my opinion are the European varieties (think Godiva, Neuhaus, Lindt, Leonidas, etc., which tend to be pricier), and also the local chocolatiers that you’ll find in your town that make fresh handmade chocolates. Chocolatiers use higher-quality cocoa content in their chocolates and go easier on the sugar and lecithins (emulsifiers)!

6. Salad Dressings

If you don’t enjoy making salad dressings from scratch at home whenever you make a salad, I recommend investing in a higher-priced gourmet bottle from your supermarket or delicatessen. The better quality dressings tend to have fewer ingredients in them (making them taste like you made them from scratch); they are less sugary, salty and contain fewer preservatives, and they have other ingredients in them that you cannot pronounce.

7. Juices and Smoothies

When you don’t have time to make your own smoothie at home, buying an expensive one at the store is usually worth it. They generally have added minerals and vitamins for immune support, and are produced using natural fruit purees over fruit concentrates and without added sugar.

This is my list and I'm pretty sure you're going to have something else on your shopping list that you think is worth spending more money on. What foods are they? Do you consider worth spending more money on certain groceries?