When Jessenia Moraine first got serious about clean eating, she hit a wall: her grocery bill. “Everything felt expensive,” she says. “Organic this, gluten-free that—it adds up quickly when you’re shopping for a family.”
But she didn’t want to give up. Jessenia had already felt the difference in her energy, sleep, and mood since cutting back on processed food. “I knew it worked for me,” she says. “I just had to find a version that worked for my wallet too.”
So she got creative. She began basing her dinners around affordable, whole ingredients—beans, grains, seasonal produce, and humble herbs. Instead of reaching for pre-made sauces or fancy health foods, she cooked from scratch. And she didn’t aim for Pinterest perfection. “I wasn’t making Buddha bowls,” she laughs. “I was making simple food that happened to be clean.”
A pot of brown rice could stretch for days. Roasted sweet potatoes became the heart of multiple meals. She used canned tomatoes to make soups and stews that felt hearty and bright, and she rarely let leftovers go to waste.
By planning dinners around versatility, Jessenia created a rhythm that saved her both time and money. Her favorite moment? When her kids started asking for her veggie curry instead of takeout. “That’s when I knew it was working.”
Today, clean eating is just part of her everyday life—affordable, accessible, and, most importantly, doable.
