Budgeting is a smart idea. You should do it—and we have plenty of advice about budget-conscious eating and shopping. But sometimes you need to pay a little bit more for an item or two. It’s good for your tastebuds, your stress levels, and your soul. These don’t have to be hugely extravagant purchases, either. Sensible splurges are enough to bring joy without busting your budget.
At Whole30 HQ, we’re just like you. We’re concerned about stretching our hard-earned dollars as far as possible, but will pay up when something is really worth it. Think of it as food freedom for your wallet. Here are a few favorite sensible splurges the Whole30 team are totally okay with paying a few extra dollars to have.
Alyssa
A prepared sauce or condiment, like Noble Made BBQ sauce, Primal Kitchen buffalo or no soy teriyaki, or A Dozen Cousins cooking sauces. It really helps elevate basic ingredients, like protein and veggies, to a buttoned-up meal. Plus, depending on how much you use, you can get several meals out of one bottle!
Flavored fizzy water! I drink mostly water (or coffee) so a flavored sparkling water in the evening feels like such a nice little treat! There are so many good flavors and brands, including Whole30 Approved® Waterloo and La Croix!
My garden! It’s been expensive to start it—we purchased an above ground bed, lots of organic soil, etc. But hopefully, over time, it will allow us to enjoy fresh food that we’ve grown ourselves. Plus, the mental health benefits it brings me with daily watering, weeding, pruning, etc, has paid dividends.
Mikey
As a plant-based eater, any sauces or seasonings that add flavor to tofu, veggies, etc is always a win. A Dozen Cousins sauces are a favorite right now, as well as my go-to seasonings: basil, turmeric, and my major indulgence: everything bagel seasoning!
I have a pretty major sweet tooth, so one splurge is dark-chocolate-covered anything lol (almonds, cashews, fruit, etc). If it’s dark chocolate, and plant-based, I am there!
Karma Nuts! I am literally obsessed with this delicious snack and include several bags in my Thrive Market orders! My favorite: the turmeric cashews.
Jen
My Nespresso Vertuo Coffee Maker is such a delightful morning routine that makes my coffee super quickly and is delicious. I love that Nespresso provides pre-paid pod recycling bags that I can drop off at UPS and know they are being 100% recycled.
As a busy mom, having a ButcherBox subscription keeps meal planning easy and trips to the store to a minimum. I love their selection of high-quality cuts and premade items, such as gluten-free chicken nuggets and meatballs that my whole family adores.
Clean sheets and smooth legs for “cricket legs.” Also in the same vein, a warm foot soak before bed! These both do nothing but make you feel good, and I love that limited usefulness!
Lindsay
The New York Times Cooking subscription is a treasure trove of meal inspiration. With beautifully written recipes that range from classic comfort food to creative takes I’d never think of my own—there’s something for everyone. Even when I’m not cooking from it, I love reading the notes, tips and stories for even more inspiration.
Melissa
My 20-oz YETI mug. I cannot express how much I love this mug for MUD\WTR, decaf, or tea. It keeps things warm for hours, it’s spill resistant, and it fits in my cupholder. Worth every penny.
An air fryer. I resisted for so long because I didn’t want another appliance on my counter, but we use it for everything. Salmon, chicken, potatoes, green beans, Brussels, zucchini chips, frozen meatballs… it’s working overtime at my house.
Flaky Maldon Sea Salt. This isn’t my everyday cooking salt; it’s for topping, garnishing, and finishing. It looks so pretty on veggies or protein, and the large flakes give any dish a satisfying crunch.
Shannon
High quality coffee. We love Rampage Coffee and Moja Coffee—both Canadian, but both ship to the US. My fave Rampage is the RIOT Medium Blend and fave Moja is their Nicaragua bean. We also buy whole beans and use a grinder, it makes a difference!
Related to the above, hand made drinkware. Holding a vessel that someone else’s hands lovingly created is a vibe! They’re not cheap like the dollar store but they aren’t toooo expensive and you’ll have something completely unique to you!
Knives! Cutting an onion with a dull knife is like trying to cut it with a baseball bat. It’s going to make you annoyed, slow you down and is more dangerous than a sharp knife! My favorite brand is Wustof and it’s a splurgey-splurge but once you have one it’ll do you for a while! Just make sure before you buy that you have somewhere reputable that will sharpen it for you—once every six months or 6,000 cuts—and if you’re on a Whole30 those 6,000 cuts add up fast!
Brittney
Tea is an essential part of my daily routine—a mug of black or green tea in the morning, and a calming herbal blend in the evening. I love picking up loose leaf teas from Chado Tearoom, a local shop with a huge selection. It’s fun to browse in person, stock up on my go-to’s, and try something new when I feel like it.
One of my favorite tea-related splurges is my Fellow Stagg Electric Pour-Over Kettle. It lets me control the exact temperature based on the tea I’m steeping, which makes my routine feel more intentional and special. And honestly, it’s just really pretty sitting on our little tea and coffee corner.
My husband and I love doing themed dinner nights, and one of our favorites is charcuterie night. I’ve collected a few nice charcuterie boards over time, and we like to go all out on ingredients. We buy red wine, fruits, nuts, goat cheeses, olives, and paleo crackers. We also make a special stop at Jons Marketplace to pick out salami and prosciutto from the hand-cut meat counter.
I’ve even learned how to make salami roses to give it that fancy touch. It feels fun and indulgent, but still actually really easy to make. Charcuterie night has quickly become one of our favorite nights in.
Liilu
Collagen peptides from BUBS or Vital Proteins. It isn’t always something that works in my budget, but I always feel better and notice a difference in my joints! I am hyper mobile and practice yoga several times a week and when I take collagen I experience less joint pain. My hair and nails grow faster when I take it as well, which is a great side effect. 🙂
Sparkling water!!! Waterloo and LaCroix all day every day! Mixed with an LMNT in the afternoon when I’m feeling the midday slump and it feels like a special treat.
Dave
Gourmet, local mushrooms—especially maitakes—are one of my favorite little splurges. I was very fungus averse until my wife enlightened me to the earthy goodness I was missing. Now I think roasted maitake mushrooms are a fancy, flavorful addition that enhances basically any food out there. They’re worth the extra money every time.
I’ll always pay up to keep our spice cabinet filled with bottles of fresh seasonings and dried herbs. Life’s too short to eat bland food seasoned with pre-Y2K paprika or onion powder that remembers when TikTok was just a Ke$ha song. Frequently refreshing your various granulated, ground, and powdered spices is an investment that pays off in every flavorful bite you eat.
This is more of a dietary than budgetary splurge—holiday-themed Reese’s. Obviously, regular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are great. But they’re simply much better when made in the shape of a pumpkin for Halloween, a tree for Christmas, or even an egg for Easter. (I know that’s barely different from the circular cup shape, but that oval is still twice as good.) My hypothesis is that the peanut-butter-to-chocolate ratio is key here. We’ll never know for sure, though, because funding requests for my scientific research must have been lost in the system.
Celebrate your sensible splurges
We’ve pulled back the curtain and shared what we will spend a few extra dollars on. There’s no shame in it at all. Saving money is important, but some small things just make life a bit more flavorful, joyful, and easy. So don’t let your budget-conscious brain berate you when you want to spend an extra $5 on the really good coffee, a delicious sauce, or fun fizzy waters. You’ve done the work to save elsewhere—so if it’s worth it, buy it.
You can receive more Whole30 articles like this one—as well as recipes, program information, and advice from Melissa Urban—in your inbox weekly. All you have to do is sign up for Whole30 emails.
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. We earn a small commission when you purchase through these links.
--
