How to Eat Healthy On a Budget: 15 Tips to Get You Started
For many of us, eating healthy can seem like an unattainable goal. We know that it’s important for our overall health and wellbeing, but the cost of nutritious food can be prohibitively expensive. But the good news is that it is possible to eat healthy on a budget—you just need to have the right strategies and resources. Here are 15 tips to get you started.
Cook at Home to Save Money and Be in Control of Ingredients
Cooking at home can save you money while also allowing you to control exactly what goes into your meals (because who really knows what goes into your food at restaurants or on grocery store shelves?). This way, you can ensure that each meal has all the necessary nutrients without overspending on unhealthy, highly processed convenience items. Plus, cooking doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming; with a bit of practice, you can whip up delicious meals in no time at all!
Meal Planning to Avoid Impulse Purchases
Meal planning keeps your grocery list organized and prevents impulse purchases when shopping for groceries. Without meal planning, you can easily spend 5x your grocery budget on food you think you could use but ultimately ends up in the trash. This way, you’ll have time and space for the meals you’ve decided to eat ahead of time, putting your logical reasoning to good use and avoiding decision fatigue. Planning ahead allows for plenty of nutrient-rich meals prepared using affordable ingredients.
Create a Grocery List and Stick To It
Creating a grocery list ahead of time helps keep your spending under control since it eliminates impulsive purchases as well as encourages you to stick with nutrient-dense items instead of reaching for unhealthy options. Once you’ve created your list, make sure to stick with it when shopping for groceries; this will help keep your costs down and ensure that every meal contains the nutrients needed for optimal health.
Meal Prep with Leftovers In Mind
Meal prepping is an excellent way to save time during busy weeks while also ensuring that nutritious meals are always available. When making large batches of food (like soups or stews), cook extra so that leftovers can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for later use. This way, rather than wasting money on takeout during busy times or settling for less-than-healthy options due to lack of planning, nourishing leftovers will always be available when needed!
Consider Generic Brands
One of the best ways to save money at the supermarket without sacrificing taste is to choose generic brands. If you’re worried about it not tasting as good, start by trying a generic for one item in your usual shopping list and see what you think. Once you get used to it, you’ll soon realize that generic brands are just as tasty as the more expensive ones – with the added bonus of coming at a much lower cost! Plus, when it comes to certain items such as canned fruit, the generic brand even tends to be organic because organic ingredients aren’t always available for specific brands.
Avoid Highly Processed Foods
Taking care of our health can be made easier, and more affordable, by reducing the amount of processed foods you buy. Processed foods often contain more additives than whole unprocessed options and can, therefore, cost more with fewer beneficial nutrients. Choosing whole food like fruit and vegetables that don’t require extra processing will prove to be of greater nutritional value and a cheaper option too. Of course some processed items are worth buying – as long as they have good nutritional benefits and provide variety to meals – but it’s best to choose these carefully to help ensure a successful budget while also looking after your health.
Stock Up During Price Cuts
Another great way to save money is to stock up when you find a sale on your favorite products or staples, like canned beans, tuna, and frozen vegetables. This can be especially helpful in tight weeks, as you’ll already have something nutritious and delicious ready to mix and match into an easy meal. Taking this approach is not only budget-friendly, but it can also add variety and convenience to your diet!
Buy in Bulk
Shopping in bulk is a great way to reduce costs per serving when eating healthy. Purchasing larger quantities of foods can be an effective tool in helping you stick to your budget while also meeting nutritional requirements. For example, buying large bags of oats or rice will give you more bang for your buck than smaller packages. Plus, stocking your pantry with food staples can make meal preparation easier and faster. The trick here is to purchase non-perishable items that are versatile enough to use in many dishes.
Think Outside the Meat Box
Swap out fresh meats like beef, pork, and chicken for other proteins like legumes, hemp seeds, and canned fish. Not only are these alternatives cheaper than fresh meat, but they can also offer their own unique nutritional benefits. Lentils are an especially versatile ingredient; they can be used in salads, soups, and even patties. Hemp hearts provide an excellent source of both Omega 3 fatty acids and protein in vegetarian-friendly dishes. And canned fish is a cost-effective way to take advantage of the health benefits of lean proteins while avoiding the high prices of fresh fish. Replacing fresh meat with these alternative proteins is a simple way to cushion your wallet.
Shop Local and In-Season
Shopping for local, in-season produce not only supports your local farmers and the environment, it also offers a great way to save money when eating healthy. By utilizing the freshest fruits and vegetables on rotation throughout the seasons, you can reduce food waste creating a win-win situation for all. Shopping for produce locally during the peak of its life cycle allows you to take advantage of prices that are often lower than what is offered in your grocery stores as they have less transportation and handling costs associated with out of season items. So support your local farmers while enjoying some of nature’s most delicious seasonal delights.
Buy Frozen Produce During Off-Seasons
Buy frozen produce when fresh produce isn’t available or affordable. This helps to eliminate food waste, as well as ensuring you get produce out-of-season that still offers much of the nutritional value at a fraction of the cost. Plus, frozen produce lasts longer than fresh produce, so you can stock up and save without having to worry about spoilage. Additionally, frozen produce is often pre-washed and chopped, making it ideal for quick and easy meals.
Grow a Garden
Growing your own produce is an economical option that can be done even if you don’t have a large garden. Seeds are cheap, sure, but the beauty of gardening rewards the peaceful hobbyist. Spend time in your backyard, enjoy the sunshine, and get your fingers dirty. Shopping organic may be pricey, but growing organic veggies in your own yard eliminates that shopping cost – plus you get to savor the fruits of your labor without any harmful pesticides! Gardening isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely worth considering if you want healthy food on a budget. Try starting small with a window herb garden or a potted tomato plant.
Pack Your Lunch
Making a habit of packing your lunch can save you not only money but time and calories as well. Eating out for lunch each day adds up quickly, whereas preparing a few days’ worth of meals once a week can be easy and cost-effective. With a meal ready to go, you don’t need to worry about wasting time trying to find somewhere to eat, and you won’t get suckered into calories you weren’t planning on but that sound so good in the moment. Try adding more nutrient-rich foods such as vegetables and whole grains into your packed lunches, and you’ll have healthy fuel that will help give you the energy boost you may need throughout the day.
Utilize Inexpensive, Nutrient-Rich Foods
There are many nutrient-rich foods available on a limited budget. Beans, eggs, and whole grains, for example, provide a great source of important nutrients such as protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates which promote a healthy diet. And they’re a dime-a-dozen in agricultural-heavy America. Even though eggs have seen a temporary cost spike this year due to supplies being affected by avian flu, they are still a nutrient-dense food that will settle back to affordable before long.
Shop from Online Retailers
Shopping online for nutritious food items is a great way to make sure you’re eating healthy while still staying within budget. With the convenience of ordering directly from retailers and having the food delivered right to your door, it’s never been easier or more affordable to stay on track with eating healthy. Additionally, many online retailers offer discounts and special deals on healthy food items you might not find in stores. Shopping online gives you the chance to explore different options that fit into your health and financial goals.
There’s Always a Way to Prioritize Your Health
Eating healthy is possible on any budget if you put in just a little bit of effort and use some creative strategies such as meal planning, creating grocery lists, buying generic brands, stocking up on sales items, buying in bulk and more. With these tips in mind, eating healthy on a budget doesn’t have to feel like an impossible task. By taking small steps towards eating healthier each day, soon enough you’ll find yourself living a healthier lifestyle without breaking the bank.