12 Tips For Eating Healthy on a Budget

If you want to learn 12 tips about eating healthy on a budget, then you want to read this article. Unfortunately, it's true that healthy foods can sometimes be more expensive than junk food. You may think you can not afford to eat healthy. Not true. Here are some awesome tips that will help you eat clean and save cash.

Plan Menus Ahead of Time

Plan your menu for the week in advance. When you plan your meals, you can make one trip to the grocery store. This will save you gas and help you avoid impulse buys. Plan your menus based on healthy sales items for the week. One suggestion for you is to check out the The Grocery Game website. This site finds out local sales and matches those sales with coupons for you every week. This is a huge time and money saver. The cost for the service is low and provides great value.

Buy in Season

Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Typically, these are the fruits and vegetables that are on sale. As of this writing, my rule of thumb is to pay under a dollar a pound for produce. This is a huge help overall. Give it a shot. Carry your calculator and figure out how much some things cost per ounce. It is mind numbing when you see how much nutritious food per ounce you can buy in comparison to the cost per ounce of a candy bar or chips.

No Pre-Packaged Meals

This tip goes in line with the one above. Pre-packed meals are loaded with preservatives, sodium, and empty calories. Plus the cost per pound is INSANE!

Buy Local

Another great way to save on produce is to buy local. In my area, I find great deals at the local Mexican-style meat markets. They sell inexpensive tomatoes, peppers, onions. Another great place to look is the local Asian markets. Local business owners work with local growers and negotiate better transactions. Buy local when the price is right.

Shop the Outside Aisles

The outer isles of the supermarket are where the healthy stuff is at. You ever notice that? The fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy are all on the outside isles. Avoid the inner aisles like the plague Most of them are loaded with processed and junky foods.

Buy in Bulk

Grab your calculator and if you find a great deal per pound buy big. If you are a meat eater, buy in bulk when it goes on sale. Separate the meats in the packages and freeze them. Same thing goes for most vegetables. Check out the warehouse stores and compare to the local grocery stores. Buy whole chickens too! Stop buying the pre-cut stuff. It is much more expensive than just buying birds in bulk, cutting, and freezing them.

Words of Caution: Just because something is sold in bulk at a warehouse, does not mean it's a better deal. Once again, put your calculator to use and check price per pound.

Dump the Packaged drinks

Stop buying sodas, bottled water, tea, coffee, and fruit drinks. Drink water, brew your own tea and coffee. The markup on packaged drinks is outrageous! Plus, you'll save big in calories. All the sugary drinks are killer on the waistline. Have you ever read the sugar count on most of that stuff?

A huge pet peeve of mine is buying bottled water. What a waste of cash. Invest in a water filter, one good water bottle, and refill it.

By Frozen Produce

When I can not get fresh produce dirt-cheap. I hit the frozen produce aisle. Frozen produce is often flash frozen right after it's picked. Plus, you do not have to worry about it spoiling.

Cook For The Week

Use one day of the week to cook up meals. This is a great timesaver for busy families. Do all your cooking at once. It may sound like a daunting task but it is not. Knocking it all out at one time saves you time because you only prep the kitchen once a week. You can also control your meals in advance. Lastly, you'll avoid eating out (money loss and weight gain) because your food is prepared and ready to go.

Plant a Garden

Try your hand at growing produce. There is some upfront labor planting a garden but it will save you money. We consistently grow herbs and chili peppers at our house. We have also grown strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, romaine lettuce, and cilantro. Talk about some savings!

Go " Old School"

Eat peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter is packed with nutrients and inexpensive. If you can get bananas for under a buck a pound or some honey … Wow! Yummy on the cheap!

Be careful: peanut butter is also loaded with fat. Pay attention to serving size.

Meat as a Side

Instead of eating meat as the main course, make it a side. Pile your plate with veggies and a small serving of meat. This is a great way to keep your meat costs down.

And that should do it. Those are 12 tips for eating healthy on a budget that you can start using today to keep your grocery bills low and waistline small.

Source by Jan Petreczko

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