Healthy Eating Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Many people believe that you have to spend lots of money to eat healthy. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. On the contrary, the cost of not-so-healthy fast food, convenience meals, and snacks can stack up pretty quickly and become very expensive over time. In fact, eating healthy can actually save money in the long run, especially if you stick to a few key principles when shopping for, selecting, and preparing your food.

Here are a range of simple tips that can help you save money while eating healthy.

1. Stick to seasonal produce

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are often fresher, more flavourful, and more affordable than foods that are produced out of season. This is because these seasonal ingredients are harvested at peak ripeness and not transported nearly as far, minimising the amount of time it takes to travel from the farm to your supermarket shelf. There are plenty of online guides that detail which fruits and vegetables are in season near you. You can also get a good idea of which foods are in season by visiting your local green grocers to check out what’s available.

2. Buy generic

Many supermarkets offer products in both own-brand and named-brand varieties. Opting for own brands instead of name brands is a simple way to save money without compromising on quality. Generic brand foods are usually comparable to name-brand versions in terms of safety, quality, and nutritional value.

3. Practice meal planning

Planning out your meals in advance is a smart way to save both time and money. Try creating a weekly meal plan, drafting a shopping list, and setting aside a specific time to prep your meals for the next week. For example, find a few recipes that use a similar set of ingredients to rotate between during the week. Or else, focus on a few ingredients with a shorter shelf life, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and switch between various whole grains, legumes, spices, and seasonings for each meal. This can help streamline your shopping list while also adding plenty of diversity to your diet, as each day you’re enjoying ingredients in new and interesting ways.

4. Cook at home

Cooking your own food at home instead of dining at restaurants or purchasing prepackaged meals is one of the easiest and most effective ways to eat healthy on a budget. In fact, a single meal at a restaurant typically costs much more than purchasing the ingredients you need to prepare your own food at home. Plus, with additional fees like delivery fees, service charges, and tips, the cost of dining out or ordering takeout can quickly add up. Preparing your own food also gives you complete control of what you’re putting on your plate. This makes it easier to include more fresh, whole foods in your diet. It also helps decrease your intake of added sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients.

5. Eat more plant-based proteins

Plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, chickpeas, and tofu are often much cheaper than animal proteins like meat, fish, and poultry. Plus, these foods are rich in protein, fibre, and a variety of other essential vitamins and minerals. They’re easy to incorporate into recipes like casseroles, soups, salads, and stir-fries. Keep in mind that eating more plant-based proteins doesn’t mean you need to become a fully fledged vegan or cut out animal products from your diet altogether. If you eat meat now and want to start eating more plant-based protein, consider swapping plant-based proteins into your diet just a few times per week. This will help you save some money and reduce your consumption of meat.

6. Check for deals

Most supermarkets offer weekly deals and discounts, which are typically either advertised online or advertised in weekly supermarket mail-outs or in-store literature. It’s sensible to stock up on food cupboard and shelf-stable essentials whenever they’re on sale. These include rice, beans, spices, frozen foods, and canned vegetables.

7. Purchase frozen fruits and vegetables

If you have a hard time using up all your fresh fruits and vegetables before they start to go bad, consider getting some frozen varieties. It’s an excellent alternative. Frozen fruits and vegetables offer the same valuable nutrients as fresh varieties but have a much longer shelf life to help you cut back on food waste. There’s also less developed starch content in frozen vegetables (as opposed to chilled or ambient) as they’re picked and frozen so quickly.

8. Save your scraps

Many parts of meat and produce are typically discarded when you’re cooking healthy meals at home. However, there are lots of interesting and creative ways you can use your food scraps instead of just tossing them out. This can help save some extra money on food shopping. Save stems and stalks of vegetables to make soup stock, freeze leftover herbs, or cut stale bread into cubes and bake them in the oven to make your own homemade croutons. Broccoli and Cauliflower are delicious when roasted and you can even roast the leaves and stalks as well which are surprisingly tasty.

9. Buy in bulk

You can buy certain foods in bulk at a lower price, making it even easier to eat healthy on a budget. Shelf-stable options like grains, nuts, seeds, and dried legumes are particularly great foods to stock up on and buy in bulk.

10. Start an herb garden

Fresh herbs are perfect for boosting the flavour of your favorite healthy meals at home, but they can also be pretty pricey. Fortunately, growing your own herbs at home can be an easy, fun, and money-saving hobby. It’s also very easy, even if you don’t have a green thumb — all you need is some soil, seeds, and a sunny spot by your window or in your yard. If you live in an apartment with limited sunlight, consider buying one of the supermarket fresh herbs in it’s own pot and simply nurture it to grow more.

11. Shop smarter

Incorporating money-saving habits into your food shopping routine is a great way to cut costs while eating healthy.

• Write a list ahead of time. To get started, write down what you need before you head to the store. When you’re there, stick to the items on your list.

• Shop when you’re calm, on a full stomach. You should also avoid going to the store when you’re hungry or stressed, as it could fuel your food cravings and lead to unhealthy shopping selections.

12. Eat leftovers

Instead of throwing out your leftovers, try saving them for a simple meal the next day. Not only can this save you some time, but bringing your leftovers to work or school instead of buying lunch can also help save money. Simply consider doubling portion sizes when you’re cooking dinner and then storing half to eat for lunch the next day.

13. Try a food delivery service

Many supermarkets will have a booming online presence. This can allow you to be more efficient and focused on what you actually need to buy rather then what you might succumb to whilst meandering through the various food aisles (on a hungry stomach). Delivery services tend to be completely flexible to your availability and doesn’t cost much to reserve a space. You could also consider one of the growing delivery companies focusing on organic or fresh fruit and veg and meat. This can also help you focus on food choice, diversity of what you’re eating and keep you off the ultra-processed foods. In addition to helping you add more fruits and veg. to your diet, these services can help you save money and make it easier to stick to your meal plan if you buy only what you need. This can also be a useful option if you don’t live near a particular supermarket or have limited access to fresh food in your community.

Extracts taken from Rachael Link from https://www.healthline.com