7 Tips to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Eating fresh, healthy, organic, local foods sounds great—but what if you’re on a budget?  I feel your pain. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to eat well and actually save money in the process. Your shopping list isn't going to include Cheetos, frozen pizza, or whatever your favorite fast meal is, but trust me, you’ll live.

1.   Don’t shop hungry! 

How often do you swing by the store on your way home from work, tired and starving?  This may seem like grandmotherly advise, but it's been studied and proved.  Keep a piece of fruit or a small ziploc bag full of raw nuts in your bag to guard against filling your cart with foods you’re craving now but wouldn't buy on a full stomach.

2.  Buy flash-frozen fruits, vegetables, and fish. 

While any processing takes away from food's maximum nutritional value, flash freezing is a great way to preserve vitamins and minerals when vegetables and seafood are at their freshest.  And it makes it convenient.  The price?  For seafood, there's no comparison.  Fresh fish are more expensive, when you can get it at all.  Most of the time the fish at the grocery that is marked fresh, has been previously frozen.  Produce is trickier.  Frozen is sometimes, but not always, cheaper than fresh, in-season, fruits and vegetables.

3.    Shop at your local farmers market.

This may surprise you, but it's cheaper to get your veggies, organic or not, at the local farmers' market than the local grocery store.  You also get to support local farmers, and be happy knowing that you're saving money too. 

4.  Stick to your list. 

Don't cave in with the snazzy packaging on the grocery store shelves.  Make your meal plan and shopping list at home, and then stick to it.  Here's the exception. When you shop at the farmers' market or local produce stand, sometimes a fresh fruit or vegetable will stand out, one you hadn't planned on.  So take that into consideration on your list, when you run across this.  Just decide which meals you want to add them to before purchasing.  A good rule of thumb is to stick absolutely to your list of panty items, but give yourself leeway with fresh, seasonal foods.

5.  Eat lots of beans and always soak your own.

Beans are a great source of protein and fiber.  And they're cheaper, if you buy them dried.  Soaking your own beans is easy, though it does take more planning than opening a can of them.  But it's no big deal.  Just decide the night before what you're going to eat the next day.  If it includes beans, then put them in a pot to soak overnight.  In the morning cook them as you're getting ready for the day.

6.  Buy in bulk.

Sam's and other warehouse stores sell vegetables and fruit at low prices.  If you are willing to buy them at large quantities.  You are in for some work at home, but with those prices, I'm not complaining.  I love the fact that we raise our own beef, pigs and have that in the freezer.  I know the animal was not raised in a factory or feed lot.  I also know what was put into the animal.

7.  Cut consumption.

Restaurant portions have quadrupled in size.  We seem to think, that the platter of food is a serving.  Most of them can feed two to three people.  I know that my husband and I have started ordering one plate of food, and share.  So when you are out, either share or get it boxed to take home.  At home make your servings smaller.  It won't take long before you are satisfied with that. 

-Lisa