eating healthy on a budget

There are ways to eat healthfully on any budget. It’s usually a matter of planning, proper storage, and some effort. Here are some things that might help you do that.

Think about going back to basics but within your comfort zone. You can invest your time to make meal plans and purchase quality food, which reduces food costs. 

It’s fine if you’re not ready to cook all your food from scratch. There are many healthy choices you can make along the spectrum of food processing, from fresh/whole to prepared foods to highly-processed.

Some suggestions for eating healthfully on a budget:

• Plan meals around weekly supermarket specials. Use coupons, store circulars and buying in bulk to shop strategically.
   
• Buy produce in season. Fruits and vegetables at the peak of freshness are smart buys – they taste best and have the most nutrition – and usually cost the least. Only buy what you can eat before the food spoils, or be prepared to store it by canning or freezing. Frozen fruits or vegetables are often as good as fresh since produce is picked at its peak and frozen quickly; just watch out for added sugar or fats. Canned produce can be purchased on sale and stored easily for later use.
   
• Organic foods are not necessarily more nutritious, and they do cost more. Organic milk has a longer shelf life than its traditional counterpart, so the extra cost might be a viable option for a family who keeps milk around long enough to spoil.
   
• Think about using vegetarian protein sources such as beans, tofu and nuts. These can be used by themselves or to stretch meat proteins in recipes.
  
• Use whole foods whenever possible for nutrition and cost savings. Whole foods are the least processed foods. The lack of processing allows the food to keep most of the nutrition, and keeps food costs down. Whole grains like whole wheat, oats, barley and brown rice are good source of dietary fiber and other nutrients not present in their refined forms.
  
• Prepare one-dish meals, such as soups, stews, chili, stir-fries and casseroles. Single dish meals lend themselves to using lots of vegetables creatively, which can reduce the amount of meat you need. You can even use leftovers this way. Consider doubling the recipe and freezing half for later use.
   
• Look at the unit price for your shopping items to determine if it’s really a good buy for your family

more healthy budget advice

For additional advice on eating healthy and saving, read more budget tips, gardening at home, eating locally, and fast scratch cooking. Also, take our budget challenge and challenge yourself to eat healthy and save!