8 Strategies for Eating Healthy on a Budget
You don’t have to break the bank to eat well!
I know that healthy food can be expensive, so many of us find it more difficult to eat well if we’re on a budget. I’m here to tell you that this doesn’t have to be a limiting factor. You can eat well, while on a budget, and I have a few simple but effective tricks to help you get there.
First, I think it is important to say, that you need to invest in yourself. You are worth it, you’re worth feeling your body with nutritious and delicious foods, and if you don’t choose to invest now, you may be forced to invest down the road. That being said, I understand that we all have budgets that we need to stick to, so here are a couple of simple tips I discuss with my clients with regards to not breaking the bank while trying to eat well!
Plan your Meals for the Week & Make your Grocery List.
Make a plan and stick to it. Plan your meals out for the week, including snacks, and make a grocery list! All of the meal plans I provide to my clients come with a grocery list in order to make grocery shopping a BREEZE!
STICK TO your Grocery List
STICK 👏🏼 TO 👏🏼 YOUR 👏🏼 LIST
It’s SO easy to become distracted in the grocery store, with so much fun packaging, or labels with wild claims. My tip for sticking to the list, is to make your way around the perimeter of the store FIRST. This will encourage you to stock up on nutrient dense whole foods first.
Cook Meals at Home VS Eating Out
Home cooked meals are cheaper than ordering from your favourite restaurant. Period. Another great aspect about cooking at home is that you have more control over your food, the ingredients you use and the love you put into cooking it! If majority of your meals are take out, try to slowly add more days of home cooking until you have a balance that is better on the budget!
Buy Food in Season
Depending on where you live, this is easier certain times of the year. I get it, I live in Northern Ontario, where our winters are long, and it makes it tough to eat seasonally. BUT, in the summers, I THRIVE off of locally produced food participate in Farm Shares that I will discuss more below! There are a few reasons why purchasing close to home is advantageous, with the first one being that since you food hasn’t had to travel great distances, it often costs less and is less chemically polluted!
Extra tip!- Freezing or canning foods while they’re in season is a delicious way to enjoy them year round!
Participate in a Farm Share
There are programs in place in many areas where you can essentially invest in a farm by giving them a sum of money at the beginning of the season, and they reward you with whatever crops they are harvesting week to week! Usually they give you an indication of what this will look like month to month, in terms of what veggies you can expect in different parts of the season. This has been a HUGE money saver for me, and I get to indulge on foods picked at their freshest, and consumed within days of harvesting- which is not something you can say for most supermarket produce.
Buy in Bulk
Buying nuts, seeds, grains and legumes in bulk is not only beneficial for the environment, but also for your wallet!
Buy Frozen Fruits & Vegetables
When things aren’t in season (and therefore at their most expensive) you should consider buying frozen! Frozen food is usually still quite nutrient dense as it is generally frozen very close to time of harvest. When buying frozen fruits or vegetables, it is important to read the ingredient list, and it should ONLY list that specific vegetable or fruit. For example, a sweetened frozen fruit should be avoided. Realistically bread products should always be kept in the freezer to avoid all of the preservatives that you’ll find on the products kept on the shelf.
Catch the Sales!
Nothing beats a good sale! When I see a staple on sale, I stock up! This could be meant butter, oat milk, coconut milk, Tamari or my chickpea pasta. WHATEVER IT IS! Take a look at the flyer and see if there is anything on sale that is on your meal plan for the week!
I hope you find these suggestions helpful! At the end of the day, eating poor quality convenience food can be expensive too! I always say, if you don’t CHOOSE to take the time and invest in yourself now, you may be FORCED to do so down the road. Let’s focus on prevention & listening to the signals our body is giving us with regards to nutrition.