If you think that people are fat because they can’t afford to buy healthy food, think again. Healthy food is not expensive, and unhealthy food is not always cheap. And in this article, I’m going to prove to you how to save money while still eating healthy. So, are you ready? Nine tips that will allow you to save money while shopping for healthy food. Check out this article to learn how to eat healthily.
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I made the switch to healthy eating a few years back because I wanted to lose weight and live an active lifestyle. And you’ll be quite surprised to know that I ended up saving more money than I had planned. Want to know how? Let’s find out!
1. Eat home-cooked food
There are many ways to eat healthy on a low budget. And cooking food at home falls under that category. We all know how expensive it is to eat out, don’t we? A family of as many as four members can spend the same amount of money you do when you buy a meal for two at any restaurant.
And nowadays you can cook or prepare anything you like, even drinks. Appliances like sausage stuffer, blender, rice cooker, etc. have made it possible to create all types of delicious recipes. So the process has become ten times easier than it used to be.
Plus, when you cook at home, you know and can decide what goes into your food. And there’s nothing healthier than this!
2. Purchase whole foods
If you’re genuinely interested in knowing how to save money while still eating healthy, then please take note. When particular types of foods are less processed, they are cheaper in price. This means shredded cheese is more expensive than block cheese and refried beans are not as affordable as canned ones.
And everybody knows that whole food packages yield a larger quantity. So there’s your silver lining!
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3. Cook generous portions and use leftovers
When you cook a large meal, you save not only money but time too. The thing about leftovers is that you can freeze them and savor the delicious meal later as well. This includes foods like burritos, salads, stir-fries, and stews.
4. Don’t opt for junk food
A cheap, healthy diet plan doesn’t tolerate junk food. Processed foods, prepackaged meals, cookies, crackers, and sodas are not only unhealthy but heavy on the wallet too.
Just imagine how much more money you’ll end up saving like this! You can even use all the extra dollars to spend on healthier, higher quality foods. Your body doesn’t need unhealthy ingredients that offer zero nutritional value.
5. Buy cheap cuts of meat
Purchasing fresh fish and meat is expensive, isn’t it? So it’s better to get several cuts of meat. These don’t drill a hole in your wallet.
Plus, you can use this kind of meat for foods like stir-fries, stews, soups, casseroles, and burritos. They are perfect for cooking big meals along with having leftovers to enjoy later.
With such a habit, you won’t need to work very hard to learn how to save money while still eating healthy.
6. Get frozen vegetables and fruits
Fresh veggies, berries, and fruits are not available throughout the year. On top of that, whenever they are available, you have to pay a steep price for them. On the other hand, quick-frozen vegetables and fruits are equally nutritious but larger in quantity and cheaper too.
You can easily use them to prepare healthy drinks like smoothies or as toppings for yogurt and oatmeal.
This also means that you won’t be wasting a lot of food. Because with frozen items, you only take out the amount of food you want to eat and place the remaining back in the freezer or fridge.
7. Pack a lunch
Do you want to learn how to eat healthy on a tight budget? Then you need to start packing your lunch. So the next time you want to indulge in a snack or meal at work, you can simply eat what you got from home. All the more reason to cook large meals, isn’t it?
Such a practice can help in saving tons of money as you won’t feel the need to order for takeout.
8. Stick to the grocery list
The best way to understand how to save money while still eating healthy is by sticking to the original plan. If you’ve gone through the trouble of creating a healthy grocery list, then you better make it a point to stick to it.
I know how difficult it can be to avoid making unintended purchases at the supermarket. But it’s something that you need to do if you want to save money and stay fit.
The most efficient way to go about this is to first stroll through the supermarket’s perimeter. More often than not, these are the places that contain most of the whole foods. So that’s what you’ll be filling your cart with.
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9. Use canned fish
Fish lovers, please take note. All types of healthy diets consist of fish, and buying fresh fish is not cheap. But this doesn’t mean that you stop consuming fish only to save money.
Instead, what you can do is purchase canned fish. This includes canned salmon, anchovies, smoked mackerel, and sardines. They, too, contain tons of omega-3, vitamin D, and protein.
Here’s what you can do with canned tuna:
So what did we learn here?
I hope that now you know how to save money while still eating healthy. Developing such habits and practices does sound like a difficult task. But it’s not once you know how to go about it. Because switching from eating out to cooking at home is not a boring decision. Once you learn how to prepare delicious, healthy dishes, there’s no limit to what you can do in the kitchen.
Just keep in mind that junk foods are not only unhealthy but super expensive too. And with bad health, medical costs increase as well. So save yourself all this trouble and money in the future by living a better life today.
Wouldn’t you agree with me? Are there any other helpful tips that you would like to share with us here? Please feel free to do so.
You can leave your comments in the section below. I hope you enjoyed reading the article. The content has come from my personal experience. So I hope that you can relate to it.
Thank you for taking out time to read the article. Do keep coming back for more valuable insights about health and food.
About the author:
Barbara Davis is the founder of MomTrustedChoice. She writes about motherhood and pregnancy along with health and food. Her interest in these topics has led her to conduct extensive research about relevant products and useful tips to make life better. And she has made it her professional mission to spread the word to as many people as possible.
Sources:
1. https://authoritynutrition.com/19-ways-to-eat-healthy-on-a-budget/
2. http://www.summertomato.com/10-tips-to-save-money-while-eating-healthy
3. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-eat-healthy-foodsand-save-money-the-same-time.html
