Healthy Eating on a Budget
Somewhere along the road people developed the misconception that eating healthy meant spending a lot of money. While organic or “all-natural” products tend to have a higher price, that doesn’t mean that all healthy eating habits can be generalized into the “costly” category. Cost and convenience can sometimes lead you to the drive through, instead of using your spending savvy and nutrition smarts to make decisions that benefit not just your health, but your wallet as well!
Here are some tips to help you stretch your dollar and not your waistline!
Buying in Bulk: The more of a product you purchase at one time, the less per item you typically spend. If it is an item you know you eat on a daily basis and it will not go bad before you can finish the large container, purchase it in bulk quantities. However, buying large bags or jars of products can sometimes invite overeating. To fix that, take a look at my next tip.
Create your own “100 Calorie Packs”: Americans are known to pay for convenience and the companies that produce “100 Calorie Packs” play on this trait. But don’t be fooled into spending money for convenience when you can do this yourself! Take the items you have bought in bulk, and when you get home, portion them into individual servings in your own baggies or containers. Now you have your own pre-portioned food, and you saved money! You also shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that just because the product is 100 calories does it mean it is healthy. If it 100 calories of sugar, fat or processed ingredients, than it is not a worthwhile snack. Look for products containing fiber, whole grain, and minimally amounts of refined ingredients for the best snacks.
Freeze: There is nothing worse than cleaning out the refrigerator and throwing away tons of produce and other foods that have gone bad. It literally feels like you are throwing away money. This is where your freezer comes in handy! If you purchase something that you end up not using, freeze it! Items that are frozen will outlast their refrigerated lifespan; just make sure you check the packaging or product information for length of time the item should be frozen.
Meal recycling: Similar to throwing out food gone bad, throwing out leftovers is just as difficult. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Use your creativity to turn last night’s dinner into a whole new meal. If you made chicken and have leftovers, use it for lunch in a chicken salad sandwich. Many meals can be turned into stir-fry’s or casseroles with the right spices and liquid agents added. Need ideas? Click here to take a look at some healthy, easy recipes I have created that could be your next meal!
Buy what you will use: There are so many new and interesting products lining supermarket shelves and it can be very hard to resist buying things you “may” use or want to sample. Try and limit yourself to trying one new purchase a week. That way if you don’t like it or don’t use it, you are not taking away from the budget for the foods you know you’ll need.
Investing in eating healthy will save you money in the long run. Chronic illnesses caused by being overweight or obese can cost a lot of money from medical bills and prescriptions. Staying on the course for a healthy lifestyle will make you and your wallet feel slimmer!
Your turn to take action: Which money saving tip will you implement this week?
I whole heartedly agree!
Thanks for the tips Bonnie. I especially like the idea of making my own 100 calorie packs to go!
I know, I love making my own 100 calorie packs…and they are healthier! I’m glad you found this info helpful.
This is timely for me. Usually I buy what I want at the supermarket and then visit the market gardens and buy everything we need. invariably I end up throwing a ton of stuff out. Now Ive decided to just buy what I need for the week and eat everything until we run out. Rather than having all choices all the time. i feel like I appreciate my food better too. I buy mostly fresh fruit and veges, thats what I mean by just buying what I need for a week and not buying in bulk because I can.
Sounds like a great plan to prevent waste and save money.
Bonnie, I really love the idea of using leftovers in creative ways! I use leftovers, but sometimes forget that I can re-purpose them! One of my favorite ways to creatively use them is in Egg Foo Young. Seems like I can add almost any leftovers, eggs, maybe chop up some fresh veggies and it turns out awesome!
Egg Foo Young sounds awesome and easy to make with your leftovers. Thanks for sharing and commenting.
Great tips Bonnie.
People often forget that processed meals may cost much more than the “real” stuff.
Agreed! We need to remind them of this. Thanks for your comment.