Top tips to eat healthy on a budget

Want to start eating healthier, but don’t have a big food budget? With a little planning and some tweaks to how you think about cooking, you can make it happen.

I work on certain principles for healthy eating:

  • Be a pig with veggies.
  • When in doubt, eat as close to natural as possible.
  • Eat less at a time.  Don’t give your body a chance to gorge.
  • Eat more frequently.  Don’t give your body a reason to store food as fat.
  • If you don’t carefully plan all your nutrients, variety is the spice of health.
  • Make healthy eating a habit, so it’s just what you do, rather than a chore.


Here are seven tips to help you get started.

Plan your meals

The most important thing you can do to save money on food is to have a meal plan. It will prevent you from eating out all the time, which is very expensive and generally not very healthy.

Sit down and think about your week ahead. Do you have any plans that involve a meal out? Now you just need to feed yourself for the remaining breakfasts, lunches, dinners and mostly snacks (eat less, but more frequently). Remember that unless everybody is gathered to say grace around the table, you don’t actually need “meals”.  But plan the schedule anyway.

Fill in those slots with your favorite recipes, meals or snacks. And, of course, fill them with healthy food. Using your meal plan, write out a grocery list and go buy what you need for the week. Try to stick to the list, so you don’t buy on impulse (expensive) or buy too much, so that it spoils (wasteful).

tips to eat healthy

Cook at home

Preparing most of your food at home will save you a lot of money, compared to eating out. Many people buy coffee on the way to work each day. Buying a coffeemaker and preparing your morning cup of coffee at home will save hundreds of dollars per year.

Do cook at home. It is cheaper and healthier, and you can prepare your food just the way you want it, which is a pleasure in and of itself. Even better, eat food that does not need to be cooked as often as possible.  Yes, that saves money, and that’s eating as close to natural as possible

Keep it simple, but go for variety

Keep your menu plan and your snacks and meals simple. Go for variety, but stay away from complicated recipes where you have to put in different amounts of different ingredients at different times.

Be flexible to buy what’s on special, and don’t be shy to buy marked down produce.  Those half-price bananas?  By three bunches, peel them, chop them up and freeze them for the next couple weeks’ smoothies. I use them in my Yonanas machine.

Think about simple breakfasts like cereal with milk and berries. Nature’s Path makes very healthy organic cereals, but simple cereals like Shreddies and Bran Flakes are cheap and healthy.

Smoothies are great. Nothing wrong if you want to throw in a few extra healthy ingredients.  Spinach is a powerhouse of nutrients, and it doesn’t change the taste of your smoothie. Throw in cinnamon, fresh ground ginger, coriander, etc.  Whatever you like. All these spices are healthy.

Don’t forget, variety is the spice of health.

Lunches can be leftovers from dinner or simple sandwiches or salads. Lots of fresh, raw vegetables are great: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery with peanut butter on it, etc.

For dinner, try sticking to a formula to get you started. Include a protein, a starch (bread, corn, potatoes, etc.) and lots of veggies. A salad is great, but some cooked veggies are great, too. Be a pig with veggies.

Pack your lunch

Aside from making your own coffee in the morning, preparing a lunch to bring from home to school or work is probably the biggest money saving tip for those that work outside the home. And since most lunches you buy are unhealthy – greasy sandwiches or sauce-doused salads – what you bring from home is bound to be healthier.

The cost of buying lunch adds up quickly. So do the calories. If you do it for the social aspect more than the food, invite your coworkers to bring a lunch in, too. Have a picnic outside or eat together in the cafeteria. You don’t have to be lonely in order to save money and eat healthy. You could help others get healthy, as well.

Buy unprocessed ingredients

Unprocessed foods tend to be less expensive. They also tend to have less added sugar, salt, preservatives, chemicals and dyes. So they are healthier for you. Eat as close to natural as possible. Now, even Canada’s food guide tells us to avoid processed foods.

Once you get in the habit of preparing food at home, you will naturally buy less-processed, more natural foods. Habits are powerful.

Buy in bulk, with caution

It is often possible to buy things in bulk, and sometimes you can get a significant discount by buying a fifty pound bag rather than a one pound bag. But if you don’t use it all before it goes bad, you’ve lost money rather than saving.

Only buy in bulk what you know you can use. Only buy dry goods in bulk.Things like flour, rice, and oatmeal have a long shelf life and are good candidates for bulk buys. Things like eggplant and strawberries are on a race to spoil.

Also, be sure to double check the price per unit, and compare it with the price of a more modest sized package.

Ditch the meat

Vegans will love this one. But it’s not necessarily a vegan suggestion. Find alternate sources of protein for some or all of your meals. Meat is expensive. Eggs, milk, beans and cottage cheese are all healthy protein sources that cost less than most meats. Learn to cook a few Indian bean curries, or make some breakfast burritos and freeze them ahead of time for a quick breakfast before you head off to work or school. Prepare an omelet for dinner, or make a smoothie with protein powder (or milk and cottage cheese) for any time you need to eat.

If you decide to lose animal products altogether, there are companies like Hampton Creek that make minimally processed vegan condiments that will make the transition easier.

By planning and preparing simple snacks and meals at home using natural ingredients, bringing your lunch to work instead of buying it, and eating meatless meals a couple times per week, you will be able to save money and improve your health. Why not sit down and get started on your food plan right away?

Comments

  1. Hi,David

    Love this post about healthy eating. They are simple but practical ways that we can carry them out without any stress.

    Glad that you remove some of the myths about saving money on food and myths about healthy eating. Yet we need to know what kind of food are good candidates for bulk purchases. Unprocessed food and eat small portions are all good suggestions

  2. Great article, David! I also find that drinking plenty of water when eating helps to make me feel fuller for longer 🙂 It’s a trick one of my trainer buddies taught me a while back. Seems to be working well (and saving more some money) for the moment. 🙂 We always cook at home but I think I might try ditching the meat for a while and see how it helps our health and our bank balance.

  3. This post is very help full
    Provides great idea,tips and tricks for bloggers
    I am a experienced blogger but still above post was use full for me

  4. Hi David,

    While knowing what to eat and how much to eat is important, it always helps if you can boost the process of digestion. Eating a food slow helps in better digestion process. Also, loved your other points in the article.

  5. I agree with you
    Actually I’ve been doing some these things in my life.
    Thanks for sharing this 🙂

  6. In my opinion, preparing your food in your home is much better than outside. I appreciate your effort to discuss this topic. It can be helpful to many people whom struggling with their health problems.

  7. I often prepare my lunch at home and bring it to my office. It both helps me to save money and stay away from fast and unhealthy food outside. Thanks for you tips, I like buying in bulk too.

  8. Awesome article, David! I additionally find that drinking a lot of water when eating influences me to feel more full for longer 🙂 It’s a deceive one of my coach pals showed me a while back. Is by all accounts functioning admirably (and sparing all the more some cash) for the occasion. 🙂 We generally cook at home yet I figure I may take a stab at discarding the meat for some time and perceive how it enables our wellbeing and our bank to adjust.

  9. Eat less & Go for green vegetable.
    Drink lots of water.
    sleep more & getup early morning.
    Go for a walk.

  10. I’m always amazed at what a difference it makes to my grocery bill when I don’t buy meat. It actually makes sense on all fronts, healthier and cheaper!

  11. Really. I have my small business of Healthy snacks and people now a days moving more and more cautious. I found Brown rice is very good source for many essential vitamins.

    You article will help me come up with more and more Helthy products.

    Thanks for the information.

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