Eating Healthy on a Budget

Do you find it expensive to follow a healthy diet? There are definitely ways to achieve your goals – I suggest looking at it as your long term health insurance. Here are some simple ideas and tips on ways to get around it…

• Collaborate – Get together with a group of health nut friends who share your passion for health and buy in bulk, either from local stores or online and divvy up the produce and the costs.
• Source ingredients from cheaper alternatives – do you think healthy food needs to come from a health food store? Try locating your local Indian or Asian store and you’ll find they stock items at a fraction of the price. Look for things like coconut water or buckwheat noodles at an Asian store or nuts, spices, chickpea flour and tahini for example at Indian grocers.
• Eat seasonal – vegetables and fruit are always cheapest when in season so use ingredients that are readily available. Also, buy in bulk and freeze them.
• Buy better quality cuts of meat but use less and bulk up with extra legumes or pulses – I know this was an issue for myself when I started looking at better quality cuts of meat but once I understood the health benefits and experienced the taste difference, I just made it work. Buy a free range chicken and cut it up into portions so it makes 3-4 meals. Then make a chicken stock out of the carcasses. Buy a smaller portion of red meat and then bulk up your meals with black kidney beans, lentils or chickpeas to make it go further, and get the extra health benefits at the same time.
• Serve at least one vegetarian meal a week – having a vegetarian meal every week is a fantastic way to cut costs. Try the recipe below.
• Shop at fruit and vegetable markets – I know that convenience comes into consideration when shopping at a supermarket because it’s all there in one place, but if you take the extra time to shop at your local fruit and vegetable market, not only wll the produce be much fresher, but it is much cheaper as well.
• Make your own – you can’t beat home baking. It doesn’t take long and not only is it a much healthier choice, you know exactly what ingredients are in it too! To receive some healthy lunchbox ideas, click here.
• Create a weekly evening meal plan – being prepared and planned not only relieves the 5pm stress, but it will also save you money because you’ll only buy what you need and won’t be throwing out rotten vegetables.
• Shop fortnightly – are you someone who goes to the supermarket every couple of days and comes out spending $50-$100 each time, ending up costing you a fortune? Try shopping fortnightly for your supermarket items and then weekly for your fruit and vegetables. This will save you time and money.
• Grow your own – there is nothing more rewarding than picking a large head of broccoli or cauliflower out of your own garden and serving it for dinner. Plant your own vegetable plot, get your kids involved so they can choose, then they’re more likely to eat them too. And if you don’t have space, plant some vegetables into pots.