5 Tips to Eat Healthy on a Budget
“It’s too expensive to eat healthy.” This is a common misconception that many clients have expressed to me over the years. The truth is, eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive.
Here are five suggestions to feed yourself and your family healthfully without busting the budget.
- Meal Plan: Americans toss about 25% of their groceries in the trash annually. That’s equivalent to a family of four burning $1,500 a year! Food budgeting is all about planning meals for an entire week in a way that avoids wasted or spoiled food. Pour over cookbooks, recipe blogs and ask for your family’s input on their favorite meals. Include stews and casseroles which “stretch” more expensive items into more portions. Finally, write down your menu for the week and display it for the whole family to see.
- Make a List: Take inventory of the contents of the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Make a list of items that need to be restocked as well as any extra or special ingredients for your weekly menu. Don’t forget to consider breakfast, lunches and snacks for the week. Check out your grocery store circular for sales. Creating a meal plan based on fruits, vegetables and lean or low-fat protein sources that are on sale can be a big budget saver.
- Shop Seasonal, Stay Local: Farmer’s markets should be the first place you shop for in-season fruits and vegetables. The more local, the more nutrient-rich. Oftentimes, farmer’s markets are budget friendly and some even carry affordably priced meats.
- Buy in Bulk: It’s typically cost-effective to buy in bulk. Smart choices include family packs of chicken, beef or fish and larger bags of fruits, potatoes and frozen vegetables. If you have enough freezer space, purchase larger-sized packs and reduce the portions into appropriate sizes for your family to freeze or store for later.
- Batch Cook: Prepare a double or triple portion of your favorite recipes and freeze additional quantifies to use later. Cook extra chicken and brown rice at one meal and save it for another day during the week to toss together with leftover veggies for a speedy stir-fry.
Eating healthy doesn’t need to be a ton of work or super expensive. With realistic budgeting and planning ahead, you can eat in a way that’s good for both your health and your wallet.
Heather Tressler is the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist for Capital BlueCross. Heather has over 15 years of experience as a Registered Dietitian and Health Educator in hospital, worksite and community settings. In her career she has provided nutrition and health education programming and consulting in the form of lectures, trainings and community and corporate outreach. Heather received a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from Immaculata University and Masters of Health Education degree from Penn State. She obtained the nationally recognized Master level Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) credentialing and is a Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist in the state of PA. She enjoys cooking, running, and spending time at the shore with her husband and their four children.
