Friday, May 10, 2013

Healthy Eating on a Budget

I'm not saying it's easy but it's not impossible to eat healthy on a budget. Eating healthy should not be a hardship but often times it can be if you don't know the basics. Below are just a few ideas I put together to help you get started.

1. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season.  They will not only cost less, because they don't have to be shipped, but they will also taste better. If you can't buy them fresh frozen is a great option. But be sure you are getting just veggies and not added sugar or salt.  (read packages carefully)

2. Grow your own.  This may not be practical for everything, but even just growing the few herbs you use most can save you money.  And since you've grown it yourself you know that it has't been treated with any harmful chemicals.

3. Cut out processed food. The sugar and salt they contain will only leave you hungry for real food; which means you end up eating more. You may need to "condition" your taste buds for this one but once you do it becomes routine and easy.

4. Use leftovers wisely. One meal can often be spread out into several others during the week.  Leftover chicken from tonight's dinner can be tossed in a salad for tomorrow's lunch. Veggies can be sauteed and added to eggs to make a nice hearty omelet.

5. Prioritize. What's important to you when it comes to food? Most people have no qualms spending upwards of $5 at Starbucks on a daily basis but think it's outrageous to spend that much on fresh veggies. If you decide that you want to eat healthy then spending a little extra for good food will become less of an issue for you.





13 comments:

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  2. Great tips to remember! So many good ways to eat healthy (and save $$)!

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  3. Great advice! Our biggest issue is making use of leftovers. It can be really sad to see what we end up throwing away.

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  4. These are awesome tips! Sometimes when I think about having an extra snack when I'm not hungry I remember that skipping it would save me money. It's a weird motivator but it works! More normal tips to include would be buy in bulk! You save tons of money buying in bulk but keep in mind your more likely to go speedly through it, people always consume more from a larger package! Also, love the AZ wedding section! My wedding was in Arizona!

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  5. We have a pretty limited budget and eat healthy by using these very tips! Growing our own saves a ton of money, and planning wisely is probably the biggest for us.

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  6. I try to follow a healthy eating and cooking plan, but usually fall apart when it comes to the budget part. Thanks for the tips!
    Renee - Kudos Kitchen

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  7. Great ideas for healthier budget eating. I especially need to work more on #4. Leftovers tend to be forgotten around here and languish in the fridge until I throw them out. What a waste of money! Going to try to do better with that.

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  8. These are all great tips! Number 4 is something I definitely need to get better at. I waste so much :(

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  9. I totally agree with everything you listed here, such great tips! Especially the eating in season, it's so much cheaper and the produce is generally on sale!

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  10. I have been wasting food since my son moved out. I used to be so creative with leftovers. I'm back meal planning again which really helps a lot. Number two is impossible where I live. We're lucky if we get three months of good growing season here each year. I try to freeze what I can.

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  11. This is exactly what we do! I always buy what is in season and we do a leftovers night twice during the week so we luckily almost never waste which is a good thing!

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  12. Thanks for these tips... that's the biggest problem with trying to always eat healthy that it can cost so much more but we need to strive to do so. Thanks!

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