How to Eat Healthy on a Budget
We’ve all been there: we start the week with a stocked fridge and the best intentions of cooking healthy meals all week…and then Monday happens. By the time dinner rolls around, we’re reaching for a takeout menu. Here’s the thing—fast doesn’t have to mean unhealthy, and healthy doesn’t have to mean expensive.
How to Eat Healthy on a Budget
1. Choose between your time and your dollar
“Oftentimes, the cost of making condiments, sauces, bone broths, seasoning mixes, and even ghee is half the price of store-bought products, especially if you purchase your spices from the bulk bins at your market. But if you’re a busy person with little time and some extra income, purchasing that precooked bird or other pre-made items can be a sanity saver and free you up to do other things.”
2. Shop at a farmers’ market or local farm stand, or join your local CSA for affordable, seasonal, local produce
The produce can be more affordable than buying organic items at your grocery store, which likely had to travel a ways to get there. If you shop toward the end of the market’s hours, you can usually find even lower costs. At the regular grocery store, choose frozen produce for a more economical option for fruits and vegetables currently out of season.”
3. Buy organic when possible, but…
Consult the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list to know when buying conventional is safe and economical. When organic doesn’t fit into the budget at all, know that incorporating more vegetables and fruits into your diet and cutting out grains and refined oils and sugars are two big steps toward better health.
4. Take an inventory of your fridge and pantry before you shop
This will help you avoid buying duplicates. Avoid excessive purchasing, which can lead to waste.
5. If grain-fed meat is the most affordable and accessible for you, buy lean cuts (and go meatless one day a week to save even more)
“The fat in conventional meats is what holds omega-6 fatty acids, which can be inflammatory. For grass-fed meats, look for cheap cuts (stew meat, roasts, and so on) and bone-in meats. Any time meat is purchased boneless and/or skinless, the cost of labor to prep it has been added to the price.
6. Seek out the most affordable grocery stores
You don’t have to purchase everything at a health foods or natural foods store. Some items when searched on Amazon are cheaper with prime than getting at the local market.
7. Minimize waste by planning your meals ahead of time
Save your pan drippings from cooking bacon or chicken to use in future meals, and buy and use your fresh produce wisely so nothing goes bad before you eat it. When all else fails, make soup with all of the odds and ends in the vegetable crisper drawer of your fridge.
8. Batch cook
Whether you’re feeding a large family or a party of two, batch cooking can save so much time and money. Try doubling or even tripling your recipes, then use the leftovers in other dishes, repurpose the proteins into something completely different with a new sauce or added vegetables, or just freeze individual portions for later use.
