One of the most common objections I get to "healthy" eating is the expense. Eating healthy often already seems like a monumental task, especially financially. In my experience, however, this doesn’t have to be the case. Today, I’d like to share some of my tips on how to eat healthy on a budget.
1. Stay stocked with essentials. If you’re just starting the foray into healthy eating, the initial “start-up” costs can be a bit high, but once you have your pantry well-stocked, things should really start to even out. Basics include:
Fats for cooking, dressing salads, etc.: olive oil, butter and/or coconut oil
Canned goods: beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste
Dry goods: brown rice or quinoa, whole grain pasta, nuts, nut butter
Spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder/minced garlic, cinnamon, basil
Sauces: soy sauce, vinegar (apple cider is a good all-purpose one)
Fridge: Eggs, onion, lettuce/spinach, apples
Freezer: Chicken, fish, frozen fruit, frozen veggies
Based on the above, you can make a plethora of meals without any added ingredients (scrambled eggs with veggies, veggie and chicken stir fry, grilled fish with steamed veggies, smoothies, beans and rice, quick side salad, a full dinner salad with apple, beans, and chicken, etc., etc.)
2) Meal Plan. This can be tricky. Start by just deciding on a few meals for the week and build up to planning them all. If you go to the grocery store without a plan in mind, you’re likely to find yourself lacking the necessary ingredients for your desired meals throughout the week, leading to poor food choices, eating out, or going over budget for random “extra” supply purchases. Additionally, this allows you to think about the ingredients you’re already purchasing and build additional meals around them. For instance, this week, we’re having pulled BBQ pheasant tacos with a goat cheese slaw. The BBQ is leftover in our freezer, the goat cheese was used for part of a meal last week, and all I needed this week was tortillas and cabbage for the slaw. I know we won’t use all the cabbage, so I then planned an additional meal of sweet potato skins with an Asian-inspired “salad” using the cabbage. AND, the sweet potato “innards” will be repurposed for either sweet potato baked goods or sweet potato burgers next week!
3) Make More. One of the easiest ways to keep healthy food available on a regular basis and utilize your ingredients well is to make more than you need. If you’re already prepping quinoa, chicken and veggies for tonight’s dinner, why not make extra and freeze the leftovers? Or bring it for lunch during the week? It’s often less expensive to buy a larger package of something and prevents just wasting it when you only need half a can of the item for the desired meal.
4) Buy in Bulk. “Family-size” meat, poultry, and fish packages are often less expensive than a small pack. Separate out the meat into desired portions, wraps in plastic wrap, place in a bag with the date, and freeze for future use. Now you can simply thaw the amount you need without any waste. This tends to be true for other items, too. Large bags of frozen fruit and veggies, nuts and nut butters, etc. all tend to come with a price reduction (per ounce), compared to their smaller container options.
5) Frozen or Fresh? When things are in season, often fresh produce is on sale and the better way to go. In that case, you may even find that it makes sense to buy extra fresh and freeze it yourself (blueberries at my store are currently $3 a pint; I can’t buy them that cheap already frozen!). But, don’t neglect your frozen options, especially vegetables. Many of us will end up cooking veggies anyway, so there’s really no need to start with raw (the quality of the finished product won’t be compromised by starting with frozen instead of fresh). Frozen produce is often much cheaper than fresh, will last longer and stay “fresh”, and offers you a wide variety of options that may not be available with fresh items. Frozen items also retain more nutrients than canned and are naturally in PBA-free packaging, with no added sugar or salt.
6) Be Leftover Savvy. Extra blueberries you’re not going to use before they go bad? Leftover grilled chicken that you’re not going to use up this week? Recipe make more sauce than you expected? Most items can be frozen for later use, allowing you to maximize your grocery purchases and lower your later prep time.
7) Homemade is Best. As you may have discovered from the rest of these tips, a lot of healthy eating relies on making food at home. Why? Well, first, when you buy food out, you’re paying for the ingredients AND the labor that went into the meal prep, really raising the price. Additionally, when you’re focused on eating healthy, being in control of what goes into your food is the first step to ensuring you’re eating healthy. You’d be amazed at the amount of excess crap that goes into that “healthy” salad you just bought at Wendy’s. Again, make gradual changes. Perhaps plan for all your dinners and snacks to be homemade this week, but still get your lunches out if that’s what you’re accustomed to. Eventually, you can build up or figure out the balance that works best for you.
For more creative ways to keep your budget in check, but your nutrition off the charts, e-mail me to set up a consultation!
Originally posted at CoreLifemd.com
Fats for cooking, dressing salads, etc.: olive oil, butter and/or coconut oil
Canned goods: beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste
Dry goods: brown rice or quinoa, whole grain pasta, nuts, nut butter
Spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder/minced garlic, cinnamon, basil
Sauces: soy sauce, vinegar (apple cider is a good all-purpose one)
Fridge: Eggs, onion, lettuce/spinach, apples
Freezer: Chicken, fish, frozen fruit, frozen veggies
Based on the above, you can make a plethora of meals without any added ingredients (scrambled eggs with veggies, veggie and chicken stir fry, grilled fish with steamed veggies, smoothies, beans and rice, quick side salad, a full dinner salad with apple, beans, and chicken, etc., etc.)
2) Meal Plan. This can be tricky. Start by just deciding on a few meals for the week and build up to planning them all. If you go to the grocery store without a plan in mind, you’re likely to find yourself lacking the necessary ingredients for your desired meals throughout the week, leading to poor food choices, eating out, or going over budget for random “extra” supply purchases. Additionally, this allows you to think about the ingredients you’re already purchasing and build additional meals around them. For instance, this week, we’re having pulled BBQ pheasant tacos with a goat cheese slaw. The BBQ is leftover in our freezer, the goat cheese was used for part of a meal last week, and all I needed this week was tortillas and cabbage for the slaw. I know we won’t use all the cabbage, so I then planned an additional meal of sweet potato skins with an Asian-inspired “salad” using the cabbage. AND, the sweet potato “innards” will be repurposed for either sweet potato baked goods or sweet potato burgers next week!
3) Make More. One of the easiest ways to keep healthy food available on a regular basis and utilize your ingredients well is to make more than you need. If you’re already prepping quinoa, chicken and veggies for tonight’s dinner, why not make extra and freeze the leftovers? Or bring it for lunch during the week? It’s often less expensive to buy a larger package of something and prevents just wasting it when you only need half a can of the item for the desired meal.
4) Buy in Bulk. “Family-size” meat, poultry, and fish packages are often less expensive than a small pack. Separate out the meat into desired portions, wraps in plastic wrap, place in a bag with the date, and freeze for future use. Now you can simply thaw the amount you need without any waste. This tends to be true for other items, too. Large bags of frozen fruit and veggies, nuts and nut butters, etc. all tend to come with a price reduction (per ounce), compared to their smaller container options.
5) Frozen or Fresh? When things are in season, often fresh produce is on sale and the better way to go. In that case, you may even find that it makes sense to buy extra fresh and freeze it yourself (blueberries at my store are currently $3 a pint; I can’t buy them that cheap already frozen!). But, don’t neglect your frozen options, especially vegetables. Many of us will end up cooking veggies anyway, so there’s really no need to start with raw (the quality of the finished product won’t be compromised by starting with frozen instead of fresh). Frozen produce is often much cheaper than fresh, will last longer and stay “fresh”, and offers you a wide variety of options that may not be available with fresh items. Frozen items also retain more nutrients than canned and are naturally in PBA-free packaging, with no added sugar or salt.
6) Be Leftover Savvy. Extra blueberries you’re not going to use before they go bad? Leftover grilled chicken that you’re not going to use up this week? Recipe make more sauce than you expected? Most items can be frozen for later use, allowing you to maximize your grocery purchases and lower your later prep time.
7) Homemade is Best. As you may have discovered from the rest of these tips, a lot of healthy eating relies on making food at home. Why? Well, first, when you buy food out, you’re paying for the ingredients AND the labor that went into the meal prep, really raising the price. Additionally, when you’re focused on eating healthy, being in control of what goes into your food is the first step to ensuring you’re eating healthy. You’d be amazed at the amount of excess crap that goes into that “healthy” salad you just bought at Wendy’s. Again, make gradual changes. Perhaps plan for all your dinners and snacks to be homemade this week, but still get your lunches out if that’s what you’re accustomed to. Eventually, you can build up or figure out the balance that works best for you.
For more creative ways to keep your budget in check, but your nutrition off the charts, e-mail me to set up a consultation!
Originally posted at CoreLifemd.com