Anyone who has tried to eat healthy for any length of time has probably realized that it can be quite pricey!
Here are a few tips that can help you eat healthy on a budget:
Plan you meals:
That’s right instead of going to the grocery store and just picking up items, have a plan of the meals you will be making for the week and the ingredients you’ll need to accomplish them. Planning your meals is a good way for you to avoid bad eating habits. When you haven’t planned ahead you can easily succumb to snaking on non-healthy alternatives. If you are Tech Savvy there are apps for planning meals. Check out Meal Planning apps for apple devices on the iTunes app store or for Android at Google Play. I’m currently using Paprika 3 a recipe manager. This is a paid app that allows me to download recipes directly from websites, plan weekly meals, and plan out my grocery list accordingly.
Stick to the list:
The easiest way to spend more money than you planned is by going to the grocery store while you are hungry this is a surefire way to purchase any and everything that you think you want to eat! If you have to eat something before going shopping by all means do that! The best way to stay in your grocery budget is to stay focused on what you came to get, get it, and get out!
Shop Around:
As with anything, when you want to get the best deal you should shop around. Weekly grocery ads will give you the stores with the best prices for the items you are looking for. A big mistake I made was going to a health food store (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc.) to get everything on my grocery list! If you are on a budget this is definitely not the way to go! I spent double what I would have at the regular grocery store. Now I’m not saying don’t patronize those stores because they are awesome! What I am saying is be selective in the items that you will be purchasing from them if you are on a budget. If you can’t get it anywhere else, or if their produce is the freshest then by all means splurge a little on the item but if there is a better deal or coupon for it somewhere else then shop there instead.
These are just a few thing that have helped me along the way I hope it can be helpful to you as well!
Resources:
Choose My Plate
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/eathealthy/budget
10 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/10-tips-eating-healthy-budget
Google Play Store Paprika 3 Recipe Manager
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hindsightlabs.paprika.android.v3&hl=en_US
Apple Store Paprika 3 Recipe Manager
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/paprika-recipe-manager-3/id1303222868