If you’re anything like how I used to be, you automatically think that it’s impossible to eat healthy on a budget. You probably think that eating healthy means you have to do all your grocery shopping at Whole Foods, you need to purchase only organic produce, and you have to eat tofu for several meals a week.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it IS possible to eat healthy on a budget, because that is EXACTLY what I do! I don’t shop at Whole Foods because the nearest one is 40 minutes away. I don’t always purchase organic produce. And, if I’m going to be honest, I actually don’t like tofu at all, so I don’t eat it!
I want to help you figure out how to start living a healthy lifestyle without spending a fortune on groceries, so here are my 15 tips for how to eat healthy on a budget.
1. Have a grocery budget.
This seems like a no-brainier, but you’d be surprised how many people overspend on groceries because they don’t have a budget.
Since I try to save money wherever I can, I try to keep our grocery budget around $50 per week. Since it’s just the two of us and we eat almost all of our meals at home, we feel like this is reasonable.
When planning your budget, do what works for you, and take into account how many people you’re shopping for, the cost of food where you live, and about how many meals you eat at home on average every week. Since Ed and I live in Delaware and we have no sales tax, our grocery budget isn’t as high as it would be in some other states. When we lived in Oklahoma, it was much higher because they have sales tax on food items.
I recommend reading this post about budgeting by Jordan Page. She does a fantastic job explaining how to budget for groceries.
2. Realistically plan your meals.
If you take 30 minutes to an hour before you go grocery shopping to make a meal plan for the week, you will see a huge improvement in your grocery shopping experience.
Plan out all your meals, not just dinners. This way, you will know exactly what food you need to purchase, and you’ll be more likely to eat what you planned on making.
Also, check your cabinets and the fridge before you sit down to meal plan. Build your meal plan around items you already have in stock to eliminate food waste and to help keep you from buying more food than you need.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE WEEKLY MEAL PLAN PRINTABLE.
3. Adopt meatless Mondays.
You don’t necessarily have to eat meat for every dinner. You can get valuable sources of protein from beans, lentils, and eggs, which are all fairly inexpensive foods.
High quality meat is a little pricey, so cutting out one meat heavy meal each week should help cut down on your grocery bill.
4. Try flexible meal prepping.
Traditional meal prepping usually includes bulk packs of meal prep containers and eating basically the same meal every day for a few days at a time.
Honestly, this doesn’t work for me because I get kind of bored eating the same meal every day. Don’t get me wrong – I will totally eat leftovers. But, five days in a row? Nah.
What I do is prep a few different foods at the beginning of a busy week (usually Sunday afternoon) and then I can have the freedom to prepare healthy meals every day.
Here are some of the foods that I prep at the beginning of the week:
- Baked chicken breasts (good for chicken salad sandwiches, salads, and wraps)
- Hard boiled eggs
- Brown rice and quinoa
- Chopped veggies (likes carrots and celery for lunches)
- Roasted veggies
Having these foods on had already made makes it easier to make healthy lunches instead of slapping a PB&J sandwich together or going through the McDonald’s drive through.
5. Don’t compare your lifestyle to others.
Focus on your family’s needs and dietary requirements – not your favorite influencer’s. She might feed her family all gluten free, soy free, and dairy free foods because of allergies and dietary restrictions. That doesn’t mean that those things are bad for you and your family.
Just because someone else eats a restrictive diet doesn’t make them necessarily healthier than you are. So do your research and know what foods will work best for your family.
6. Know what foods are worth buying organic.
Speaking of doing your research, you should also look into which foods are worth buying organic.
Contrary to popular belief, the term “organic” does not mean that there are no pesticides used during the process of growing the produce. It just means that there are fewer pesticides used. That being said, there are certain foods you should prioritize getting organic, and they are typically called the “Dirty Dozen.” Here’s a list of those foods provided by the Environmental Working Group.
7. Research the best grocery deals in the area.
Step out of your comfort zone a little bit and try out some other grocery stores once in a while. I prefer to shop at one grocery store, but if I know I can get something cheaper somewhere else, I will.
I compare local prices on groceries using the Flipp app. It’s great for other items, too, but I primarily use it for groceries. It’s like having access to all of the local grocery stores’ weekly pamphlet right on your phone!
8. Buy frozen fruits and veggies.
Did you know that frozen fruits and vegetables have just as much nutritional value as fresh produce? They are picked at their peak freshness and frozen right away to maintain the nutrients.
And guess what. Frozen fruits and veggies are sometimes cheaper than fresh produce, too! Frozen vegetables are great to steam, saute, or add to soups; and frozen fruits are great for making smoothies or cooking in with your oatmeal. Just be sure to get fruits without any added sugar and you’ll be good to go!
9. Shop seasonally.
A great way to get the best value for produce is to shop seasonally. Have you ever noticed that in the fall months pumpkins and butternut squash and sweet potatoes are in abundance and are fairly inexpensive? That’s because those foods are in season in the fall. That’s also why strawberries are typically more expensive in the winter months, because they are not in season then.
This list will help you determine what foods are in season during any given month. Use this list to help you plan out your grocery list and meal plan for the week.
10. Shop with a list.
This goes without saying, but if you don’t have a list, you’re bound to pick up things you don’t need and forget the things that you do.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I had a professor in college say this to us often and I think it definitely applies to grocery shopping.
Keep your grocery budget in mind when writing your shopping list. It will help you stay on track and help you eliminate things from your list that you don’t actually need.
Since I do basically all of my shopping at Aldi, I know exactly how the store is set up and I can make my grocery list based on the layout of the store. This will help me make sure I get everything I need without back tracking or missing items.
RELATED: The College Girl’s Healthy Grocery List: Here’s some more ways to eat healthy on a budget.
11. Try a meal kit service instead of going out to eat.
I normally wouldn’t recommend a meal kit service for someone who is trying to save money, but hear me out.
If you spend too much time and money going out to eat multiple times a week and you want to cut back, you can try out a meal kit service for a month or two.
These services are comparable in price to eating at a restaurant, but you have the flexibility of monitoring how much sodium is in your food, how much you are going to eat, etc.
Plus, it’s a great way to help you learn how to cook, to eliminate food waste, and to help you experience new foods. I personally recommend HelloFresh because I currently use and love it, but there are several other meal kit services you can try out for yourself. Plus, these services usually have a first time sign up discount to get you to try it out, and if you end up not loving it, you can always cancel your plan.
12. Start an herb garden.
The easiest way to start growing your own food is to start an herb garden in your kitchen.
Using fresh herbs in your cooking is a great way to make your meals interesting and tasty.
This herb garden starter kit on Amazon is less than $30 and will definitely save you money in the long run. I bought this one a few weeks ago and I already have some sprouts!
13. Try to avoid pre-packaged produce.
Instead of purchasing the pre-packed bag of apples, sometimes it’s more cost effective to purchase a few individual apples. Buy what you know you need and will eat, and you will be less likely to waste food.
Also, avoid buying pre-cut produce when at all possible. Pre-cut produce is usually way more expensive because the work is already done for you. Take a few extra minutes and slice your own pineapple and melons and you’ll save yourself a few bucks to put toward something else on your grocery list.
14. Purchase healthy snacks.
While that trail mix with chocolate chips in it may look really appetizing at the moment, it might be cheaper for you to purchase the nuts, raisins, and chocolate yourself to mix up at home.
Try to purchase bulk items of foods you know you’ll eat instead of the convenient individual snack bags or snack packages.
15. Make it a team effort.
Include your SO in your healthy eating journey by making sure you’re on the same page about the grocery budget. Cook a new recipe together and turn it into an at home date night instead of going out to eat for the fourth time that week. Ask for help meal prepping and get it done in half the time.
If you are both have the same goal to eat healthy on a budget, it will be easier to stay on track with the added accountability.
Before you go, I want to give you my absolutely FREE Weekly Meal Planner to help you as you embark on your journey to eat healthy on a budget.
