How to Eat Healthy and Save Money? |
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Sometimes eating healthy seems complicated while having a low budget.
But healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive.
There are some tricks that will help you save money and still eat healthy while buying whole, organic ingredients for affordable prices.
Here are 13 tips that will help you eat healthy without spending too much money.
1. Plan Your Meals
If you want to save money planning is one of the key factors.
Take one day in a week to plan your meals for the following week.
Then make a grocery list of everything you need.
Also, check what you already have in your fridge or on your shelves. There is usually a lot of food hidden in the back that can be used.
Plan only to buy what you know you’re going to use, so that you don’t end up with a lot of ingredients you won’t need.
2. Stick to your shopping list
When you made a plan of your meals and a grocery list, stick to it!
It is very easy to get side-tracked in the market, which can lead to unintended and expensive shopping.
As a general rule, look for the food in circumferential parts of the market.
This is where you can usually find healthy food, because merchants use this as a psychological method to keep the customers in the market longer.
Therefore, if you don’t go there directly, it is more likely you will incidentally fill your chart with unhealthy products.
Usually, markets contain processed and junk food in the middle of their premises.
If you find yourself in this area, look to the top or bottom shelves rather than those straight in front of you.
The most expensive and low quality items are usually placed there.
3. Cook at Home
Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating out.
Make cooking at home a habit rather than eating out or ordering fast food.
You can feed an entire family of 4 for the same price as buying food for one or two persons in a restaurant.
By cooking, you will also know exactly what is on your plate.
4. Cook Large Portions
Cooking large meals can save you both time and money.
Leftovers can be used as a daily snack, for preparing some other dishes or they can be stored in the fridge and eaten later.
Leftovers are great for preparing stews or salads.
This kind of food utilization is great for people with low budget.
5. Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry
If you go to the grocery store hungry you are more likely to disregard your grocery list and buy something impulsively.
When you’re hungry you often crave for food that is not good for you or your wallet.
Have a piece of fruit, or other healthy snack before you go shopping.
6. Buy Whole Foods
Some ingredients are cheaper and healthier if not processed.
For example, dry beans are cheaper than canned beans.
Whole grains, like brown rice and oats, are also cheaper than most processed cereals.
Whole food is usually sold in larger packages, and therefore it is less expensive.
7. Avoid Expensive Brands
Most stores offer generic brands of numerus products.
All food manufacturers have to follow quality standards in food production. Generic brands have the same quality as popular brands, but are less expensive.
Before buying any product check the list of ingredients on the label to make sure that the product does not contain bad or unhealthy ingredients.
8. Avoid Fast Food or Junk Food
Stop buying fast food or junk food.
You would be surprised to know how much money you spend monthly on soda drinks, various crackers and cookies, prepared meals and other processed foods.
Beside the fact that these ingredients are harmful to your health and can cause many serious illnesses such as cancer, this food has low nutritive value and it is filled with unhealthy ingredients, and it is very expensive.
9. Buy Seasonal Products
Local seasonal products are generally cheaper.
Local manufacturers almost always produce organic food. These products are seasonal and have the highest nutritive value and the best flavor.
Products that are not seasonal are often transported halfway around the world to get to the stores which is not good for your health, environment and your budget.
10. Buy Wholesale Products
Buying wholesale products can save you a lot of money.
Grains, such as brown rice, millet, barley and oats, are all available in wholesale.
They can be preserved and stored for a long period of time, especially in airtight containers. This applies also to beans, lentils, some types of nuts and dried fruit.
All these ingredients are available in wholesale. They are relatively inexpensive and can be used for preparing various healthy meals.
11. Grow Your Own Food
If possible, the best idea is to plant your own garden.
Seeds are very cheap to buy. With some time and effort, you may be able to grow your own spice herbs, fruits and vegetables.
Therefore you will always have all necessary ingredients at home and you will save money.
Home-grown products may also taste better than those bought in store. Also you can pick them exactly when they are ripe.
12. Pack Your Lunch
Eating out is very expensive, especially if done regularly.
Prepare and pack your own meal. This is not only cheaper but healthier.
If you are cooking large meals at home you will always have some food left for taking it with you.
It requires little planning, but it should save you a lot of money at the end of the month.
13. Try Less Expensive Food
There are various ingredients which have an acceptable price and are very healthy. These are for example pumpkin seeds and raisins.
Make some adjustments and use ingredients you rarely used before but by which you can prepare tasteful, healthy and inexpensive meals.
Increase the use of beans, seeds, fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Those nutritive ingredients are very affordable and they taste great.
There are many ways to eat well and healthy by saving money.
All that is required is a little bit of planning, cooking at home and making smart choices while shopping.
Healthy food is always the best choice, even it seems more expensive (but not necessary). Simply, you can't put a price on your health.
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