Ramen noodles may be cheap, but they sure don’t offer much nutrition-wise. It seems like all the affordable grocery store foods are pretty bad for you.
However, there are many ways to maintain a healthy diet at a lower cost. It takes a little commitment and a little creativity in the kitchen, but these 10 tips below will help:
1. Stretch Your Meat
If you are a carnivore, then you know how expensive meat can be. However, you can stretch poultry and meat using healthy fillings like tofu and grains.
2. Make a Shopping List
By planning meals and sticking to a shopping list, you will avoid unnecessary (and unhealthy) impulse purchases.
3. Avoid Processed Foods
Not only is starting with raw materials cheaper, but it will also eliminate many preservatives and additives from your diet. This can only improve your physical and mental well-being.
4. Drink Only Water
Your dependence on soda, coffee, juice, and alcohol is not doing your wallet or your body any favors. Water is the only liquid you will need to drink. So, put a filter on your tap and drink without feeling guilty.
5. Buy In-Season Produce
A table of seasonal produce can help you determine what will be cheaper in the store at this time. Buying your favorite fruits and vegetables during the off-season can cost you a lot of money.
6. Shop at the Farmer’s Market
Are you paying outrageous prices at your local health food store when you could get your food directly from local producers? Visit the local farmers’ market before heading to the grocery store.
7. Know Your Healthy, Cheap Staples
These include oatmeal, beans, and rice. Filling, inexpensive, and healthy foods should always be easily stored in the kitchen.
8. Start a Vegetable Garden
Growing your own food is not only a cheap alternative, but it also offers many physical and mental benefits. Gardening is excellent exercise and helps reduce stress, so there are many reasons to take up this hobby.
9. Avoid the Drive-Thru
When you’re trying to save money and your life, the drive-thru can be your worst enemy. Dollar menus exist, but they are usually full of deep-fried horrors. However, if you can find a baked potato for 99 cents, feel free to do so.
10. Clip Coupons
This is an obvious and good way to save some money on food. Be sure to save only the health food coupons, no matter how much those Oreos are on sale.
Believe it or not, there are healthy foods that don’t cost an arm or a leg. You should also consider the ways you can indirectly save money by eating right. Being healthy means, for example, having a higher immunity and making fewer visits to the doctor.
Whatever your reasons for making smarter dietary choices, you don’t have to spend a fortune at the local health food store to do so.
