My 3 Secrets to Healthy Eating Without Breaking the Bank!

Is Healthy Eating Impossible on a Budget?

It seems like everything is expensive right now – and it looks like things could get worse before they eventually get better.  But great news – you don’t have to give up healthy eating simply because grocery prices have been hiked all around.  HOW you eat is as important as WHAT you eat. 

By following meal planning, shopping sales & portion sizes, you’ll be able to eat all the nutritious foods you need to stay healthy – without missing a beat!

But Wait…I Can’t Afford Healthy Foods! 

One of the common misconceptions about healthy eating is that it’s too expensive to buy nutritious foods and it’s way easier to save money by buying cheaper, processed, packaged & fast foods.    

A 2013 study did confirm that eating healthy, nutritious foods is indeed more expensive, but only to the tune of $1.50.  Is that cost prohibitive?  Likely not for many Americans.  Many of us spend 4x that on the seasonal frappuccino at Starbucks.
 

What Does Healthy Eating Look Like?

To eat healthfully, we need to consume more whole foods and eat less processed, packaged foods.  If what you are eating has an ingredient list (or one with > 3 items on it), then it’s not a whole food.  Processed foods (even with fancy labels touting certain key or trendy phrases) are not the most nutritious.  They have chemical additives & tons of sodium that can wreak havoc on your body.  They’re certainly not the freshest foods and always come at some significant biologic cost. 

For example, a packaged snack is not healthy for you just because it says gluten-free or organic.  That packaged snack has still been processed and has more fat, sodium, sugar and preservatives in it than your body needs to function properly. Even though you’ve consumed 350+ calories with that snack item alone, you’ll be hungry an hour (or less) later.  And then you’ll want to eat another one. 

Whole foods are not overly processed and do not have chemicals preserving them. Nor do they have dubious amounts of salt and hundreds of empty calories.  They do have loads of fiber that fill you up, satisfying your hunger and making you less likely to want to binge on another snack item.  They are chock-full of crucial vitamins and minerals allowing your body to operate efficiently.  However, they don’t last as long on your shelves. 

So yes, whole foods might cost a tad more in your checkout line than your packaged granola bars, snack cakes or pizza rolls.  But you’ll be eating a larger quantity of processed foods to fill your hungry belly, compared to the lesser quantity of fiber-rich whole foods that satiate you completely.  So, the minor cost difference is quickly outweighed by the long-term toll processed foods will take on your system. 

Here’s another perspective for healthy eating:

Eating healthfully NOW will allow you (& your kids) to live longer lives with fewer complications from disease, surgery, or other untimely interventions.  Longer periods of good health will lead to more time together to make memories, experience happiness and find the joy & contentment in life.  So, spend the $1.50 now or spend WAY more than that later on medications, surgeries, lifestyle complications & doctor visits. 

So, how can I save money now?

The most expensive foods currently are meats & dairy.  To shave some money from your budget, while also shaving loads of saturated fat and calories, consider cutting out meat and/or dairy from 1 or 2 meals per week.  Exchanging only 2 ground beef dinners a week for a non-meat protein can save a family of four > $500 per year!  Check out the cost savings breakdown HERE. 

But I don’t want to give up the foods I love.  Guest what – you don’t have to!

If you are an otherwise healthy person (& want to stay that way), you don’t have to give up specific foods for your lifetime.  Instead, live & eat healthfully the majority of the time but enjoy that fast food burger, thick steak, or creamy milkshake every once in a while.  Special treats enjoyed infrequently will help you not only stay on track with your healthy eating, but it’ll help you prevent binge sessions following prolonged periods of abstinence. 

You always want what you can’t have, so reserve your favorites for an occasional treat.  Reward yourself for making good choices, then get back to healthy eating.   
    

Here are few tried (by me!) and true tips for eating more healthfully on a budget:

1. Meal plan:

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you know that we like to use a meal plan.  I’ll put together flavorful, nutritious, and comforting meals by scoping out what’s in our well-stocked pantry, the freezer, and what’s in season at the market. 

It takes a little time initially, but once you get in a rhythm, the menu planning is a cinch.  Start by planning out one work weeks’ worth of dinners.  What do you and your family like to eat?  What do you already have in your pantry?  How about the freezer?  Start there, then supplement with what’s in season for healthy, more affordable produce. 

2. Shop sales:

I spend most of my produce budget for 3 of the 4 seasons at our local farm market.  This practice allows me to support my local farmers/economy, plus I know everything will be fresher.  Plus, it’s often cheaper.  

However, in the winter, our local farm doesn’t harvest many of their own products and outsources some of the more common/popular veggies.  Only then do I consider purchasing my produce elsewhere.  I’ll shop Aldi & Walmart when I’m looking for surprisingly good selections of fresh produce at great pricing.  Did you know that both stores often carry numerous organic produce items at excellent prices and quality?  You do now.

If fresh produce doesn’t fit your budget, incorporate veggies/fruits into your meals buy purchasing frozen produce.  It’s often frozen at peak ripeness (read: more nutritious) and is always more affordable when out of season.   

As for our animal proteins, I feel strongly about organic, grass-fed, hormone-free meats.  While I’d like to say it’s solely because I am concerned about animal welfare, the truth is, I don’t want all that extra crap in MY body.  Therefore, I don’t buy the cheaper stuff that might not have taken the extra steps to ensure I’m eating safer meats.  

The local farmers sell fantastic cuts of safe, quality meat, but sometimes it can get a bit expensive.  So, I simply purchase less of it.  If meat is too expensive, eat less of it.  There are so many non-meat protein sources that are tasty & more affordable.  It’s nice to have some versatility in your diet anyway.    

I’ll stock my freezer with lean proteins when big sales are happening at our local markets or even when Butcher Box is bundling great cuts into affordable packages.  Eat quality meat, in appropriate portions, and you’ll save money.     

3. Portion sizes:

I recently decided that I wanted to shave off a few pounds after a rather indulgent holiday season….and Fall…ok, summer too.  I knew that eating like I had was costing me unwanted pounds, my grocery bills were outrageous, & my pants didn’t fit properly.  Plus, I had regular stomach aches. 

So, I first cut out all trigger foods for 10 days – dairy, red meat, sugar, bread, pasta, pop, alcohol…all the fun stuff.  Then, I cut my calories down to < 2,000/day based on my activity levels.  Use this handy calorie calculator to determine what your own caloric needs are based on height, current weight and activity level.

I also used a free app on my phone to track my calories from food.  I used this less to restrict myself and more as an opportunity to educate myself as to what I consume daily. 

It was AMAZING how many calories I consumed daily through mindless eating, grazing or boredom.  It was A LOT.  So, by using my app, I shaved a bunch of calories.  I was able to monitor my eating patterns a bit closer & understand my habits a bit more clearly.  And – I felt better.  I felt better after cutting out all those inflammatory foods for 10 days – so much so that I continued to avoid the red meat, dairy & pasta for a while.  I did, however, treat myself to a small piece of bakery bread or homemade dessert maybe once a week.

What did I eat? 

Lots of veggies – raw salads with numerous combinations of various seasonal veggies, legumes, nuts, hard boiled eggs and lean proteins.  I ate a lot of baked chicken or roasted turkey, fully favored with awesome spices, plus canned tuna or quinoa.  I filled up on tons of soups – which cleaned out my crisper drawer and kept me very satisfied throughout the day.   And we consistently had numerous cooked veggies and some fruits as part of our dinner plate nightly.    

I also started measuring out portions, and I continued this once I started to phase in some of those trigger foods.  What I discovered was that I was eating 2-3x a normal portion size for every food I was eating!  That means 2-3x the calories I should have been ingesting.  Hence the stomach aches, feeling bloated, the weight gain, the “shrunken” jeans…  Holy smokes.  I was stunned.   

So, by following portion sizes and adhering to a much healthier calorie count, I got back into my jeans comfortably, I lost some pounds and most importantly – I no longer have GI issues.