Healthy eating can be expensive. I know many times I’ve struggled to eat healthy whilst having a food budget to stick to. Sometimes one of the biggest struggles can be just affording to eat healthily. Yes not buying the chocolate bars and other processed foods will help, but that will only take you so far. So without further ado here are 10 things I do to eat healthy on a budget and to save myself some money on my food shop.
1) I Work With What I Have
Sometimes it gets to the end of the week and I really don’t have a lot left in. So what I do is check to see what healthy ingredients I do have left. Then I type the main ones into google along with “healthy recipe” and hey presto I have meal ideas. I made a yummy quinoa dish doing just this. I can pretty much guarantee they’ll always be something delicious I can make out of the most random of ingredients. Google is your friend.
2) Plan Ahead
Every day check what needs eating today and in the next few days. If you learn to think ahead and don’t waste anything it will save you a lot of money. There is a reason some people swear by meal planning. I’m not one for meal planning, but I came to realise we were wasting money by letting food go off before we had a chance to eat it, now I check daily for what needs using up.
3) Get Inspired
There are lots of great resources for eating healthy on a budget. YouTube is a great place to find healthy and budget friendly meal ideas. Pinterest is good too. There are also Facebook groups for people trying to eat healthy on a budget.
4) Go Frozen
Frozen veg and fruit is picked when it’s at it’s best and then frozen to seal in all the goddess so you don’t lose the nutrients. It’s usually a lot cheaper too. Freeze any food you’re not going to get a chance to use before it loses its freshness. Waste nothing and you’ll save a fortune.
5) Search For Discount Codes
There are always special offers on so it’s always worth going online to see if there are any discount codes available before you do your food shop. Always activate cash back on your account too. I never go out my way to buy from a shop just so I can claim cash back (totally counter productive) but it’s always worth activating encase you do end up shopping there. Always ensure you join any loyalty schemes too, they really do add up and help.
6) Use Leftovers
Vegetable peelings and be used to create stock cubes. Extra portions can be taken to work. Herbs that are starting to turn can be placed in olive oil and frozen in ice-cube trays. Get adventurous with your leftovers.
7) Fruit Picking
We do this at the end of every Summer which not only saves us money but the kids love it. It makes for a lovely fun Sunday afternoon.
8) Grow & Swap
Start growing your own veg. We grew parsnips last year and they came back this year too without us doing anything. We also have a huge rosemary bush and as much as I like rosemary I ain’t ever going to use it all. So we swap with our neighbours. She gives us tomatoes and green beans and we pass on parsnips and rosemary. If you don’t have a neighbour then ask on Facebook if anyone wants to do food swaps.
9) Be Aware Of Offers
Sometimes offers will waste us more money than we save. Buy one get one free isn’t a good deal if the free one will go off before you use it. It’s even less of a bargain if you wouldn’t have bought the item if the deal wasn’t on. Be selective on what offers you take.
10) Increase Your Veg
Having more vegetables and less meat, fish and dairy will save you money as well as being really healthy for you. Meat, fish and dairy are really expensive compared to veg, pulses, beans and rice. Try meatless Monday if you’re not used to going without meat to ease yourself in. I promise you there are loads of delicious meat and dairy free recipes out there.
Such a brilliant post with loads of useful tips! Really loved this 😊 Xx
ah yay, glad you liked it ☺ xx
Great tips, these! I love getting creative with what I have on hand. Healthy eating certainly doesn’t have to cost a lot.
thank you, totally agree ☺
We are strictly following increase your veg and be aware of offers! Although I feel looking for offers around the market is quite time consuming and hubby hates it to the core, I try to minimise the time I am on the hunt for offers but still try to get the best deals!
Yeah it’s all about ‘balance’ 😊
What fab tips. I was just talking to my OH about how we need to be better at planning so we can save more on our food shop. Will show him this x
ah fab, bless you ♥
Healthy eating is the best. It’s also great for your body. These tips are all useful, one of the things I love is growing and eating it.
😊
Fantastic tips -thank you! To try and save money I’ll pick up reduced foods and freeze them 🙂
ah great idea ☺
Lovely ideas. I should stock more frozen stuff. They are sometimes even more nutritious because they go to the freezer house straight from the field whilst in the supermarket you get fresh ingredients which might be a day or two old.
Totally agree 😊
I believe in going frozen because it saves so much waste. I used to think it was better to get fresh veg for an away and not eating it. These are all great tips.
Yes I used to do the same. Ah thanks 😊
Some lovely tips, we love fruit picking too!
It’s such a fun thing to do 😊
Great tips! I often struggle to eat healthy on a budget, healthy food costs so much more in my experience! Upping your veg intake is a great tip.
Yeah it makes such a difference x
Love the tips here for healthy eating. I plan my meals now.
Hope they help x
I am now STARVING!
😉
I love to save money with deals & coupons.
I think people are unaware with frozen veg not only do you not have to worry about throwing it away it actually has more nutrition as its ‘fresher’
Hehehe sorry 😘 yep, I’m all about the frozen 😍
I love the idea of meatless Monday and totally agree that frozen veg is the way forward. Means you can buy more of it without worrying when you need to eat it by!
Yep, y thinking exactly ☺
Such a good post for those of us on a budget! I don’t know why I’m so reluctant about buying frozen veggies but they would save so much money! xx
yeah they are so good for that x
Fab ideas. One of my things is buying meat in bulk on payday then portioning it up and freezing almost immediately. I’ve got chicken, steak, and oodles of other meats already portioned for meals.
good idea x
Really like your tips, very simple and achievable. I’ve actually never done a fruit picking, apart from our own garden we used to have as kids and it was amazing. We’re now looking into more ways to live more healthy and affordable, I feel inspired!
ah yay, I’m so glad x
I’m definitely not organised enough to do meal planning, but I know I should think ahead more to reduce wastage – I HATE throwing away perfectly good food, just because we haven’t managed to eat it in time. x
yeah thinking ahead makes such a difference, I’m not perfect with it but I’m making a conscious effort and there is much less wastage now x
Hi some great tips here, I always struggle finding the balance with eating healthy and living on a budget
hope it’s helpful x
These are all great tips. We’ve been trying to reduce the amount we spend and eat healthier. I find fruit and veg so much cheaper than meat.
yeah it really is x
Great tips. I definitely think adding more veg into your diet is always good. xx
Definitely x
Plan ahead is definitely a great tip as you will buy only what you need and avoid wasting food. How many of us just buy food which ends up in the bin at the end of the week? That is so wasteful.
Yes totally agree.
Some great tips here! The frozen food one especially – I freeze a lot of veg now if I know i’m not going to use it before it goes off. 🙂
Yeah, that’s what I do too ☺
Such an interesting post as we are trying to eat more healthily but with me not working I am definitely keeping en eye on our budget! I had never thought of using vegetable peelings for stock cubes, great idea and maybe something i could use for Evie who can’t have normal ones because of the salt…
Yeah I used to do that when my kids were really young x
What great ideas! You’re saving money AND calories 🙂
xx
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I love all these tips! such a great way to save money and eat healthy. I always use frozen fruit in my smoothies and fruit bowls, its cheaper and it lasts a long time. When I buy fresh fruit I have a tendency to let it go bad. xx
Yes, I do the same. Frozen works better for me 🙂