On a food budget?

January 29, 2009 on 8:20 am | In Health & Nutrition, How To's and Helpful Tips, Money Saving Ideas | No Comments

Here are some ways that you can eat healthy but still keep to your budget.

 

1.  Be sure to make a shopping list, while you are planning your meal create your shopping list and stick to the list. However you may find some good buys and may want to purchase them especially if they are non-perishable basics or foods that can be frozen.

 

2. Be sure to plan ahead when you prepare meals – figure out how much leftovers you may have or may want for lunches etc. and cook accordingly.

 

3.  Think locally. Farmer’s Markets, U-Pick Fruit farms, there are a lot of other sources out there you just have to look.

 

4.  Less expensive doesn’t mean less healthy – you may have to cut out some of the meat that you would normally use in a recipe but you can replace it with other proteins (beans or tofu).  You can also use less expensive cuts of meat – just marinate them overnight or slow cook them.

 

5.  Get to Chopping – fruits, vegetable and even meats can be more expensive if they are already precut for you so sharpen that knife and do it yourself.

 

6.  Bulk can be a good thing. Many grocery stores have bulk food sections. You may also want to check to see if the store will give you a discount if you buy a case of something that you use often.

 

7.  Organics aren’t always more expensive – they may be locally grown which will take shipping costs out of the price. Organic items are now available in Store Brands. Just do a lot of price comparison before you buy.

 

8.  Finally, get out those cookbooks and fire up the internet recipe sites.  You can also subscribe to sites that will send you new recipes.