Eating Healthy on a Budget

By Donna Stark

Whenever the subject of healthy eating comes up, so many of my friends complain about how expensive it is. Sure, it may have its challenges, and if you are not careful it’s easy to make costly mistakes, but eating healthy on a budget is totally achievable. You don’t even need to spend your Sunday mornings clipping coupons; with some planning and creativity to your shopping trips, you could save yourself the money that you used to complain about spending, all while eating healthier at the same time.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

Here are some tips on how to incorporate healthy eating into your shopping trips without breaking the bank each week.

• Produce - You would think that it is never a mistake to buy produce, but it can be if you are purchasing items that you won’t eat or that will go bad before you get the chance to consume them. If you are going to buy an exotic fruit for a complicated recipe, don’t buy it on Monday knowing you won’t have time to cook until the weekend. Be practical with your purchases, choose what you know will be used, and freeze items before they spoil.
• Bulk items - You can save a lot of money by choosing those healthy food items from the bulk aisle rather than the ones you may find on the shelves. Buying your flour, oats, quinoa, beans, and rice in the bulk section can save you a bit, but your real savings will come from buying your nuts, dried fruit, and snacks in place of the individually, pre-wrapped ones that are typically more expensive.
• Frozen foods - We’ve all been told to shop the perimeter of the grocery store, but that doesn’t mean to ignore the freezer section. Frozen produce can be an equally healthy alternative to fresh ones since they are picked at their peak of ripeness and flash frozen to retain their nutritional value, and are usually much cheaper.
• Canned foods - Some foods simply don’t belong in a can, but there are some great low-cost options that do and are still nutritious (think canned beans or vegetables like corn and tomatoes). For less than the cost of a fancy coffee, you can pick up some canned products to make a meal out of and you won’t have to worry about them going bad for at least a couple of months.

Eating a nutritious diet doesn’t mean you have to start selling family heirlooms to finance your journey of good health. In fact, the only heirlooms you should be touching are those tomatoes for your next fantastic meal.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Raleigh, N.C.