We have all heard about the importance of eating right. A quick trip down the isle of the local health food store reveals that eating healthy can be expensive. However, with a little careful planning eating healthy on a budget can be easily attainable.
The first step to saving money and eating a well balanced diet is to keep it simple. Purchase basic foods in their natural state and prepare your own meals from these nutritious building blocks. Buying meals that are already prepared is a lot more expensive, and not nearly as nutritious. Sticking with the basics such as chicken, fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables will give you a good solid base on which to build some terrific meals.
Another important step is to prepare a meal plan before you shop. It is helpful to utilize a main ingredient in more than one meal during the week. That way you can prepare it once and eat it again later. Both money and time is saved with this strategy. A good example would be to have baked fish with steamed vegetables one evening, and utilized the fish for fish tacos the next.
You can stretch a tight budget even farther if you pay careful attention to the weekly sales at the grocery store that you frequent. Purchase extra of the items that you use a lot when they are at their cheapest, as long as you can store them without them perishing. In addition, the items that go on sale at most grocery stores repeat every few weeks. Keeping this in mind as you plan your shopping trips can really help you save a great deal.
Eating a well balanced diet often involves purchasing organic products. Buying these products certainly has its advantages, but it can also significantly increase your overall food costs if you are not careful. If your budget is tight, consider purchasing organic for the products you consume the most often. For example, peanut butter, eggs, lettuce, and milk are key ingredients that are great staples to have and provide real benefits in organic form. Another option to consider would be to purchase organic one week, and then non-organic the next for the same product.
Finally, prepare ahead of time whenever possible. Being hungry and not having healthy food ready and available can be one of the quickest ways to derail a healthy diet. Having food ready in your freezer or fridge will keep you from binging on something unhealthy, and keep you from spending too much on take out. If you are making a meal, consider making a double batch, and freezing one for later. Clean and prepare fruits and vegetables ahead of time so you can grab them quickly for a good snack.
Curbing the dollar amount you spend on food is possible with a little careful planning and preparation. The results are well worth the little extra effort required. Eating healthy on a budget will not only keep money in your pocket today, but will save you over the long term as well. Better health today means reduced health care costs tomorrow.
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