How to eat healthy on a budget

When it comes to eating healthy on a budget, sometimes a trip to the grocery store can be overwhelming and not to mention down-right expensive. But staying healthy doesn’t have to be tiresome and down-right inconvenient. In fact, it can be simple and stress-free when you know what you’re looking for!

Sticking to a diet or simply eating healthy on a budget can be challenging. But preparing healthy, delicious food is not as time-consuming and difficult as you may think! You might be surprised that transitioning into a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean splurging all your savings on expensive foods or fancy and exotic green powders (which aren’t too great on taste either).

So to help you out, we have curated a list of budget-friendly healthy eating tips to ensure that your meals aren’t an exercise in monotony! And yes, we’re here to bust the misconception that eating healthy is expensive.

Here’s, to the first (and arguably – most important step):

1. Planning, planning, and yes – more planning!

Our biggest, and what we believe to be, our most important golden tip is to plan! Creating a routine when it comes to your meals and snacks is a great way to start eating healthy on a budget. Set aside one day a week (we like Sundays) to plan all your meals and shopping list for the week.

It’s often tempting to buy ingredients that we don’t need at the grocery store. We recommend planning what you are going to purchase before your trip and sticking to it! And make sure you don’t shop when your hungry! We’ve all been there – we’re starving, and shopping (two things that don’t go hand-in-hand).

2. Be strategic when shopping for food

So you’ve written a list of all the ingredients you’ll need for the week, but how do you stay away from tempting sales at the grocery store? Yes – unfortunately, you may have to skip out on the 2 for 1 chocolate special in aisle 1.

Did you know that supermarkets are strategically laid out? Ever wondered why you have to go to the back of the stores to purchase pantry staples like milk and eggs? Marketers – those cheeky devils!

To save money (and calories) limit shopping to the perimeter of the store and stay away from central aisles. We call this a wholefood approach to shopping – trust us, it works!

What do our favourite, inexpensive foods look like in comparison with their expensive counterparts?

• Potatoes per 150g = 50c/ Potato chips per 150g: $3.75
• Rolled oats per 30g =15c/Museli per 30g = $1.50
• Whole apples per 50g = 50c/Fruit bars: per 50g = 95c
• Farmers Yoghurt Greek Yoghurt per 100g = 53c/Coyo Coconut yoghurt $2.33 per 100g

3. Eating healthy on a budget requires meal prep

When it comes to a weekly trip to the supermarket, we know too well how quick our savings can disappear at the checkout. So we recommend buying your meat in large quantities when on special! For an even better hack – season your protein of choice in advance and portion them out into freezer bags! This will ensure you don’t result to take out when on the way home, and you’re not in the mood to extensively prepare your meal.

Eating leftovers isn’t boring if you play your cards right. Repurpose your leftovers so nothing goes to waste. Leftover roast? cut up and mix with salad vegetables or turn leftover chicken into whole grain chicken sandwich with walnuts and greek yoghurt (as a sub for mayo).

So what are you waiting for, get cooking!

4. Spring clean your fridge

Ever been to the grocery store only to come back to ingredients you already had a home? A spring clean will save you a lot of money – with the added benefit of getting the kitchen squeaky clean!

If meal prepping has you made you discover endless amounts of pantry staples you didn’t even know you had in your cupboard, then use this as an opportunity to save money – and time.

So there you have it SuperFasters – our step-by-step guide to getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to eating healthy on a budget.

Want more ideas and inspiration like this? Download our go-to shopping list that’s filled with yummy, low-calorie groceries from your local supermarket.