Wondering how to eat healthy on a budget? Following a nutritious diet is one cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. It is critical for supporting your body and reducing the risk of illness. However, unhealthy, processed foods are often the cheapest and offer the most calories per dollar. If you are on a tight budget, this can make healthy eating seem impossible to achieve. This article will examine many ways to eat healthy on a budget.
Good quality nutrition is crucial for your health. It can help your body to function optimally and prevent health problems such as high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity (1).
Additionally, poor-quality foods, such as refined carbohydrates and foods high in sugar, can increase the stress your body has to cope with. Long-term poor nutrition is one of the factors that can increase your risk of developing Adrenal Fatigue. This is a condition where the body cannot keep up with long-term stress, resulting in various nonspecific symptoms such as tiredness, sleep disturbances, anxiousness, and weight gain.
Your body has a system to manage stress called the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response System. It consists of six different circuits, each with its own role. In Adrenal Fatigue, imbalances within these circuits can occur. One of the circuits that can become imbalanced is the Bioenergetics circuit. This circuit helps to regulate your metabolism and your blood sugar levels. An imbalance in this circuit can cause shakiness, dizziness, sugar cravings, and weight changes. Healthy eating can help to manage these symptoms.
It can seem overwhelming to consider how to eat healthy with limited resources, as nutrition can be a vast topic, and many sources recommend expensive foods. However, there are some simple steps that you can start with if you are overwhelmed.
Just as children start with their 'ABCs,' you can start with the three 'P's' when considering how to eat healthily on a budget. These three 'P's' are (2):
Planning can seem boring, especially if you are impatient or lack time, but it is essential to eating healthy on a budget.
When planning to eat healthy on a budget, establish your monthly budget and then allocate per week. Writing this out or creating an online document can help.
After this, write a menu for the week, specifying which meals you will have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Doing this lets you determine which meals, such as soups, stews, and casseroles, may stretch over a few days. These may be used for multiple meals and repeated in your menu. Having a few go-to meals you rotate for each meal can also help simplify things.
In addition to planning your meals, plan out your snacks for the week ahead. This will prevent you from buying snacks from the cafeteria or convenience store when you are hungry and will save you in the long run.
A wide range is available online if you need help choosing a recipe. You can also look at recipe books if you prefer a more traditional approach.
Once you have a menu, write your grocery list, including all necessary ingredients. You may already have some of the ingredients, such as herbs and spices; this can help reduce the cost of the trip. It can be helpful to group certain foods on your list, such as fruits and vegetables. This both makes shopping easier and helps you remember what you need.
Before going to the store, look to see if there are any sales currently going on at the store you are going to. If there are and you have the extra budget, you can always buy in bulk and store later. You can also look for coupons on any of the products on your list. If you shop weekly at a specific store, you can also sign up for their loyalty program if there is one. You may even want to do this step before you finalize your meal plan so that you can take advantage of foods on sale to add to your meals over the next month.
An underrated part of planning is planning when you shop. Try to make sure that you shop after you have eaten and not when you are hungry. If you are hungry, you are more likely to buy something that you do not need and is not on your list, and you are more likely to buy more than necessary.
Once you have finished the planning phase, it is time to purchase. If you are in a store, stick to your grocery list and only go to the parts of the store where you will find the foods on your list. For example, don't walk down the candy aisle if no candy is on your list.
If you have a choice between different brands and the food and quality are the same, you can choose the cheapest. Some stores have their house brand that can be cheaper. With time, however, you may learn that some house brands are worth it, and some do not last as long. In this case, you can choose the more expensive brand as it will last longer.
If you can, buying some of your food items in bulk or buying the family pack can also help you save money.
When choosing fresh fruit and vegetables, make sure the fruit or vegetable is in season. It may be more expensive and taste different if it's out of season. Frozen fruits and vegetables are often relatively inexpensive and retain most of their food value. Canned fruits and vegetables can also be less expensive but do not retain as many nutrients due to the canning process, although canned beans are an exception. Pre-prepared fresh food, such as already-cut fruit and vegetables and already-cooked rice, can be more expensive due to convenience.
Online shopping can also be a great alternative if you are busy, want to stick to a budget, or both. It can help reduce the chances of buying products not on your list. Additionally, some stores will have deals that are limited to online only.
After you purchase your food, it's important to store it correctly. If you anticipate that one food item may not last the whole week, try using it first or freezing it if possible.
If your schedule is busy, cooking in advance can help. This will ensure that you have a meal for the days when you do not have time to cook and will prevent you from eating out. For some individuals, preparing all their meals on a Sunday can help.
You can double the recipe, make more portions, and store them for later meals. If you have any leftovers from a previous meal, you can try incorporating them into a future meal. For example, if you have leftover sausage but not enough for a full meal, you can always add it to a stew for extra protein and flavor.
Preparation can become monotonous, especially if you are cooking similar meals. You can use herbs and spices to change the meal's flavor profile here. If you can, growing your herbs can help you save money as you have them already and do not need to buy more. Another way to mix up your meals is to think about different ways of preparing the same ingredients. For example, vegetables can be steamed, sauteed, roasted, and baked. This can help to add some variety to your meals.
With preparation, another underrated tip for when you are wondering how to eat healthy on a budget is portion size. Ideally, according to the MyPlate Model, half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, including salad, a quarter starch, and a quarter protein (3). By being mindful of portion sizes, some of your ingredients, such as protein, can be stretched over a longer period. This can help reduce how much you purchase and reduce the total cost.
These food choices are budget-friendly and nutritious.
Plant proteins such as lentils, chickpeas, and beans can be great staples. Not only are they very budget-friendly, but they are also a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber (4). They are also non-perishable foods and can often be stored for months or years.
While some individuals may prefer to focus only on plant protein, you can switch out animal protein for plant protein on one or two days of the week. This can help you stick to your budget.
If you would like to have animal protein during the week, changing to a cheaper cut of meat can help you keep to your budget. Some cuts that may be cheaper include:
However, some cuts may need to be cooked longer, such as in stews or casseroles.
Including fruits and vegetables in your meals and snacks helps provide your body with the necessary nutrients. They are also a great source of fiber and can keep you fuller for longer. However, they can have a reputation for being more expensive. However, some fruits and vegetables are quite cost-effective. A 2022 study found that some of the most affordable fruits and vegetables are (5):
Another way to reduce the price is to grow vegetables in a garden. While this does take time to establish, once it is, you may be able to rely purely on your garden for many of these foods.
If you live alone and find that your fruits and vegetables go bad before you can eat them, buying frozen fruits and vegetables can help to minimize wastage. Additionally, you can share your fruits and vegetables with a neighbor. This can help to minimize waste and, if you share the cost, can also save you money.
There are a wide variety of different grains; they can generally be budget-friendly. However, the most cost-effective grains from the same 2022 study are (5):
These grains can be used for many meals, such as rice as a side for lunch, fried rice for dinner, or rice pudding for breakfast.
If you are considering how to eat healthy on a budget, it can be overwhelming, especially if your budget is tight. However, it is possible. If you are a beginner at healthy eating, start with the three Ps: planning, purchasing, and preparation. Once you have these steps in place, you can focus on more cost-effective foods and start implementing practices that may save you money, such as starting a vegetable or herb garden.
If you are currently experiencing stress and would like some assistance in supporting your body through this with nutrition, we offer Dr. Lam's Nutritional Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Program. This program includes a meal plan that can help support you on your journey.
"Eating on a Budget-The 3 P's." University of Arizona, https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/.
Cena, Hellas, and Philip C. Calder. “Defining a Healthy Diet: Evidence for the Role of Contemporary Dietary Patterns in Health and Disease.” Nutrients, vol. 12, no. 2, Jan. 2020, p. 334. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/2/334.
MyPlate. U.S. Department of Agriculture, www.myplate.gov.
Langyan, Sapna, et al. “Sustaining Protein Nutrition Through Plant-Based Foods.” Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 8, Jan. 2022, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.772573/full.
Brauchla, Mary, and Victor L. Fulgoni. “Cost-effective Options for Increasing Consumption of Under-consumed Food Groups and Nutrients in the USA.” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 25, no. 3, Feb. 2021, pp. 710–16. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/.
Figuring out how to eat healthy on a budget can be tricky, especially when you are invited to eat out. Some tips you can try here are: have a meal before you leave for the restaurant, choose the starter portion or eating half your plate, and take the rest home.
