Healthy eating has become more than just something a few people do. Nowadays, you don’t have to be a health freak to want to replace some of the less healthy parts of your diet, and even those who enjoy the occasional fried food or sugary treat want to at least improve the rest of their daily food intake.
However, it’s not always cheap to shop for more nutritious foods, especially if what you want is organic or free from processed ingredients. Still, don’t be tricked into thinking that eating a healthy diet has to be expensive. With the right tricks, you can eat better without putting a huge dent in your monthly finances.
The first thing you should do whether you’re eating healthier or not is make a menu each week with what you plan to have for dinners and other meals. Doing so will help you keep your shopping to the items you need and avoid the kind of impulse purchases that drive up your grocery bills. Plus, a shopping list makes your trips quicker, leaving you more time to do way better things than push a cart down the grocery aisle – like catch up on your Netflix watching.
If you aren’t regularly stocking up your freezer, you’re doing it wrong. Your freezer is a great money-saving tool, since it allows you to stock up on foods that you won’t eat right away, but that are on sale for an excellent price. In addition, your freezer space can help you buy in bulk, which is always a great way to save.
Try to make better use of your extra ingredients. If you have small amounts of vegetables left, use them to make a stew or spice up your next salad. Google recipes using the ingredients you need to get rid of, and check out what you’ve got in your spice rack if you need to make a not-so-exciting meal a little more enjoyable.
Finally, the best way to not only eat healthy, but save money is to stop eating out so much. In that case, one of the greatest things you can do to meet each goal is to start packing a lunch every day. Not only will this help you to save money, but you’ll also avoid the impulsive fast food choices that you may be likely to make when you’re on an empty stomach and halfway through a long day of work.