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How to Actually Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget

Here's how to eat healthy the cost-efficient way

If we're being honest, eating healthy comes with a price. Ever tried eating completely organic or ordering from diet deliveries that guarantee weight loss in weeks? Yeah, it's quite pricey. But as they say, if there’s a will, there’s always a way.

1. Purchase food in bulk

When a grocery store puts up a sale tag, utilize this by buying food ingredients in bulk that can last a couple of weeks. This way, you can save time, money and effort by stocking up on ingredients. Additionally, you can use points you earn from your rewards card the next time you do groceries.

2. Buy from one store

While having multiple shopping choices is a great thing, buying from multiple stores, however, is not ideal especially if you want to save money.

Choose one store that is closest to you, your wallet and your needs, and buy everything you need from there.

3. Stop impulse buying

We’ve all been there and done this. When it comes to shopping for healthy ingredients on a budget, buying impulsively is a big no-no. You have to plan ahead, stick to your must-buy list and avoid anything that may come in between.

To save time, you can eat before shopping and if possible, do the chore alone so that you can focus on what you really need to buy.

4. Grow and prepare your food

Gardening is a nice hobby that can relax and add color to your home. You can also garden for the sake of growing your own food.

Growing your own food will leave you with fresh and quality ingredients. Not to mention, gives you the satisfaction of reaping what you sow and saves you money. Win-win!

5. Go for calorie-dense food

When eating on a budget, plan your meals for the day. When you need to eat heavy without the expensive price tag, buy potatoes, milk, grains, oats and rice that can energize you the whole day.

6. Go for whole foods

Unprocessed food such as proteins (beef, chicken, tuna, cheese, yogurt, eggs, milk), carbs (rice, oats, beans, potatoes, raisins, cabbage, apples) and fat (olive and fish oil, butter, nuts) are far more nutritious and cheaper than processed food.

7. Spice up your eating routine

Some culinary recipes such as Indian and Mexican come with beans and rice as main ingredients, which are also cheap to buy. So spice up your eating habits and whip up great-tasting meals instead of eating out.

8. Buy food when it’s in season

Fresh produce is best purchased when it’s in season because one, it tastes better and two, can be cheaper. But act fast as prices can go up really fast due to the demand.

9. Buy less expensive meat cut

Meat has various cuts that you can purchase for half the price. Less expensive meat cuts such as chicken thighs or ground beef can work with a tight budget.