Eating Healthy Without Going Broke

Shopping and eating healthy can be very hard, especially since it tends to cost more to eat healthy. It is an unfortunate fact of life that some of the lowest priced foods, from fast food value menus to cheap potato chips, are also some of the least healthy. It is possible, however, to create excellent tasting, nutritious meals, even on a tight budget.

Planning healthy meals doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, you just need to have a plan.

Step 1 - The shopping list

Anyone who has visited a supermarket lately knows how dangerous it is to enter the store without a shopping list in hand. Shopping without a sense of what you need - and don't need - puts you in danger of going off budget and buying items that are very tempting, unfortunately most of those tempting foods are not nutritious.  A good trick is to keep a note pad near the table or refrigerator. Having the notepad within easy reach makes it easy to keep track of the foods you need to stock up on. You can also buy a little chalk board that you can stick up on the refrigerator and write things down as you notice them. Once you have your list you can go through it before committing it to paper, this way you can eliminate things that you might not necessarily need, and replace them with healthy choices.

Step 2 - Watch those flyers

Most major food store chains publish weekly sales ads, usually as inserts in the local newspaper. Keeping track of these sales, and take advantage of the low prices to stock up, it's a great way to gather a pantry full of healthy food.  Once the pantry is full of fruits, vegetables and other healthy fare, it will be much easier to create healthy recipes the entire family will love. In addition, locally grown, in season fruits and vegetables are usually more of a bargain than out of season or shipped fruits and vegetables. Another great way of getting good deals on fruits and veggies is to go to your local farmers market. Most towns have one at least once a week and one day on the weekend. Some are set up permanently so check those too for good deals.

Step 3 - Stock up on staples

Essential staple foods, such as flour, rice, and pasta are frequently put on sale as loss leaders at major groceries. Stocking up on these essentials when prices are low is a great way to stretch any food budget. Just make sure that you store these types of staples properly so you are not dealing with pantry moths and flour bugs later on.

Step 4 - Never shop when you are hungry

The old advice to never shop when you are hungry is definitely true. Shopping when you are hungry is a sure way to give into temptation, bust the food budget, and stock up on all the wrong foods.

Step 5 - Become a label guru

Nutritional labels contain a wealth of information, but it is up to each shopper to read those labels and understand what they mean. Nutritional labels contain complete information on not just calories and fats, but the amounts of various essential vitamins and minerals as well. It is important to know how to read labels in order to get the best nutritional bang for your food bucks.

Step 6 - Pay close attention to package sizes

Just because two cans look alike it does not mean they are. Packaging can be deceptive, so get in the habit of comparing weights when shopping for canned fruits, vegetables and other items. Also take advantage of the lower prices available on store brand and generic products.

Step 7 - Use coupons, but do it wisely

Manufacturers coupons can be a great deal when used on products you already buy.  Buying something simply because you have a coupon, however, is typically not a good idea.

Step 8 - Replace meat with beans and other less costly substitutes

Eating less meat and more beans and lentils is a good way to save money on your food budget while still getting the protein you and your family need. Try experimenting with some vegetarian recipes for interesting ways to use these non meat alternatives.

Now that you have a battle plan, you can go on your next shopping trip full of confidence knowing that you will be feeding yourself and your family much healthier meals from now on!