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Eating Healthy on a Budget

Jun 05 09:08am

If you are committed to selecting healthier foods at the grocery store, you may have noticed that they sometimes cost a little more. As a dietitian counseling patients on good nutrition, I try to help clients stretch their dollars at the grocery store and yet still be able to buy some of the healthier items on the shelves.

Here are ways to help you keep costs down and nutrition up the next time you visit the grocery store:

Plan out a week's worth of healthy meals before you head to the store: If you are focused on a list of key ingredients, you are less likely to be tempted by unneeded or unhealthy items. Research shows that shoppers without a list tend to buy more food, especially of the snacking variety!
Avoid going to the grocery store hungry. Again, you will be less tempted by impulse buys and snack foods.
Compare prices, both before heading out and after you're inside the store. If you have the time, go online and check out the store's latest promotions or weekly specials. Remember that generic brands, while cheaper than name brands, have the same nutritional value.
Watch out for foods that are close to the expiration date. Meats and dairy items can typically have expiration dates that are close by. You don't want to waste money on something you may not be able to use.
Clip coupons and save them! Grocery stores may double or even triple coupons on certain days.
Consider visiting your local farmers market when fresh produce is in season in your part of the country. Most cities and towns have such markets and the produce, because it often comes from local growers, may be a little cheaper and a lot fresher. Farmers markets may also be a good source of less-expensive organic produce.

88 Comments Report Abuse

1. sh127ry38@verizon.net - Jun 05 10:07am

I'm sorry I thought this would have priced items that one could use to gage their spending for foods that are healthy and cheap.

2. mkatz2m - Jun 05 10:18pm

I have one rule that I use so I do not overpay for healthy food. If the organic food costs more than 10$ more than the non-organic variety, then I just buy the regular variety. Also, the only reasonable grocery store for healthier items appears to be Trader Joes, especially for wild frozen salmon and most varieties of fresh nuts.

3. joanbev13 - Jun 06 12:56am

It's expensive to eat healthy. Prices are rising on a lot of items I buy every week. I guess that's a reflection on the high cost of gas to truck the food in from California and CHINA. (kidding about the China bit).

I am so lucky to have a local farmer's market. My produce is fresh, tasty and lasts a long time. There is no middle man to contend with so the prices are low compared to the grocery stores.

Here is an inexpensive veggie stir fry to try. I have it at least once a week.

Starting with olive oil in your stir fry pan, using medium control on your burner, place a package of frozen Great Value (Wal Mart Brand) mixture of veggies with asparagus. Add fresh cut up summer squash and stir fry for about 4 minutes. Add sliced fresh pea pods. Add spices you like and a few shakes of soy sauce. I also add a partial package of stir fry seasoning. (To make it extra special I add super firm cubed tofu )
When I use the tofu I put that in the stir fry pan first with the olive oil and spices, but you can do whatever you like and use whatever you want.

4. whirinthelight - Jun 06 06:50am

It's not expensive to eat healthy. Just time consuming. I often cook up a bag of red beans or black beans with a few medium onions, a few cloves of garlic, about half a stalk of celery, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, worcestershire sauce, parsley, crushed red pepper, cracked black pepper, and salt. (of course you don't have to get that detailed with the seasoning)Then just serve it over a plates of brown rice with hot sauce on the side. Vege trays are also a nice alternative to salads when you want to mix it up or to refrain from grabbing the bag of junk food. I've even roasted garbanzo beans in the oven before which came out pretty good. There's some ideas for eating healthy. It's really not rocket science.

5. joanbev13 - Jun 06 08:12am

Dear Desirebystarlight, Thanks for the great tips. I never even thought of roasting barbanzo beans in the oven. I will try that tomorrow.
I have popped a few on top of my pizza and that is really tasty with feta cheese.

6. whirinthelight - Jun 06 12:46pm

#5, No problem joanbev. Never had garbanzo beans on my pizza before. Sounds interesting. What kind of pizza was that on? A white pizza that you made? Frozen pizza that you fixed up? I like your suggestions about the stirfries too. I make them frequently. Not quite that way but I make them. Coleslaw always makes a nice substitute for lettuce whenever it gets too expensive to eat. You can just sprinkle in your own homemade salad dressing or vinagrette dressing (of the healthy variety from the store) over a bowl of cabbage and you've got another healthy dish. You can steam cabbage, broccoli, and/or cauliflower, and serve it over brown rice, wild rice, or kashi. That's also healthy, filling and inexpensive. Serve it with soy sauce or a little butter and dill. Pasta salads are cheap, filling, and easy to make on a hot day. I know a lot of people gripe that they are "unhealthy" but they are probably also the same people who are also stocking their shelves with bags of chips and oreo cookies too. It's better to eat a bowl of pasta salad than a bowl of cheezits, doritos or funyuns. I also like angel hair pasta with olive oil, sesame seeds, basil,black pepper, parsley, salt, and parmesan. Sometimes I top it with a tomato. Sometimes I top it with reheated chicken or turkey. It's very good.

7. joanbev13 - Jun 07 03:05am

Desireby starlight. I tried the roasted gabanzo beans with fresh basil and olive oil and parmesan and my husband is still raving about them.
We have our own little blog going on - hope others will join in.
I make my own pizza dough in my bread machine and combine unbleached white flour with wheat flour. Makes a nice crust.

I treated myself to a pizza Deni machine that makes delicious thin crusted pizzas. Worth every cent.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

8. whirinthelight - Jun 07 06:16am

#7, joanbev, I've never had too much luck trying to make a homemade pizza the few times that I've tried to make it. Thanks for letting me know what helps give you a good pizza crust. Nice to hear that the garbanzo beans turned out well. Hope the suggestions help. I guess others will join in when they think of something to say or have time to say it.