3 tips for eating healthy on a budget

Let's face it, we think eating healthy = spending more money.

While that's not an entirely false statement, it's not quite so black and white. 

Eating healthy is an investment in both your physical and mental health. 

Meaning, the more you take care of yourself now- the less you'll spend on astronomical expenses like doctor's visits, prescriptions, treatments and procedures in the future (if at all!)

Begin thinking of food as medicine, because it IS. 

Every time you pick up those organic greens, pasture-raised eggs and grass-fed beef...items jam-packed with nutrition your body craves, you're doing right by your health and investing in a body that is going to be strong, healthy and happy.

How about that? Talk about a shift in your perspective. 

Besides, do you realize how much buying packaged, processed foods adds up to be? Picking up Starbucks every morning, grabbing lunch out and dinner to-go? All adds up to A LOT. 

That all being said, I think it's important to look for the ways to make eating healthy less expensive! I am going to give you 3 easy tips to get started with this week.

And I'd love for you to comment below and tell ME what helps YOU budget while eating healthy.

1) Batch Cook
 

If you've been following me over on instagram, you know I'm a meal prepping machine. Not only do I do this myself, I meal prep for local clients as part of my full-day in person intensive. 

There's truly nothing better than having food prepped for a few days or the week. Not only does this relieve stress, eliminate decision-making and save time- it saves money! Instead of going out to the store and buying ingredients for a one-time meal, you're putting together a few recipes or prepping veggies & proteins all at once.

This way you've got options on hand, and you won't be running out to the store or a restaurant and spending money. 

I find I let very little, if any food go to waste when I have meals prepped. When I don't, and just go to the store and buy a bunch of random ingredients- often things don't get used up before they go bad. Which is a huge bummer, makes me feel bad and is literally money lost! 

I'm a big fan of big batches of roasted veggies because they're incredibly simple to prepare, and always taste great (even cold!) All it takes is veggies, sea salt and a sustainable fat source like coconut oil or ghee.

I also love making things in the crock pot, or soups and stews. They make big portions and can be easily reheated throughout the week or frozen for the weeks ahead.

Meal-prepping breakfasts is also a great way to go. Like chia seed pudding or green smoothies. This prevents you from running out of time in the morning to make breakfast- left with no other choice but to stop somewhere to pick something up. That's probably not going to make you feel so good settling for fast-food, and is also going to cost a pretty penny. 

A simple way to get started with batch cooking, is to just simply double the portion size when making dinner. This way you're cooking once, but getting two meals out of it. So you enjoy one portion that night, and the next day you have lunch or dinner ready to go and won't need to spend time or money eating out. 

2) Buy frozen fruits & veggies
 

This is definitely a way to save major bucks! Often there are some fantastic deals on an assortment of frozen fruit and veggies.

A lot of people shy away from purchasing frozen because they assume it's not as good. While local and fresh is the most nutrient-dense option- frozen produce can actually be more nutritious than fresh in a grocery store because it's flash frozen after picked, pausing any further nutrition deterioration.

See, produce begins losing it's nutrition once picked, so once the fruits and veggies arrive in your local grocery store they've traveled far and wide. This is another reason why it's important to buy local; but that's not quite the point here.

What's great about buying frozen produce is that- like mentioned under batch cooking, nothing is going to go bad in your freezer. You always have frozen veggies to steam, or fruits to throw into smoothies. This prevents waste which saves you money. 

It's also fun to try out new kinds of fruits and veggies, with no pressure to come up with a way to use them in a recipe right away. So don't ignore the freezer section- I don't, I'll see you there!

3) Buy in bulk
 

It can be exciting when you start eating healthier and learn about all of the fun and nutritious options out there. Fancy nut butters, gluten-free flours and superfoods start catching your eye.

But then you get up to the check-out counter and realize you've spent your entire week's budget on a few items. 

The way around this is to first and foremost know you can work up to the point where your pantry is stocked with all of these things. You don't have to buy them all at once. Choose a few superfoods that are going to contribute to your particular well-being, one type of gluten-free flour that can be used in several recipes and one type of nut butter. Not everything on the Whole Foods shelves (been there, whoops!)

But the other way to get more for less, is to buy in bulk. Stores like Sprouts and Whole Food's have fantastic bulk sections. I love to buy nuts, shredded coconut and dried fruits in the bulk section. 

Also, online shops like amazon.com, vitacost.com and thrivemarket.com are fantastic resources for buying in bulk. For meats and seafood, I also recommend checking out vitalchoice.com and uswellnessmeats.com! Everything can be bought in bulk these days.

So look out for deals, and buy up in bulk while things are marked down. 

I hope these tips were helpful! Remember I want to hear from you and what helps you save money while eating healthy. Comment below!!