Valentin Bosioc
Health is Wealth! Heard it often right! Its true too, no amount of money can compensate for poor health. However the flipside of the coin is that you need wealth to maintain health! As the number of work hours increase, the commute distances increases, and the food quality deteriorates due to the use of pesticides maintaining your health becomes more challenging than ever before. Gym memberships costs money, and so does the organic pesticide free food. This makes healthy living look like a costly affair! But our motto in life is to be healthy, so we researched and created this list of 7 tips for you to eat healthy while still on a budget! So let’s look at how we can make healthy eating more affordable.
READ: The Main Supplements You Need On A Low Budget
(I) Drink Tap Water:
Most of us drink bottled water. Calculate your beverage bill. Bottled water, juices, sodas, energy drinks all add up to a significant portion of your food budget. And they are not healthy; they only add empty calories to your body. Get a tap filter and start drinking tap water! It’s healthy, and it’s virtually free. To make it tastier you can make flavoured water with fresh fruit slices.
(II) Cook at Home:
Cooking at home is cheaper and healthier. Keep a tab of your weekly spend on restaurants, the figure might surprise you. Restaurant that serve organic food, are usually expensive. A healthy salad costs more than an unhealthy burger! Best solution to this problem is to cook your own meals. Not only can you control the cost, but also the nutrition content! Use less oil; sprinkle some crunchy flaxseed on your salad, all small changes that can make your food healthier and tastier than the store brought fare. If time is a constraint you can decide to cook at least 1 meal a day at home. Make muffins filled with veggies and fruits over weekend and use them for breakfast, or quick snack! Cooking at home definitely requires some planning and efforts, but you will love it once you get the hang of it!
(III) Read up:
Knowledge is power! So gain more knowledge about your food. If you are looking to lose weight you need to include more fibre rich low calorie food in your diet. Chia seeds are a good option, but so are flaxseeds, which are cheaper than the chia seeds. If you are looking to gain weight, you need more calorie dense food. Red meat is a good option, but so is sweet potato, which has much longer shelf life than meat and cost much less. Lentils are a much cheaper source of protein than lean meat! Reading up about food and gaining information about cheaper substitute you can include in your meal will allow you to be healthier while saving on money too.
SEE ALSO: Increase your gains on a budget!
(IV) Grow Your Own Food:
Organic produce is costlier than its inorganic counterpart; there are no two ways about it. Easiest way to reduce the bill of your organic produce is to grow it yourself! You can grow a bunch of stuff right in your home. Use the window sill, hanging pots, garden whatever space you can think of to grow your very own vegetable garden. From tomatoes to herbs you can grow them all. There are numerous different sites online where you can find the tools and techniques required to implement a kitchen garden in your home. Check them out and let your green thumb go wild! Growing your own vegetables, not only saves you money, but you are also assured of their quality, and they are garden fresh, from the tree right into your pan!
(V) Go Easy on the Processed Food:
Most processed food like ‘heat and eat meals’, energy bars and even juices are high on salt and sugars, making them unhealthy. Also they are expensive. By going easy on the processed food, not only will you be saving money, but also staying healthy. If you need to shop processed food for some quick meals, then choose the healthier options, and read the labels carefully.
(VI) Shop smart:
Become a smart shopper! Collect coupons for your local supermarket; lookout for discounts and sales. If possible schedule your weekly grocery shopping with your neighbours, so as to buy items in bulk, and receive bulk discount. Buy bigger packs of items, as they are cheaper than smaller individualised packaging.
WOW: African Bodybuilder Defies Odds and Goes from Kid to Beast All Natural
(VII) Frequent the Farmer’s Market:
Local produce is usually cheaper and fresher. So check up on the farmer’s market in your area. Not only can you stock up on vegetables and meats rom these markets, you can often find cheaper options for the branded yet healthy items like Honey, butter and more.
So there you have 7 tips to help you eat healthy on budget! Now you can no more state money as a reason for unhealthy eating!
Author’s Bio
Claire works in marketing team at Brillopak, a premium quality Robot Palletising machine manufactures in United Kingdom. In a former life, Claire worked as a content specialist and she loves writing, reading & cooking.
