How To Eat Healthy Foods On A Tight Budget – 6 Easy Lifestyle Hacks
Last Updated on by Bree
Social isolation and job loss have made one fact very clear.
We have to learn to live frugally and save money until the deadly virus leaves this world once and for all.
With the dire economic situation, we must learn to avoid overspending and save money on everything we can, including food.
The problem is that our mouth always wants to enjoy tasty foods, whereas our body craves healthy meals to reduce sugar, salt, and fats.
So, what if we tell you that you can eat healthy and tasty foods even on a tight budget?
Will you believe it?
Lifestyle hacks to eat healthy foods on a budget.
Believe me; you can save money and eat healthy foods without compromising your budget.
Here are a few lifestyle hacks that can help you to do so.
6 Easy Lifestyle Hacks To Eat Healthy Foods On A Budget
1. Cook meals in your home as they are healthy and economical
Home-cooked meals are the best for your body and budget.
You can cook meals using simple ingredients hygienically. The best part is cooking food with less oil, sugar, and salt.
If you have high cholesterol, you can cook food with minimum oil.
Takeaway food or restaurant food is usually spicy and oily. They are not good for your health.
Moreover, restaurant foods are not economical as well. They cost almost double the original price of the food. Tips and delivery charges eat a lot of your money.
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2. Eat seasonal vegetables and fruits as they are frugal and fresh
Seasonal vegetables are fresh, healthy, and nutritious.
As there is an abundant supply of seasonal fruits in the market and no transportation cost, the grocery stores give huge discounts on them.
Most importantly, when you buy seasonal veggies, you’re helping the local farmers financially.
So, you’re helping to boost the national economy as well.
You can buy seasonal fruits and vegetables in bulk and deep freeze them for later use.
3. Buy leaner cuts of meat as they are cheap and easy to digest:
It’s a myth that too much protein is good for health.
It’s actually not.
Buy leaner cuts of meat and use them to make soups with lots of veggies.
This way, your body can get nutrition from both vegetables and meat.
Moreover, leaner cuts of meat are cheaper than breasts and leg pieces.
When you have to learn how to live frugally and save money, this is one thing you must do.
If possible, skip meat once or twice a week.
Steaks are tasty, but they are quite heavy too.
You won’t die if you eat vegetables for one day.
Instead, your digestive system will be happy to process veggies and extract the nutritional juices. Moreover, you’ll save money here too.
There are lots of yummy recipes that you can try with vegetables.
You can make soups, appetizers, and one-pot meals with vegetables.
The list is endless.
Browse Youtube for recipes.
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4. Buy store brands after quality inspection to save health and $:
Store brands are not always necessarily of bad quality.
Store brands cost less than branded items.
But this doesn’t mean that store brands are of inferior quality.
There is a big reason why store brands are more economical than branded goods.
Unlike branded items, store brands don’t have substantial marketing costs involved.
There are no celebrity endorsements.
So, as a consumer, you don’t have to pay for those additional costs that transform a simple name to a brand.
Buy store brands and use them for preparing meals.
Check the quality of the products.
If the quality is good, you can use them and save money.
Neither your health nor your budget will be compromised.
5. Stop buying cookies and snacks, as they are pretty expensive:
Who doesn’t love to munch on cookies, ready-to-eat snacks, and chocolates?
With millions of people staying at home for a long time, the temptation to munch on chips, wafers, and cookies is greater than ever.
Stop buying assorted chocolates, juice, chips, wafers, etc., as they are quite expensive.
They are neither healthy nor budget-friendly.
If your kids demand chips and chocolates, prepare healthy snacks for them.
You can make french fries at home, and that too with less oil.
You can even bake cupcakes and cookies at home at half the market price.
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6. Cook with fresh ingredients instead of processed foods:
When I cook, I use lots of onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes for preparing meals.
Frankly speaking, I hate spending hours chopping onion and garlic.
As far as ginger and tomatoes are concerned, I prefer buying tomato puree and ginger paste from the market.
Sometimes, I even buy onion paste and garlic paste from the grocery stores.
But, the price of these processed foods is relatively high.
Plus, they contain a lot of preservatives that are not good for health.
So, what is the alternative option?
Since we were asked to stay home, I have stopped buying those processed foods.
I can’t afford to spend so much on cooking ingredients.
So, every Sunday, I chop onion and garlic in huge quantities and store them in glass jars separately.
After that, I blend tomatoes in a mixer grinder and store them in glass jars.
I’m doing the same thing with ginger also.
Once I have finished chopping and blending, I keep the glass jars in the freezer and use them throughout the week for preparing various meals.
Final words before I end this post
Grocery supplies are limited, but the demand is huge.
Moreover, you have to be in quarantine. So, the only option left is online grocery shopping.
When buying groceries, try to buy them in bulk, especially the ones on sale.
That would help you to save money.
Check out your emails to learn more about the available deals. Buy the products in bulk and plan meals accordingly.
However, try to avoid buying perishable items in bulk.
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