7 Top Tips to Make Healthy Eating Cheaper
It’s a common perception that healthy eating is expensive, and as our food prices are increasing, this can feel like more of a barrier than ever right now. Whilst many cheap foods are ultra processed (and stripped of their nutrients), or even contain ingredients that can do us harm (commercial vegetable and seed oils) – many whole, unprocessed nutrient rich foods are cheaper than you think… Combine that with some savvy shopping, and you’re onto a winner!
I’ve put together my top 7 tips to help you eat healthily without a growing food bill:
1. Plan your meals
Not only does meal planning help to save you time and decision-making stress, but it can help to reduce trips to the supermarket. How often do you come out of a food shop with just that one thing you went in for?! Planning your meals can help to reduce food wastage too, which can add up to far more than we realise.
2. Vary your protein sources
Taking a more flexitarian approach to eating is not just a great way to increase your protein variety, but it can give you some cheaper protein options too. Plant based proteins, such as beans and legumes are easy and cheap to add to salads and soups for lunches.
3. Vary your oily fish!
Most of us know that oily fish are a great source of long chain omega 3 fatty acids, which can help to manage inflammation and support brain and heart health. Having 2-3 portions of oily fish a week is great (more than that increases toxicity risk from mercury). What are some of these oily fish? Think SMASH: Salmon, Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines and Herring (Kippers). Most people veer towards salmon as their preference – but good quality, low mercury salmon (ie. Wild Keta or Alaskan) is not cheap. Smaller oily fish are not only cheaper, but they are lower down the food chain and therefore have less mercury and toxin build up. Fresh mackerel and sardines are quick and easy to cook, and tinned versions of these not only retain their fatty acids, but can cost as little as 50p!
4. Buy frozen fruit and veg
I grew up served broccoli and cauliflower, boiled to death from frozen, and so I was put off frozen vegetables for a while! But not all recipes you cook will need crisp and beautifully presented vegetables! If you are blending fruit and vegetables for smoothies, soups, or adding them to sauce based meals – then frozen can be a great option. Not only may the price be lower, but they will, of course, keep in the freezer for much longer than they will in the fridge.
5. Freeze your leftovers
Some meals lend themselves well to batch cooking and freezing – eg. Bolognese, chilli and soups – but you don’t have to limit yourself to whole meals either. Sauces, dressings or marinades, can be frozen for later, and leftover individual ingredients such as tinned coconut milk, fresh ginger, can also freeze well to avoid wastage.
6. Split your supermarkets
Along with meal planning, it can help to plan your actual shopping trips or online shopping. Some supermarkets will offer lower prices on certain items, but may not contain everything you need. Get familiar with which ones are best for certain ingredients, and then get a little strategic in your buying!
7. Bulk buy
A lot of cupboard ingredients can be bought in bulk. Nuts and seeds in particular can work out much cheaper this way (especially with special offers) rather than in smaller packets from the supermarket. If you have the storage space, then decant some of the contents into smaller containers that are easier to work with.
Which of these do you already do, and what would work out well for you to start doing? Let me know - I’d love to hear from you!
Of course, if you’d like to get healthy meal plans done for you, as part of a community, check out the You By Anthea Together group too.