12 Budget-Friendly Hacks for Healthy Eating

Plan Your Meals

Step one might seem simple, but it’s more important than you think! By creating a weekly meal plan, you’re not only able to create a grocery list quickly and easily, but also create healthy meals on a budget. Planning your meals weekly allows you to set aside time in your week to meal prep or prepare food in advance for quick weeknight dinners when you don’t feel like cooking. It also ensures that you have less food waste each week because each item that you purchase is accounted for.

Tip: Make sure to check your pantry when you’re creating a meal plan for the week. You might find you already have all the ingredients you need or you can create creative recipes with items that you already have on hand!

Make a Budget

Now that you know exactly which meals you’re going to make each week, create a budget for those items. Where could you cut costs? (We share some money-saving ideas below!) Could you create larger meals to add leftovers into your meal plan for the week? Consider setting yourself a weekly, as well as monthly budget for groceries.

By creating a monthly budget, you have a maximum number that you want to target. Breaking the budget down into a weekly dollar amount will keep you on track and not leave you short at the end of the month. Also, if you find that you have money left over at the end of the week, you can always roll it over into next month or use it to add some healthy snacks to your grocery list.

Stick To Your Grocery List

What is the point of creating a weekly meal plan and monthly budget if you don’t stick to the grocery list when you’re in the store. One of the easiest ways to ensure that you don’t buy unnecessary items (read: junk food) is by not shopping hungry. The opposite is true, as well. Hitting the grocery store after you have just eaten a meal may make you less interested in purchasing healthy food options and you may miss or forget items that you had on your list.

Tip: Try targeting the grocery store in the mid-afternoon (if possible) when people are at work and the grocery stores are less busy.

Buy Whole Foods

We don’t mean buy from Whole Foods, either. Buying fresh fruits and vegetables in their whole form (aka: not pre-packaged and/or already prepared) is the best way to get quality foods, allowing you to make cheap easy meals on a budget. Whole foods are not processed and have more vitamins and minerals than their prepared counterparts. Not to mention, fruits and vegetables that come pre-sliced (aside from the costly markup!) break down and go bad quicker than items still contained in their natural skins due to oxidation.

Buy Frozen Fruits & Veggies

If you are frequently throwing away produce that goes bad before you can use it—and wasting money in the process!—try buying your fruits and vegetables frozen. Not only will this increase their life by storing in your freezer, but fruits and vegetables that are frozen at the peak of their ripeness, meaning that very little of the nutrients are lost during the freezing process. While fresh is always best, if you need to extend the life of your food, this is one of the best ways to eat for cheap and avoid more expensive food options.

Buy Cheaper Cuts of Meat

We all want cheap groceries! However, on most grocery lists, meat tends to be one of the most expensive items. Cuts of meats can vary widely in cost, with more expensive cuts of meat being more tender or less fatty. However, using a lesser quality of meat (especially in Instant Pot meals or soups/stews) can create an equally delicious recipe while still eating healthy on a budget.

For example, purchasing a whole chicken is far less expensive than purchasing individual chicken breasts or thighs, especially if they have deboned. Cooking a whole chicken in a crockpot or oven gives you countless recipe ideas to work with, as well as creating some of the cheapest meals for the week.

Another cost-savings option? Try adding a flavorful marinade to a chuck eye steak, an alternative to the more costly ribeye. Another not as tender as other cuts, these steaks can be just as good as more expensive food options with the right preparation.

Buy in Bulk

Aside from the unnecessary packaging and plastic waste, buying in bulk is an easy way to create affordable meals on a budget. Buying bulk items, such as oatmeal, rice, and granola, can often be half as expensive as name-brand options. Bring your own reusable container into the store to cut down on using plastic bags or packaging.

One of our favorite items to buy in bulk? Fresh ground nut butters!

Shop Store Brands Instead of Name Brands

Almost all grocery store chains will have a house or store brand option for popular name brands. While not all items will be similar, when shopping, compare the ingredients on each package. For single ingredient items, such as flour, sugar, or canned fruits and vegetables, purchasing the store brand will save you money while not sacrificing taste.

Tip: One of the biggest ways to save money when purchasing store brands is for over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Medications such as cold pills, pain relievers, allergy medications, and GI ailments, often have identical formulations and active ingredients for a much more budget-friendly price.

Clean Out Your Pantry

When in doubt, use what you already own to save money while still creating a healthy eating meal plan. Get creative with recipes by using the ingredients you have on hand. This is not only a fun exercise in experimenting, but is a great way to use up items and prevent food waste at home. Set yourself a goal of no food spending for a week (a month if you can do it!) and work on using up as much as you can in your pantry.

We love trying to do a pantry clean out at least once a year. (It’s also a great time to reorganize those cluttered shelves!)

Cook At Home

Restaurant dining is far more expensive than home cooking. In fact, the average cost of a restaurant meal is $13—often much more in many large cities. The average cost of a home-cooked meal? Under $5. Just like your daily Starbucks, (a habit that could cost you upwards of $5 per day) eating out can increase your spending with you even noticing. If you’re looking to stay on a budget, limit dining out for special occasions, date nights, or as a special treat.

Don’t Neglect Your Leftovers

Batch cooking is one of our favorite ways to meal prep. Making large portions is a simple way to prepare lunches for the following day or freeze for use at a later time. Not a fan of leftovers, add those green beans from the previous night’s dinner into a flavorful casserole or repurpose the chicken into a hearty stew. The possibilities are endless and don’t have to be boring. Plus, grabbing a quick meal from the fridge makes for easy grab and go lunches.

Drink More Water

You might be asking yourself: But bottled water is expensive! While bottled water is expensive, fruit juices & sodas can be one of the most expensive items you buy per ounce. Not to mention, many of these flavored beverages contribute nothing to a healthy diet. Ditch the bottled drinks at the grocery store, purchase your own water filter, and drink water from your own faucet.