Healthy Food for Less

Many people cite cost as a reason for not maintaining a healthy diet. Becoming a smarter, savvier shopper can help you eat healthy on a budget. Preparing for your trip to the grocery store and planning ahead for the week can make shopping on a budget simple and manageable.

Fresh or Frozen

Fresh produce is best to buy in season. In-season produce lasts longer, tastes better and costs less. You can look for fresh produce at your local grocery store or farmers market. Your farmers market will have the best selection of locally grown in-season produce. Look for apples in early fall, squash in late fall and berries over the summer. For out-of-season produce, try buying frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen versions often have the same nutritional values as their fresh counterparts. Before purchasing frozen produce, check the label to ensure no sugar or salt was added. Use caution when buying canned fruit or vegetables due to high sugar contents and low nutritional values.

Quantity and Quality

Buy the produce you will eat for the week. Do not buy perishable food items you will not be able to consume before they go bad. If produce doesn't look fresh, don't buy it for the sake of having it. If the quality is poor, you'll likely end up tossing it.

Sales, Coupons and Lists

Before heading to the grocery store, make a plan. Scan grocery store websites and newspaper ads to find sale items for the week. Plan your meals ahead of time and try to include what's on sale. Some stores offer sales with coupons, while others require member cards. Clip coupons and sign up for cards to make sure you get the full discount on all products. If you live near a few different stores, shop for sale items at each store. Plan meals for a week, which allows you enough time to consume all your perishable products and eliminate waste. Trying to plan your meals for longer than a week can be time-consuming and hard to maintain, and you'll lose the freshness in many perishable foods.

Substitutions

Red meat is not only high in protein, but also high in price and fat. Consider other wallet-friendly forms of protein that will also boost your heart health. Fish, tuna, chicken, nuts and beans are all alternative forms of protein. These other forms of protein are lower in saturated fat content than most varieties of red meat. Saturated fat is associated with high levels of cholesterol, which can cause heart disease.

Dinning Out and Home Preparation

If you feel you're spending too much on food, consider how frequently you go out to eat. For example, if you frequently go out for lunch due to time and schedule, consider making your lunch the night before to bring with you. If you're often busy and don't have time to cook, make one day of the weekend your time to prepare a few meals in advance. Freeze single-portion leftovers for quick meals on the go. When at work or school, carry healthy snacks like nuts, fruits, vegetables and cheese to keep your body filled with healthy nutrients and not junk food from vending machines or convenience stores, whose costs can add up quickly.