In some ways, being on a budget can force you to cook healthier foods because processed convenience foods are generally more expensive than foods you prepare yourself and generally not as nutritious. The key is good planning. The easier you make it for yourself to shop for inexpensive ingredients and prepare healthful meals from scratch, the easier it will be for you to stick to your food budget.
Planning
The first step to eating healthy foods on a budget is to have a plan. Determine your food budget, and stick to it. Plan enough time to cook meals from scratch. Map out your menus for the week in ways that you can use leftovers. For instance, if you plan a chicken and rice dinner, plan to make enough to bring leftovers to work a day or two later or to make a fried rice supper or chicken and rice soup later on in the week. Check your supermarket's flyers to see what is on sale and plan your meals around those sale foods. Make a shopping list from your menu plans and add any other items you'll need for the week, including ingredients for lunches that will travel to school or work.
Components
The components of a healthy, low-cost meal include a lean protein, a non-starchy vegetable, a whole grain or starchy vegetable and a little healthy fat, such as canola oil used in salad dressings or in cooking. Drink water with meals instead of sodas, juices and other beverages that add to the cost of meal without adding much in the way of nutrition. Serve fresh fruit desserts that you make yourself, such as baked apples or seasonal fruit salad mixtures.
Budget Foods
Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, when they taste best, are most nutritious, and are less expensive than at other times throughout the year. When you plan your meals, look for recipes that use rice, pasta and dried legumes such as beans, lentils and split peas. Choose some whole grains such as barley, oats and bulgur and whole-grain varieties of pasta. Plan to use plenty of garlic, onions and other inexpensive seasoning vegetables, so you'll have less need for more expensive herbs and spices. Eggs, tofu and dried beans are good sources of protein that are less inexpensive than meat.
Cooking
Some styles of cooking result in meals that are less expensive per serving than others. Bulk up casseroles, soups and stews with inexpensive but wholesome ingredients like potatoes, noodles, beans and rice. Use stew meat and other low-cost cuts in small amounts as flavoring ingredients rather than as main ingredients. Stir-fries are another way to use minimal amounts of meat with more focus on seasonal and seasoning vegetables and rice. Homemade baked goods such as biscuits, muffins and quick breads are much less expensive than store-bought ones and are healthier because you can control the ingredients used to make them.
Shopping
Compare the costs of similar foods at different supermarkets in your area and shop at the one that consistently has the best prices overall. Collect and use coupons. Compare the cost of name-brand products to similar generic and store brand products. Buy in bulk when possible and choose large-size packages of foods you use often. Choose larger cuts of meat or "value packs" and freeze what you can't use. Shop for ethnic foods in ethnic markets if you have them in your area. Stick to your shopping list; impulsive purchases are often the most expensive.
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