Healthiest Foods For A Tight Budget
Article by: Fitnancials
Buying healthy food can be quite expensive, especially if you purchase organic foods. Many people make the mistake of thinking eating healthy is more expensive than buying fast food regularly.
While this can be the case, you simply have to be smart about what you buy. Buy in bulk, and buy healthy food that is decently cheap year round.
I do all of my shopping at smaller grocery stores, such as Aldi’s. It’s incredibly inexpensive and I can get a weeks worth of food for less than $50. Many people find that surprising, but all you have to do is plan and organize well, and get your list ready before you head to the store.
Thankfully, Aldi’s also keeps their grocery store magazine on hand at the exit of the store, so you can always see the best deals available. If you don’t have an Aldi’s nearby, there are most likely stores just like it nearby. You just have to do a little digging and find the cheapest grocery store.
1. Fruit.
Fruits, such as bananas and prunes are usually inexpensive year round. Bananas can be great by themselves, or mixed into smoothies or oatmeal. I even like making frozen bananas with peanut butter and dark chocolate on top. Simple, quick and easy delicious snack that is also healthy.
2. Rice and oatmeal.
I usually buy a large container of oatmeal for about $3.00US. This will last me a month or more, depending on if I use it for other recipes as well. I love making oatmeal every morning and I also enjoy making oatmeal cookies. A simple and quick recipe would be mixing together oatmeal, banana, cinnamon, dark chocolate chips, and brown sugar. The riper the banana, the better.
3. Seafood such as tuna is usually dirt cheap.
You can get tuna for about 50 cents, depending on where you buy it. Tuna is great because it’s loaded with protein and can be used in many different recipes. I love making tuna salad and smearing it on top of a piece of whole grain bread.
4. Vegetables.
Vegetables such as broccoli and carrots are usually always fairly inexpensive. These vegetables can be used in soups as well. Chicken broth is very inexpensive and soup can go a long way, and be very filling when filled with many vegetables and chicken. Although store bought soups can be cheap, I would definitely recommend staying away from them as they are usually filled with sodium and other processed ingredients.
5. Nuts.
Nuts such as peanuts are very cheap, and although peanut butter is pretty inexpensive as it is, it’s also not a bad idea to make your own peanut butter. All you have to do is dump a good amount of peanuts into a food processor and blend it. Take breaks between blending and stir around the mixture and blend again.
6. Yogurt.
Regular yogurt and greek yogurt can be fairly inexpensive. I love mixing greek yogurt with spinach as it is quite a delicious treat, but also VERY cheap to make. Make sure to cool in the fridge for a couple hours, as the mixture will taste a lot better cold.
7. Beans.
Beans are relatively cheap and can be put in many, many meals. They can be used as a substitute in certain meals or as a side. They are delicious too!
What other foods are inexpensive and healthy? Do you have any other money saving tips regarding buying groceries?
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