Healthy Eating on a Budget: How to Make Healthy Food Choices Without Putting a Dent in Your Wallet

“Proper nutrition is expensive.” Anyone who eats healthy hears this statement at least once in a lifetime. The opinion that a healthy diet comes with sky-high costs is firmly entrenched in people’s minds. Indeed, proper nutrition recipes often look like a list of fictional ingredients for brewing a potion. And yes, some of them are clearly beyond the reach of an average American. But there is exceptionally affordable nutritious food and useful tips on how to cut grocery bill and still eat healthy. Thus, it makes it possible to stick to a healthy diet without spending the entire budget. So, let’s delve deeper into the topic.

What Is an Average Budget for Proper Nutrition?

Most research shows that following some basic healthy dietary guidelines typically costs between $1,000-$1,200 a month for a household. Thus, it is about $12,000 to $14,400 annually, depending on the age of the family members and the percentage of fruits and vegetables in their diets. For comparison, the average middle-income US family spends nearly $6,200 on food annually against the approximate low-income family spending of roughly $3,850 per year.

However, everything depends on how you value the price. Healthy eating is a huge contribution to your future well-being and one of the ways to reach a completely new quality of life. Furthermore, there are still some tips that can help you reduce the cost of your grocery bills while sticking to a healthy diet.

5 Affordable Products for Your Healthy Diet

1. Grains. For example, oatmeal or brown rice are important sources of energy, fiber, and complex carbs that saturate you for several hours. In addition, they contain the optimal ratio of vitamins and trace elements.
2. Eggs. Eggs are affordable, dietary, and healthy products that can be a part of various healthy meals. However, take note that it is recommended to eat no more than 1-2 eggs per day.
3. Meat. Meat is a source of protein that contains building material for the body and essential amino acids. And it also saturates you for a long time. Affordable protein options are chicken, lean pork, and fish.
4. Vegetables. Vegetables are low-calorie and contain a lot of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is recommended to use seasonal vegetables, such as cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, carrots, and onions.
5. Dairy. Dairy products with low fat (but not fat-free) contain enough protein as well as calcium and phosphorus. They saturate your body and help your bones, teeth, and nails to be strong, as well as your hair to look healthy.

Useful Tips on Cutting Your Grocery Bill

Shop Smart. Watch the shop’s emails with the lists of discounts and pay attention to some local shops or product substitutes instead of the expensive ones you always go with. Also, never shop hungry to avoid unnecessary spending.

Use coupons and apps. The next time you see the coupon or flyer, take it instead of ignoring or throwing it away. It usually contains useful information on upcoming sales and discounts. There are also several apps that provide users exclusive offers and cashback on all purchases.

Grow your plants. Take a look at your shopping list. Maybe there are some points that you can plant at home. If yes, consider planting them instead of buying them to cut your grocery expenses. It will help you not only save money but also access organic plants of good quality all year round.

Cut down the alcohol. Alcohol is not only bad for your health, but also makes up a significant part of your budget. Keep it to a minimum, and you will probably be surprised by how much it relieves your budget.