Healthy Eating: On A Budget

Eating healthy should be something we all strive to do for the majority of the time at least. But sometimes there is no denying it can be tricky to know how to do so cheaply. The good news is it CAN be done!

Here are some tips on how to eat healthy on a budget.

Buy foods that you can make multiple meals from and buy them in raw form as opposed to pre-prepared or pre-cooked. A pack of pre-prepared Tilda rice  makes only two meals at most and
comes in at £1.59. Buy the raw form and you're paying less for more meals. For example, 1KG bag of this Tesco rice is only 99p and will make meals for days on end! (If you wanted to go one step further the Everyday brand rice from Tesco is 45p for 1KG!). And this isn't exclusive to rice. Potatoes and Pasta can all be bought very cheaply and each will provide multiple meals you can spread throughout the week. Plus you can freeze your leftovers to eat later in the week. You can cook them in many different ways and add herbs and sauces for variety.

Pre-prepared meals are more expensive because they need someone to be paid to make them and they take longer to produce than raw ingredients. Loose fruit/veggies for example, are often cheaper than packaged so be sure to look around and do your homework.

Freeze leftovers. Leftovers make for another meal. For example, when I have leftover rice dishes I pair them with veggies the next day for lunch.

Cut back on meat (or cut it out completely) and watch the price of your weekly food shop sail down.  Meat is one of the priciest food items you can buy and it does more harm than good. Make more veggie dishes, they are quicker, easier and far cheaper. You'll help the planet, animals and people in the process because animal agriculture is our number one cause of global warming. Win-win.

Fresh fruit and veg have a reputation for being expensive. If you're buying organic branded-fancied-up stuff then sure, you'll pay more. Buy supermarket brand and you'll see a huge price difference. Want to go one better? Visit your local markets, they often have special deals and cheaper options. If fresh fruit/veg is hard to come by, tinned versions come in just as cheaply. Look out for offers to get more for your money.

Frozen food keeps for longer and goes way further than fresh. Frozen veggies are a cheap, fantastic option that you can make multiple meals with. Look out for deals on these too. Supermarket own brand frozen veggies are usually much cheaper too.

Frozen fruit is a fabulous option but consider freezing your own as this is usually cheaper than pre-prepared frozen fruit.

Shop during 'happy hours'. Many supermarkets reduce the price of certain products toward the end of the day. Use this as a time to stock up.

Alternatively, visit different stores when and where possible. Sometimes local stores can be far cheaper so it never hurts to explore your options.

I hope some of these tips helped you in some way! Let me know your favourite ways to eat healthy on a budget!