Myth Busted: Eating Healthy is Expensive

We are returning home from the grocery store with sticker shock, a sign of the times with increased prices and smaller packaging. It’s easy to let our mindfulness with food shopping slack a bit. We get lazy and look to see what we can grab quickly.

It’s time to reel it in and focus on whole, nutritious foods, less prepackaged foods, cut back on our dining out, and carry out expenses. It is possible to eat nutritiously on a budget.

There are all these fancy foods out there. It seems like everything is cauliflower these days or Keto. Packaging labeled with the latest diet fad; it’s large, colorful, and enticing. The food manufacturers want you to pick their product because it has better ingredients than others on the shelf.

We have all seen these trigger words, “fortified with,” “enriched in,” “organic,” “natural,” “Non-GMO,” “Gluten-Free,” all words to catch your eye and grab their product because it’s good for you.

When you grab the box or package, you pay a higher price. You pay for the convenience, and more times than not, you didn’t read the label and had no clue its actual nutritional value. Labels, that’s a blog for another time.  

There are easy ways to save money while eating healthy and not breaking the bank.

Here are four tips to help you do that:

Plan and Prepare: plan your meals ahead of time. Review your menu make your list. This step allows you to check local grocery store websites for weekly deals and store coupons.

Planning meals for the week also helps eliminate food waste, which is good for your wallet. Use the freezer if you make too many meals and will not eat all the food within a few days.

Grabbing a frozen homemade meal and thawing it out for a meal saves time, money and you know what you are eating.  

Shop-in-season: Fruit and veggies in their peak season are full of flavor, and their nutritional value is at its peak. Buy locally grown fruit and veggies for the best bang for your buck.

A visit to your local farmers’ market makes for a fun Saturday morning. Local fruit and veggies don’t have to be transported long distances, keeping their cost down.

If it’s wintertime, you can find delicious oranges, grapefruit, squash, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. If you have a taste for something not in season, look in the frozen food section of your grocery store.

Frozen fruit and veggies are just as nutritious as fresh as harvested at their peak ripeness and nutritional value.  

Bulk Shopping: Often, a visit to the big box store will allow you to buy a higher volume at a lower price per serving.

Purchasing perishable items in bulk, like chicken, beef, fruit, and veggies, takes some planning to be sure you will be able to use or prep and freeze what you buy before the expiration date or spoil date.

Dry goods like pasta, rice, beans, coffee, nuts, pantry staples are good deals and will save you money. 

Grow your food: Growing your food is a great way to save money and enjoy fresh fruit, veggies, and herbs at home.

Small space or large space, you can make it work for you. From windowsill to a balcony, a square foot raised bed on a patio to a patch of land out your back door.

The possibilities are endless. To get the most from your garden space, begin with high-yield plants such as lettuce, bell peppers, garlic, squash, tomatoes, and broccoli, to name a few.  

The Easy Way Out: You will now find many convenience meals at your grocery store. These are made fresh in the store, saving you a step in preparation time.

You can find premade salads and sandwiches in the deli. In the meat section, premade meatloaf of stuffed chicken breast. Because they pay the employees to meal prep for you, the price is higher.

Ordering carryout from a local restaurant, save it for the weekend. Frequent dining out is an expensive way to eat. Only pay for convenience when you need to. Find an hour or two each week to plan and prepare your meals, so you don’t find yourself in a bind and taking the easy way out. When you prepare healthy meals, you know what is in them.

They will be fresh and nutritious, not full of preservatives and ingredients that you can’t even pronounce. You will be amazed how much lower your grocery bill will be when you don’t take the easy way out. 

Start with one of the tasks listed above and begin. Find what works best for you, stick with it, and I guarantee that you will have a healthier wallet, body, and a sense of pride over a year. You take control and can eat nutritiously on a budget.

We’re here for you at the K Factor. Take action and contact K Factor Coaching today.