7 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget

October 29, 2007 by Russ Turley
Filed under: Calories, General 

I was re-listening to Podcast #2 and Jeff said something that got me thinking. He said something to the effect of, “It’s expensive to eat healthy”. The more I thought about it, the more it bugged me. One should be able to buy good food that’s not processed, or at least minimally processed, that can be a part of a healthy diet while not forcing you into the poor house.

farmers market

I did a search on the Google and came up with my top 7 list of tips for eating healthy on a budget.

#7 - Buy the less expensive generic or store brands. The store brands are often the same as the major label brands.

#6 - Eggs and beans are great alternatives to meat.

#5 - Don’t eat out. Preparing your own meals is always cheaper and almost definitely healthier.

#4 - Buy lean meats in bulk, then divide up and freeze. Costco and Sams Club are your friends when making large meat purchases.

#3 - Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry. Old wives are always right.

#2 - Buy your produce at the farmer’s market instead of the grocery store. At the local farmer’s market I can buy a 5 pound bag of oranges for $1. At the grocery store they’re $1.29 a pound.

#1 - Don’t buy sodas and other sugary drinks. Drink water. Water is almost free and the money saving benefits of drinking water are totally eclipsed by the health benefits.

other farmers market

What did I miss?

Leave a comment here on the blog with your favorite way to eat healthy on a budget.

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Comments

7 Comments on 7 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget

  1. Fat Guy Radio » Blog Archive » 7 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget on Mon, 5th Nov 2007 12:48 pm

    2. [...] Fat 2 Fit Radio » Blog Archive » 7 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget See you there, Russ Russ Turley Permalink [...]

  2. Darkclear on Wed, 7th Nov 2007 9:33 am

    3. #7 is exactly rite … I’ve done work at the Hormel plant and they had the labels for the store brands beside the regular ones … when they get an order they slap the required labels on the cans and ship.

  3. Russ Turley on Wed, 7th Nov 2007 5:37 pm

    4. Thank you for your corroboration. I’m pointing my food elitist neighbor to your comment.

  4. Mel T on Thu, 8th Nov 2007 5:53 am

    5. Yes, I always try to substitute some of my meat with beans/lentils - it’s a great healthy, cheap way to make our meals go further!

    Stumbled!

  5. Russ Turley on Thu, 8th Nov 2007 4:39 pm

    6. Thanks Mel.

    I forgot about lentils. Quite a while back my wife used lentils in spaghetti sauce. I won’t say it was a success taste wise, but it did stretch the budget a bit.

  6. Fat 2 Fit Radio » Blog Archive » Fat 2 Fit Show #5 - Susan Powter Made Me Fat on Thu, 8th Nov 2007 10:20 pm

    7. [...] Links mentioned in the show: The Obesity Map of the United States People being fired or fined for being obese or smoking Using your Mind to help with Weight Loss Eating Healthy on a Budget [...]

  7. Fat 2 Fit Radio » Blog Archive » Fat 2 Fit Show #10 - Do All Diet Books Actually Work? on Fri, 14th Dec 2007 12:03 pm

    8. [...] on Leptin Study: more meals per day, lower average BMI NY Times article: Cost of Good Vs Bad Food 7 Tips for eating healthy on a budget The only 4 things you need to know about weight loss The Kimkins diet [...]

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