When asked why the hesitation to “eat cleaner,” many will give you the same answer: the price! Thinking about eating healthy on a budget can seem near impossible. Yes, eating healthy can be expensive however, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice eating healthy to save your wallet. Here are several thrifty ways to shop to fuel your body without breaking the bank.
1. Buy in Bulk.
For those of you that have memberships to stores like Sam’s and Costco, this is a great hack to save a little extra money. Buying pantry staples or produce that keeps longer in bulk is a great way to get the biggest bang for your bank.
2. When possible, go for frozen over fresh.
If you can, buy your produce from the freezer section. Not only will this help you from buying produce that goes bad before you can actually eat it, but it also is noticeably less expensive. And don’t fall for the old “frozen is not as good for you as fresh.” The taste may be slightly different, but the quality is very close. Frozen vegetables are frozen shortly after harvest so have a very close nutrient profile to fresh vegetables. The same goes for canned fruits and vegetables; just watch out for fruits packed in sugary juices. Choose fresh first, frozen fruit second, and canned fruits third.
3. Reach for the store brand.
When purchasing foods with similar quality and ingredients, consider sacrificing the name brand. For example, are you grabbing pizza sauce or whole wheat pasta? It’s okay to bypass the name brand and grab the store brand option. Chances are, you will be getting food with the exact same taste and ingredient list for a significantly lower price. To note when purchasing raw meat, it’s probably best to pick the better source over the better price.
Yes, sometimes eating healthy can be expensive, especially when you look at the prices of some shakes, supplements, and powders on the market today. While those can all be helpful to getting in some extra nutrients, they are in no way essential to making healthier choices at the grocery store. With a little extra searching and swapping, you can leave the grocery store feeling good about your nutrition and your finances.