Eating Heathy on a Budget

Since I get this question often, I thought I'd talk about it a bit here.

I realize that junk food is typically less expensive than  healthy food. But there's ways around it! You can still eat healthy with just a little planning and a possible change in mindset.

Here are my tips, but I'd love to hear yours in comments below!

* First, always, always, always check the weekly ads for your local grocery stores online. Write down all the things you *may* be interested in and what the sale price is and at what store. Once you've done this for all your local stores, compare the items and their prices. Whichever store has the most items you may need for the best prices, you'll want to go there.

* Since you're eating some protein with every meal (every 3 hours), you'll want to find some protein sources that are inexpensive. (You ARE eating a little protein every few hours, right??). Meat does not need to be the only protein source you have. In fact, any vegetarian or vegan will tell you that you don't even need meat at all and you can still get plenty of protein. Some options include: black beans, kidney beans, cannelinni beans, lentils, nut butters, and greek yogurts. Other beans will work too, these are just some thoughts to get you headed in the right direction. You can incorporate beans into a TON of meals. Add them to salads, put them in your casseroles, your soups, etc. Buy your beans in bulk instead of cans to get the most for your money. Get creative, and definitely check out some recipe websites. I love using www.allrecipes.com

* If you are going to use meats as well, buy things such as boneless skinless chicken breasts (more convenient than whole chicken or skin-on types). But only buy them whey they are at the cheapest during the sale cycle. I typically only buy them when they are the lowest, which around here, is $1.99 per pound. I stock up because they won't be that low again for several weeks. Look for discounted lean meats as they approach their expiration date & freeze it. Just eat it before the new stuff you have stored!

* Use Whole grain brown rice in lots of meals. If you buy it in bulk and not in the '10 minute' packs, it's extremely inexpensive and it's filling, easy on your blood sugar and goes with TONS of foods. Use it in casseroles, as a side dish, or under grilled chicken with yummy sauces. Some people even use it in place of spaghetti noodles, etc. Get creative here too!

* Buy frozen veggies when they're on sale. They are fresher this way than in the cans. And they stay good for MUCH longer than fresh produce, so you don't waste money on that bag of fresh carrots you bought that went bad before you could use half of them. Of course  use fresh when it's something you really prefer - or if you use it alot. For instance, we use broccoli alot. I put it in casseroles, in salads, and in stir fry. So I can buy fresh broccoli and it won't go bad before I finish it. But if it's cheaper frozen that week, I'm not afraid to use it that way either. Whatever works!

* Double your dinner recipes so you can use leftovers for lunches. It'd typically cheaper and healthier if you cooked your own food rather than getting TV dinners or lunch out somewhere. Just make sure if you're doing this that you ARE making healthy dinners! :)

So that's all I can think of for right now.

What are your best tips for eating healthy on a budget, please tell us below!

~To Your Health~

A few recipes

So, a few healthy recipes that I use often. Keep in mind I'm not a gourmet chef. And I typically have to cook quickly due to workout schedules, work & relaxing time in the evening. So having said that, here you go!


Quick Chicken Bake
(makes about 4 servings)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (or tenderloins)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)

1 cup water

½ bag of frozen green peas (or broccoli, or whatever veggie you prefer!)

1 cup Cous cous or quinoa

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper if you like it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle a little olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Let the pan heat for a minute. Add chicken to the pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, flip over and cook 2 more minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the cream of mushroom soup & water until smooth. Put mixture,  frozen veggies & cous cous or quinoa, and partially cooked chicken breasts into a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Check cous cous, when it’s tender it’s done. Double-check chicken to make sure it’s not pink inside. If it needs more cooking, just pop back in for 5-10 minutes.

Healthier Spaghetti

(Makes about 4 servings)

1 lb very lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey

1 jar of Prego or Ragu, etc

1 small can of plain tomato sauce

Italian seasonings such as basil, oregano, parsley & garlic, etc

Optional: Capers & black olives

Whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Brown the meat on med-high heat in a pot. While it’s cooking, add in the basil, oregano, parsley & garlic – about ½ tsp of each. When meat is browned, drain any fat off that accumulated. Add in the jar of prego or ragu, the can of tomato sauce, capers and olives if you'd like. Cook over med-high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn down to low heat and cook another 5 minutes.

While sauce is warming, boil water & cook several servings of noodles according to package instructions. Make sure you check the serving size of noodles!

Drain noodles, place 1 serving of noodles on a plate and about 1/2 cup of sauce on top of the noodles. You should not need parmesan on top, but if you do, make it just a light sprinkle.

Quick Tilapia Bake

6 Tilapia filets (from frozen for easy-factor)

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

Lemon juice from concentrate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or according to frozen package instructions)

Place tilapia in a baking dish. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Top with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Add about 1 tablespoon lemon juice on top of filets. Cover with aluminum and bake for 11-13 minutes (or according to package instructions). Check fish, if it flakes easily with a fork, it's done.

While fish is baking, steam some veggies - from frozen if you'd like. Top steamed veggies with a dash of salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.

Hope you like these! I'm happy to share more, just let me know you'd like more - comment below!

~To your health!~