Fruit Platter (Photo credit: Matthew Kenwrick)
One of the biggest complaints about shopping and eating healthy is the strain it can have on your wallet . Kimberly Daly, healthy lifestyle expert and author of the blog SomeKindofRunderful offers these tips for eating healthy on a budget:
Don’t pass up ripe produce. My grocery store often has bags of extra ripe fruit at discounted prices—I once picked up 19 bananas for just $1.00! Cut everything up when you get home, freeze it, and you’ve got fresh fruit that will last for weeks. Frozen fruit gives a vitamin boost to smoothies, hot oatmeal, and more.
Organic is more expensive, but it’s worth it. Organic farming is better for the planet and for your health overall, because you’re not subjecting yourself—or your kids!—to toxic pesticides and other yucky chemicals. If you can’t afford the bigger price tag for all the produce you buy, stick to The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list. Buy organic apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and bell peppers. Get the conventional option for the other fruits and veggies on your list, and be sure to scrub them thoroughly before eating.
Get a whole chicken. It might seem like less work to pick up packages of pre-cut breasts and drumsticks, but it’s often more cost effective to get an entire bird. A three-pounder takes a little over an hour to cook, and then you’ve got several meals worth of food—saving you time later. You can have roast chicken for dinner on Sunday, use the dark meat leftovers for chicken tacos or lunch wraps on Monday, and toss the bones into a slow-cooker overnight to make broth for a hearty soup or stew later in the week.
Buy frozen wild-caught fish and meat. Pasture-raised beef and bison have more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than their conventionally raised counterparts. And wild-caught seafood typically contains less mercury than farmed fish. But the prices at the meat counter could have you considering becoming a vegetarian to avoid bankruptcy. Luckily, you can find tasty and affordable options in the freezer section. I love pulling wild sockeye salmon out of my freezer in the morning, thawing it in the fridge during the day, then roasting it with a squeeze of lemon and some pepper in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes—add a mixed greens salad and you’ve got a quick, healthy dinner!
Don’t forget about beans and brown rice. Not only are these staples inexpensive, they’re super healthy, too. Beans are a great source of protein and heart-healthy fiber, and brown rice has been shown to improve cholesterol and balance blood sugar. Buy them from the bulk bins in the grocery store and you’ll shave even more off your grocery bill. Cook up a big pot of each and toss them into quick meals throughout the week. Serve them in stir-fry, chili, salad, burritos, and more. Brown rice even makes a yummy breakfast porridge with a splash of almond milk, cinnamon, and fruit.
