Plan Your Meals
There’s a saying often repeated in business: Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail. This is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Now, I wasn’t around back then, so I don’t know what context he was speaking from. BUT, I do think it is applicable to diet as well.
Think about how many times you have not had a plan for what you were going to eat, and you got hungry, and you ate whatever was easiest/seen first/sounded good. And how many of those times did you end up eating something like snack food, leftover dessert or fast food?
My recommendation would be to take a few minutes one day a week to think about the week ahead and what you will be eating and where. Note what tripped you up last week (ex. got stuck in traffic and ended up home 20 min later than anticipated and was ravenously hungry), and see what you can do differently this week to help mitigate that.
Stick to Minimally Processed Whole-Foods
Think about this as eating things with non-existent ingredient labels (vegetables and fruits), or very small ingredient labels (meats, dairy).
For your budget, stick to produce that is in season. It will be better quality and less expensive. A google search can help you find what is in season for YOUR area.
Cook Your Own Meals
I already mentioned that healthy doesn’t mean super complicated. Keep meals simple. For quick meals, roasted or sautéed veggies and a grilled meat/protein works quite well.
Consider making simple dishes that you can freeze portions of for future meals or lunches. Soups, chili, stews, casseroles and frittatas work great for this.
Make sure your meal plan includes lunch. To help with budgeting, pack your own lunch. See frozen bulk meal from above.
Another tip: if you cut up vegetables, say to make a frittata. Cut more, and keep them in containers for salads. Often I like to have onion and jalapeño in my eggs. So, instead of cutting up enough for just one day, I’ll try to cut enough for the week. Just remember to use it within the week. If you throw away food, you aren’t saving money.
Plan Your Grocery Trip:
Make a List!
If you’re super familiar with your grocery store, you can make your list in order of where things are in the store. Generally speaking, the foods you want to eat more of are on the perimeter of the store, and the foods you want to eat less of are in the middle aisles. This is not always the case however. Sometimes, eggs and yogurt are in the middle. Beans and Lentils are typically in the middle as are canned goods.
But, with a list, you can only go down those aisles that have what you need in them. Avoid wandering through the store. You may pick up a lot of things you don’t need and weren’t on your list or in your budget. Every item in the store is placed to get you to buy high-margin tempting things. This is why the sugary cereals are at eye-level for kids. Notice, they are not trying to sell whole grain oats (one of the top shelves) to your antsy 5-year-old.
Read Labels
Remember the fewer the ingredients the better for you. If you’re on a super budget, you’ll need to balance that with unit pricing.
Check Unit Pricing/Buy in Bulk
I’m not a HUGE Proponent of buying in super bulk for a few reasons. But some things make sense. Dry goods like beans or lentils can be stored for a long time and price per ounce/unit can make a difference. Same with canned goods, they typically store a long time. So, where it makes sense and you know you can use it before it goes bad, buy in bulk.
Be careful if you are looking at a “buy one get one…” sale for something you need. . It’s only worth it if you will use ALL of it before it goes bad. Also, if something is on sale, but not on your list buying it isn’t “saving money”. Saving Money is only buying what is on your list (which should be what you need).
Use Coupons
Grocery stores are getting more and more sophisticated now with their customer profiling. While it can be a little creepy. It is also nice to get coupons in the mail that are for things I buy a lot. But also peruse the sales flyers and if something is on sale, perhaps plan your meals around that.
Buy Online
Some online retailers now have very competitive pricing and free delivery. Utilize this method of shopping when you can. It will also save you time. Be wary of automatic shipment services. They work great, but can cost more in the long run if you are receiving items more frequently than you use them.
Don’t Shop Hungry
Just like you plan your meals, and you’re planning your list and trip, schedule it at a time you won’t be as tempted to buy things you don’t need or want.
Budget Friendly Foods
Generic Brands
Often generic brands are as good as (or the same as) the name-brand. But they cost less. Give them a try. Sometimes you won’t notice a difference. Some times you may want to retrain your palate to appreciate them. And others, you may want to go back to the name brand. But, do it with purpose, don’t just buy name-brand because you think it’s better.
Convenience Costs More
Pre-made meals, Veggies prepared to be steamed in “ready to steam” bags, deboned pre-cut meats or pre-formed meat patties all cost more to cover the labor/processing cost to the manufacturer.
Meat
I’m not going to be all crazy and tell you to buy a whole cow and cut it up yourself. However, for my meat eaters out there, I would consider buying whole chickens and roasting them or cutting them up yourself. Additionally bone-in beef cuts are options. Look at the price per pound. Cheaper beef cuts can be used for stews. If you absolutely NEED tenderloin (fillet mignon), consider finding a place where you can buy the whole loin and cut it into steaks yourself. It’s WAY cheaper than buying them individually.
Alton Brown (TV chef) has some great videos on how to cut a loin or chicken up for smaller portions.
Keep the bones. Label the bones in a zip-top bag and stick them in the freezer till you save up enough to make your own stock or broth. It’s super simple, tasty, cheap and healthy.
Veggies
Always, buying whole veggies and cutting them yourself will be cheaper. Whole veggies will keep longer than cut ones as well. Again Alton Brown has a video somewhere on how to use a knife.
Pre-cooked beans.
If you don’t have time, by all means buy the canned ones. But they are REALLY easy to cook yourself provided you give yourself some time. Additionally, if you cook them yourself, you can reduce the salt and add whatever other spices you like. You can do a spicy (cayenne) bean, or a savory (cumin and chili powder) bean, or whatever. If you’re just cooking on the stove (not a pressure cooker or instant pot) you can probably cook a pot of beans in about 10 hours or less. It does depend on the bean and your altitude and if you put anything in it with them (like tomatos) and if you do an overnight soak or “fast soak”.
Vegan/Vegetarian Meat Substitutes
Be wary of meat substitutes out there, especially if you are looking at burger or patty-formed products. These take more prep like their meat counterparts but also will have lots more ingredients in them. Consider making your own in bulk and freezing them for future.
Frozen and Canned Foods
Frozen meats and veggies are definitely good options. You can stock up on these and have them on hand. Likewise, canned foods are budget friendly and can keep. Keep in mind, that canned goods may have additional sodium or other additives that you don’t want. So, read the label and choose accordingly. We eat a lot of canned fish (tuna, salmon and sardines).
Avoid Junk Food
Replace highly processed low-quality snacks with whole foods. Vegetables and Hummus, fruit or popcorn work well. Pop the popcorn yourself. Air or stove-popped is fine, either way it will be better for you than buying the microwavable kind or pre-popped kind.
Remember eating healthy is a continuum. You don’t have to be perfect all the time. Plan your budget, plan your meals, and plan your shopping. If you don’t already do all of this naturally, remember to be patient with yourself as you learn how to do it better. Pick good quality low cost whole foods to be the bulk of your diet. Keep meals simple and cook in bulk.