Healthy Meals on a Tight Budget
Menu Planning, Smart Snacking and Other Ways to Save on Groceries
Jun 16, 2009
Good meals are becoming more of a challenge, as groceries are much more expensive than they used to be. At the same time, many people are forced to get by on less money because of layoffs or downsizing.
That means that regularly eating out or buying expensive prepared foods are no longer viable options - so the chef of the family has to learn to make more satisfying meals with less!
Better Menu Planning, Cheaper Meals
Making a weekly (or even a monthly) menu and sticking to it is one of the best ways to avoid dinnertime panic and big grocery bills:
- Plan meals on a calendar or list and, at the same time, make a shopping list of ingredients needed for each meal.
- Consider using less meat and more beans as a healthy protein source – or make meals like chili in which beans and tomatoes make a small amount of meat go further.
- Look for grocery items that can be used for more than one meal – a large family-pack of frozen chicken breasts, for example.
Smart Grocery Shopping Habits that Save Money
Before heading to the store with that list of menu items, it's a good idea to eat a healthy, filling snack to stave off impulse purchases like candy bars and/or unhealthy or expensive snack foods. Other tips to stretch the grocery budget:
- Buy generics: For basic canned foods like tomato paste, canned vegetables, canned beans and other staples, the grocery brand is usually just as good – and much cheaper than name-brand products.
- Use coupons wisely: Don't clip coupons for "junk food" that wouldn't usually be on the shopping list if there weren't a coupon for them.
- Learn about food prices and seasons: Part of smart menu planning is knowing what fruits and vegetables are in season (and thus both cheaper and fresher) at different times of year. That not only makes for fresher, healthier dishes, but knowing what produce prices usually are makes it easier to spot a good sale.
- Bulk up: Buy large bags of fruits or vegetables instead of buying them singly.
- Buy frozen: Frozen fruits and vegetables are a great value because they often have as much nutrition as (or more than) fresh produce. And they're cheaper than buying fresh.
- Don't forget the snacks: Even though it might seem wiser to avoid snacking, that's hard to do. Healthy, filling snacks like nuts, dried fruit, trail mix or sunflower seeds are a much better choice than overly-processed junk foods.
Save Money by Cooking at Home
Cooking dinner every night can be daunting, but for those who are often too tired to cook, there are healthy shortcuts to a home-cooked meal:
- Buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket on the way home from work and make the side dishes at home - such as rice, a side salad (from a bag) and a side dish of sauteed or roasted vegetables. That's still cheaper than eating out.
- Plan at least one really easy meal per week – sandwiches or wraps, for example, or tacos from a taco kit.
- Keep the ingredients for simple meals on hand in case the meal on the menu plan isn't what the family has in mind or the cook doesn't feel up to making it! Some good choices: pasta with marinara sauce (from a jar); premade pizza crusts with jarred pizza sauce, cheese and the family's choice of toppings.
Meals made at home from scratch are healthier and cheaper than eating out or buying frozen dinners - and with a little planning, it doesn't even have to be difficult. And for some quick, easy meal ideas that are off the beaten path, see Fast and Easy Middle Eastern Meal Ideas.
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