5 Tips For Eating Healthy Without Breaking The Bank
As you grow older, you begin to realize the importance of our health. This is probably the reason why you want start to register at the nearest gym, quit harmful habits, and be more in tune with your sleeping routine. However, one important factor to be healthy lies in the food you put in your bodies every day.
However, eating healthy is easier said than done. One of the reasons why it’s difficult to fully transition to a healthy diet is because of your old eating habits, especially if you’re used to junk foods, eating out, or having your food delivered. The good is your old, unhealthy habits can be remedied by the proper drive and motivation to be healthy. Still, the main hindrance as to why you can’t fully eat healthy food is because of your finances and the cost of food.
This article hopes to offer some ways on how to eat healthy without breaking the bank. This way, you get to save money and your health both at the same time! Thus, whether you’re a student on a budget or just want to save money while still remain healthy, take the following tips into consideration:
Go For Cheaper Alternatives
Just because it’s cheap, it doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy or non-beneficial for your healthy route. In fact, resorting to cheaper alternatives actually means going back to the basics. When we say the basics, this refers to the idea of ditching out expensive options and going for simple yet healthy alternatives.
For instance, instead of buying a branded cooking oil, you can simply opt for unbranded ones. When it comes to your spices, make sure you only purchase the staples, such as pepper and salt, instead of buying ones that you may never use.
Also, if you want to have a refreshing source of protein, you can resort to the peanut butter and banana smoothie recipe by 28bysamwood.com among other recipe sites. Still, make water your primary beverage.
You can keep these alternatives in mind when you’re planning for your meals.
Cook At Home
Although eating at restaurants may be the most convenient choice, this isn’t the case for someone who’s on a tight budget. Luckily, cooking at home is way cheaper than eating out or having food delivered. Also, since you’re the one making your meals, you can rest assured the ingredients in your dish are fresh and healthy.
The problem, however, many people believe they don’t possess the required skills to make a healthy meal. Fortunately, there are already plenty of beginner-friendly recipes found almost anywhere nowadays. This means you can find a healthy meal that you can make at the comforts of your home suited to your skills.
Who knows, with months preparing your own meal, you may get fond of cooking, upgrading your current skill sets so you can start whipping out restaurant-quality meals.
Start Planning Your Meals
Now that you’ve decided to frequently cook your meals, the next tip for eating healthily without breaking the bank is to start planning your meals.
Planning your meals ensures that you get to consume healthily, but yet stay within your budget. This is for the obvious reason that when you plan ahead, you get to know what you’re going to cook, which, in turn, enables you to know what ingredients you’ll use. Since you already know the kind of ingredients you’ll use, you’re also able to prevent spoilage, which is definitely a waste of money.
Additionally, when you get to envision your meals in advance, you’ll also know when and where to shop for the ingredients. By knowing this, you have ample time to conduct some research on possible coupons or discount codes, saving you money.
Buy In Bulk
Since you already have a plan in place, you already have an idea of what items to buy in bulk. Buying items in bulk may be way cheaper than buying them one by one. Conveniently, some grocery stores would offer discounts on some items, especially if have a huge supply but the demand is low or the item is about to expire.
This, if you see there’s a sale on their meat produce, grab the opportunity to buy it. You can then cut the discounted item into smaller pieces, freeze them, and service it across the entire week. Just make sure not to go beyond your budget and always check for the expiry date. Also, remember that just because it’s on sale, it doesn’t mean that you should buy it.
Don’t Simply Throw Leftovers
There’s always a case when you just can’t seem to finish a dish, despite you planning for it. Perhaps you may be full due to the water you’ve been drinking or the healthy snacks you’ve been munching. In this case, you may be tempted to throw away the leftovers you have. However, take note that one of the ways to eat within your budget yet healthily is to save the leftovers for your next meal.
Although this may sound repetitive and your appetite may not thank you for it, but saving leftovers doesn’t entail having the same meal over and over again. Supposed you’ve roasted chicken for dinner and you weren’t able to finish it. Then, as your lunch tomorrow morning, try to repurpose your roasted chicken dinner into a sandwich, mix it with your salad, or have it as the star ingredient in your stir fry.
Thus, in addition to planning your meals in advance, also try to look at different ways on how you can repurpose your leftovers.
Final Words: Eat Everything You Buy
As mentioned earlier, spoilage means a waste of money. This is why it’s important to have a budget and meal plan. As much as possible, try to consume everything you buy. This means it’s unnecessary to product-test an item since there’s a chance you may not like it, which will result in you throwing the item away, costing you money. When in doubt of a product, always read reviews from trusted sources first.
Essentially, make it a practice to consume everything you buy. By doing so, both your health and your pocket will surely thank you for it!