Healthy Eating on a Budget

Many people think that healthy eating is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be the case.

Global economic crisis, financial turn down, recession…there is no escaping the realities of what is happening to the economy at the moment. Many people think that healthy eating is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be the case. We have listed some ideas to help your family eat a healthy balanced diet, and save you money.

Shop smart:

• Prepare a shopping list and stick to it.
• Plan meals for the coming week.
• Don’t shop when you are hungry as you buy more food when you’re hungry.
• Bulk buy non-perishable items such as rice and pasta.
• Bulk buy quantities of meat and freeze.
• Choose products that are on special. Create your meals around these items if possible.
• Shop around for the best price. Try your local butcher, green grocer or fresh food market.
• Buy fruit and vegetables when they are in season (they are cheaper and better quality).
• Take advantage of unit pricing, bulk products are not always cheaper so compare the unit price.
• Avoid buying prepackaged foods such as cakes, biscuits, chips as they have limited nutritional value and can be expensive.
• Aussie Famers Direct or similar services offer great deals with no delivery costs.
• Buy cheaper cuts of meats. Visit FOODCents Meat Cuts for a list of inexpensive cuts.

Cook smart:

• Plan meals in advance.
• Avoid buying take away meals as they are generally more expensive than making it at home.
• Plan meals around your vegetables.
• Add inexpensive vegetables to meat-based dishes to decrease the cost and make the meal go further.
• Add legumes (e.g. chick peas, lentils, kidney beans, butter beans) to meat-based dishes to decrease the cost increase portion sizes.
• Canned or dried lentils can be added to mince dishes, such as bolognaise and chilli con carne.
• Tofu is an inexpensive protein food and it can be used to replace meat.
• Frozen vegetables have a much longer shelf life than fresh vegetables.
• Cook in bulk and freeze some leftovers for lunch or dinner (remember to write the date on the container).

Storing your vegetables properly will help them last longer. Visit our handy kitchen tips page for storage tips.

Further reading:

• The Real Cost of Healthy Food - developed by Dietitians Association Australia and NSW Health
• FOODcents - A smart way of spending your money on food to balance your diet and your food budget.
• Dietitians Association of Australia - Healthy Eating on a Budget (with a food/price comparison table)