How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget?  How much do you spend on groceries and supplements each month? Where is the cheapest places to buy health products? These are the questions I get asked all of the time.

Searching for these answers has been a never ending quest for myself because I know the importance of quality food and products AND I do not want to have to spend my entire monthly budget on them.

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

1 . Shop Online and Do not Pay Full Price!

I am just going to start out and let you know the BIGGEST tip to save money on healthy food, products and supplements is by shopping around online.

The same products are different prices in different places!

Places like wholefoods significantly mark up prices on everything. You can buy the same quality products, but way cheaper online. Even different places online have different prices for the same product which us why I have spent SO much time shopping and comparing different sites to truly get the best deals on the products I buy the most.

Places to Shop

My favorite place to shop is Natural Grocers. I find they have the cheapest yet highest quality products. I find they are cheaper than Trader Joes or Sprouts for most things.

I also like to do 1 big Costco run 1 time a month for bulk food stuff and then shop 1x a week at Natural Grocers for the rest.

Thrive Market

• It’s the first online marketplace offering the world’s best-selling natural and organic products at wholesale prices. Think Whole Foods products at Costco prices, with the convenience of Amazon.
• For less than $5 a month ($59.95 annually), members can shop 4,000 of the highest quality food, supplements, home, personal care, and beauty products from more than 400 of the best brands on the market, all delivered straight to their doors at 25–50% below retail prices.
• Here I love to buy my food staples and pantry items like coconut and olive oil, tea and coffee, flours, and much more. I also love to buy nontoxic personal care and cleaning/home products here.
• I love Thrive because I can buy my favorite food and products at a discounted price, and they get delivered right to my door so fast (so nice with a little one around!) I also love that they always have some kind of sale or discount going on.

The picture above is my daughter digging into our monthly Thrive order:) haha!

You can get 25% off and free shipping on your first order here! 

2. Buy the staples

• Buy ingredients that are versatile and can be used for a wide variety of dishes. Instead of buying expensive spices and sauces that you might use once
• Get these basics that can transform any meal: salt and pepper, curry paste, soy sauce, hot sauce, mustard, olive oil, coconut oil, and butter and use them for all your dishes.
• Any type of food with a healthy fat and spices added to them is easy, and delicious!

3. Buy produce- not products

• Buying packaged, boxed, and canned foods tends to be very expensive. Simply buying whole foods s SO much cheaper!
• Don’t be afraid of frozen vegetables and fruits, as they’re just as nutritious as fresh, can be used in many different dishes, and have a much longer shelf life than fresh veggies.
• Foods like sweet potatoes, quinoa, rice, beans and squashes are cheap and filling and can be used at any meal.
• Avoid buying specialty items like gluten-free flours or other ingredients that sit in your pantry uneaten for months because you don’t know what to use them for.

4. Buy in Bulk

• Think of buying meat in bulk by buying a share of an animal
• Cook a whole chicken each week instead of buying breasts- way cheaper, and you get more for your money!
• Buying grains, nuts, and beans in bulk is a great money saver from buying them in cans and boxes.

5. Cook in Bulk

• When cooking, making extra of whatever meal saves both time and money. It gets expensive trying to buy single-serve food items.
• Cooking large meals and saving the leftovers for lunch is huge. Cook once, eat twice! Try making multiple servings of a meal and freezing them for later in the week.
• The easiest way to do this is to use a slow-cooker. Throw ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, and come home to a nice, hot dinner!

Recap

I like to shop around online for supplements and protein powders and find the cheapest place to find them and then shop at Costco 1x a month and Natural Grocers 1x a week.