Healthy eating isn't cheap, and who ever says it is... Well they obviously have a secret the rest of us don't possess. But eating right doesn't have to break the bank either, nor does it have to taste gross.
The first step is acceptance of the fact that at some point you're going to have to do some work. Figure out what's most important to you and focus on that. For instance, would you rather have convenience or keep your cost down?
For me, I usually think I wanna keep my cost down but convenience always wins out (boyfriend doesn't cook lol).
If you're going for saving money, here are some quick tips, but I am by no means an expert:
🔸Coupons aren't just in paper, check to see if your grocery store offers electronic coupons and what their policy on those are.
🔸Make sure you're using your best coupon, if you store only doubles paper coupons, make sure they get that before your ecoupons.
🔸Check and see if your store as a place for marked down items. Often stores will reduce the price of items getting close to date for faster sale, or products that need to be moved for new product to come in.
Okay, now convenience:
🔸Purchase veggies that are made to be steamed in the microwave, some come preseasoned.
🔸Shop in the nutritional department of you grocery store for quick skillet meals.
🔸Preplan your meals based on your weekly schedule.
🔸Buy versatile ingredients.
Okay so, like I said, nothing special. You're either going to take time clipping coupons and finding savings, or doing the prep work for from scratch meals or spending more money and getting something quick and easy, albeit with the potential to still be healthy.
But it still doesn't have to be gross. And with a little creativity you can buy just a few items and create a lot of meals with varying degrees of time and preparation.
Find things you like, and use them often. I love kale, and miraculously so does Boyfriend, who's main food groups are meat-cheese-sauce. Kale that is prewashed, precut and ready to use comes in a huge bag, and it goes bad quickly, but it's less expensive and more convenient than buying it by the bunch.
So I use it as much as I can in a short time. I sauté it, I make it into soup, I use it in eggs, I bake it for snacks, I eat it raw, I toss it in the crockpot and I make smoothies and sauces with it. It's versatile enough that my family doesn't complain about eating the same thing every night.
It may seem strange at first, the different flavors, but as your body gets less processed foods and more natural, yummy nutrients, you will start to feel better and enjoy the healthy foods more.
Other very versatile healthy foods are peppers. You can buy a small bag of mini sweet peppers that can be used in several meals. Kids will enjoy getting those choose between red, yellow and orange, and can eat them raw just as they would an apple. There are minimal seeds so aside from a rinse, they don't require cleaning and cutting.
But what if you want to put them in a stirfry? Just slice up a few short ways into cute little rings and toss 'em in the pan.
If you have far more forethought (and space) than I do, you could precut half the bag and freeze them in portions for a quick and easy go to. They can also be chopped up and added to soups and sauces. Toss some chopped mini peppers with some sautéed kale and a tbsp of premixed garlic and add it to a jar of spaghetti sauce. It ups the nutritional factor and the taste without you having to spend all day cooking.
But those are just some ideas from my kitchen. Get yourself a magnetic dry erase board and start keeping Track of when or how often you use a food, you'll know what to buy and when, and then start thinking if ways to add yummy veggies. It's okay to use the sand veggie twice in a row, just make them taste different.
This has gotten far longer than anticipated, so here's an interesting salad it threw together the other day, and look out for my next update that will be just a list of versatile foods that will make you kitchen a little healthier!
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