How To Get A Fabulous Health On A Tight Budget
When you have a busy timetable, there are issues in planning menus and shopping at grocery stores. When you have a small budget and are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle, it’s a lot more complicated.
We’ve spoken a little about each of these topics in the past, and every time, our readers respond with lots of helpful tips and suggestions. Then we were going to dig up some of the new ideas.
Below are ten of the best suggestions to make you feel healthier when you’re attached to cash and pose like a slice of cake (or a kale salad!).
- Buy fresh produce when it’s in season and freeze it.
New goods are still great, but the cost will add up fast. Stick to buy what’s going on in the season and start shopping when you get a good amount.
I’m going to buy three to four hundred ears of corn in the summer when there’s two ears for a buck (or less). You can pull it out of your ear and freeze it in your pockets, or freeze it whole (even though the former has less freezer space). And you’ve had (very good tasting) corn cheap for a couple of months. It’s the same with other vegetables.
- Look for sales, and plan meals accordingly.
If you have a loyalty card at the local grocery store, make sure you sign up to read the weekly email to see what’s on sale. Rather of looking for food based on your usual meal plan, consider planning the meal for what’s on sale.
Unless the store you usually shop at has a weekly schedule, my only advice is to print it out every week and prepare the meals for what’s on sale. I’ve been saving a lot of time recently. It would also encourage you to be creative, and maybe try some of the stuff or recipes you’ve never had before.
When you don’t like preparing, I strongly recommend that you watch the selling of frozen vegetables. Here we still get 10 bucks for 10 bucks for frozen veggies, and I often shop for tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and peas. It makes it super easy to keep a healthy thing.
- Try less expensive cuts of meat.
You should also appreciate poultry when you’re on a small budget. Look for healthy meat cuts, such as chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, and using a range of cooking methods, such as slow cooker, to make more moist and juicy meat cuts.
Prepare to love shorter cuts while you’re a meat eater! Bone-in, skin-on, hard cuts of red meat and organic meat are also dirt-cheap (and more nutritious, and flavorful!) relative to, say, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, particularly when you’re buying organic / free-range products. Don’t be afraid of (good quality) fat, particularly if you’re trying to lose weight!
The Crock-pot does a wonderful job of making cheap cuts of meat (pork butt, roast, etc.) and making it fluffy and juicy.
Search for cheaper cuts, such as lamb neck filets, pork belly and ribs, beef shine, whole chickens that yield enough leftovers, plus soup or conge carcasses, chicken livers, gizzards, etc. You should borrow a book from the library that shows you techniques to make the best of these cuts.
- Embrace whole grains and beans.
Beans and whole grains, such as quinoa, freekeh and brown rice, are a fast and healthy way to eat a lot of food and can even be a meal on their own.
I use black beans to coat my beef. You can pay $15 to get the ingredients to make chili that lasts for one person, ten meals. I mix (cooked) black beans with ground turkey and turkey burgers.
Whole grains will help you beef up your meal and make it more enjoyable, and they’re generally cheaper. Buy a box of wheat berries, whole wheat couscous, bake and cook in a single serving of salads or soups when you need them. The whole grains will also keep you happy longer and help you lose your weight.