Does eating healthy and saving money sound like an oxymoron to you? How is it possible to eat healthy and save money when you can get a whole meal at McDonalds for 99 cents? Well, rest assured it is possible. It takes some effort but it’s doable and, just like exercise, your body will thank you.
Think of eating well like investing in your 401k: every little bit counts. It’s the daily investment that makes a difference rather than eating healthy one day a week. How can eating healthy be done when life is so demanding? Through a bit of trial and error though, we’ve almost cracked the code to healthy eating. There are three things that have helped steer us in the right direction to eating healthy on a budget. This includes meal planning, using what we have and sticking to our grocery lists. When we use the tips above, we see a difference in our ability to eat healthy and live within our means. Both feel pretty great!
Why does meal planning keep you healthy?
At the end of the day we are all tired and hungry, which is a recipe for bad choices. Meal planning allows you to just do. There are many meal planning apps out there, and if you prefer pen and paper, there are lots of printable meal planning guides online as well. What’s most important is that you find a system that you can do consistently whether you are using a dry erase board or pen and paper. Meal planning will help you stay healthy or lose weight and save money!
Why does meal planning save money?
If you want to save money, try to use everything that you have before buying more food. We’ve been using this routine the last few months and it’s helped us decrease food waste. A book that gives a lot of insight as to how to make the most of all your food is an Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. She will teach you how to cook with economy and grace. Every meal doesn’t have to be gourmet to be healthy and satisfying.
Are you a shop and grab type of person, or do you make a list and add a few items here and there that look good? Perhaps making a list and sticking to it sounds rigid to you. But if you think about it, when you don’t stick to your list you could end up spending $20-30 more each time you shop. If this happens four times a month, you could be spending $80-120 more per month. That would be $960-1440 per year.
Every purchase adds up. On rare occasions you’re bound to go off your list; however, whenever possible, try to stick with your list and get creative with what you have. The New York Times Cooking website is awesome if you have ingredients in your house that you don’t know what to do with, you just type that ingredient into the “what you would like to cook” box on the website.
Change takes time.
Last but not least, change takes time! If saving money and eating healthy is a priority for you, talk with a First Stop Health coach to learn how you accomplish your goals. Break your goals down step by step and allow for some wiggle room. We’re here to help!
Care you will love.
