Six Things You Can Do To Save Money While On A Healthy Diet

Most of us want to be fit and healthy, but some of us have more obstacles in our way than others. In a previous post I mentioned how we are increasingly seeing people who are in lower socioeconomic brackets struggling with obesity, primarily because unhealthy deep fried food is so cheap while foods that are perceived to be healthy are so expensive.

Some time ago, I published a post where I came up with some tips on how to save money. You can read this post here. Some of the points in that post are worth reiterating, in addition to adding a few new ones. As a person I had also been through tough financial times when I had to scrimp and save and pinch every penny in order to survive.  Today I will be discussing some things you can do if you are in a similar situation. I feel your pain too because I had been there. Here goes:

One: Keep An Eye On Sales

Of course I am referring to your local supermarket or grocery stores, not online sites. If you buy whatever healthy food item is on sale, you will end up saving money and eating it. But of course, you have to be honest about what you will and won’t eat. If you detest the taste of a particular vegetable, a sale wouldn’t be enough incentive to purchase a crate of it.

Two: Get Things In Season

Love it or hate it, the fact is that food in season is cheaper. So if you like a particular vegetable, why not buy it in bulk when it is in season? One swell idea would be to freeze the extras to tide through the other seasons. In that way, you won’t end up buying it at a dearer price when you have a craving or desire to eat that vegetable when it is out of season.

Three: Get Things From The Markets Late In The Day

Does your town have a farmers’ market? If it does, you will notice that the prices drop drastically at the end of the day or weekend as they scramble to sell off their excess food. Take full advantage of this and buy in bulk. However, the main drawback to this is that the options might be limited if you turn up at the end of the day.

Four: Plan Your Meals Well

Almost every penny pincher will tell you that planning your meals well in advance and cooking it in bulk is a surefire way to save money. Imagine being tired after a day of work when it ends so late or you are just so tired that other plans are shelved. If there are pre-frozen containers of food in the fridge, you are more likely to consume them than order take-away delivery, right? The difference in cost does add up over the long run!

Five: Use Cheaper Ingredients

Not everything you cook with has to be expensive. Beans, lentils and chickpeas, for example, can be bought cheaply, and they are full of protein too, which will fill you right up! Use it to replace some of your meat. Not only is this great, a lot of “International cuisine” such as Indian and Mexican food contains a lot of beans and rice. Why not try this?

Six: Use Cheaper Cuts Of Meat

We all know that meat is more expensive than vegetables or staples. After all, raising them takes a lot more effort, time and resources. However, just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to cut it out. You just have to be smart about it. When compromises have to be executed, your cuts of meat should be the first on the line. Cheaper cuts of meat does not mean that they are bad. You just have to try something different, like using a slow-cooker to make it tender for example.

So here we go. I hope you find these tips useful. There are other articles on the Granite Fitness Blog that contain more tips, and you can be sure that more of these will come up in subsequent posts. Subscribe today to ensure that you don’t miss out!

Mark

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