It always seems that the best foods are either very expensive or hard to find. As a person who is always deeply aware of what stuff is going in my body, I know how annoying that can be. Especially in our world of uncertainty, it can be hard to find out how to eat healthy on a budget, thanks to multiple global factors. Inflation, supply chain issues, and tariffs all contribute somewhat to the rising cost of food around the world.
Upon closer inspection, however, this problem can easily be alleviated by making several smart food choices. There are lots of workarounds and strategies involving food that anyone can start doing today.
As we will discuss shortly, there are plenty of food types out there that don’t cost much, yet they still nourish your body very well. It is entirely possible to buy a collection of healthy foods from the grocery store for as little as $50. It all comes down to what kinds of foods you buy, and your willingness to resist the temptation to buy more expensive items.
For example, I used to be a stickler for buying prime ribeyes, luxurious food toppings (like truffle sauce), and sushi boxes. All of these are not that necessary for daily living, especially if you are on a budget. In all three of these examples, I decided to choose lean ground beef, sriracha sauce, and shrimp with rice (not definite replacements, but these are the ones I found that give me the most bang for my buck in these three scenarios). Same protein and carbs, yet such different prices.
By figuring out how I could buy good food with as little money as possible, I now do a good job at keeping my bank account more stable. In my personal experiment, I saved as much as $300 a month by choosing cheap, healthy foods that still taste good. And the best part is that anyone can do it, regardless of their financial situation!
So let’s break down exactly how to eat healthy on a budget. It is simple, but it does require you to be cognizant of your spending habits and have a general knowledge of the nutritional content of most foods. With the right wisdom, you too can save thousands of dollars per year and still live an active, healthy lifestyle.
How Do We Find Cheap, Healthy Foods?
Cheap food can be located almost anywhere where food is sold. Of course, you don’t exactly want to gamble with low-quality food, even if it is inexpensive. Most of these foods are horrible for your body and are packed with preservatives and additives (gas station meals and Oreos come to mind!). So how do you know which foods are healthy without being Whole Foods-like levels of pricey?
There are 3 important factors that determine whether a low-cost food is worth buying or not. Most of these foods can be found at literally any grocery store. I would recommend scanning most foods but not buying them, looking at their nutritional content and pricing to see if they are the right fit for you. It does require a bit of research on your end to find out whether the food you’re looking at meets these 3 attributes. They are as follows:
1-Whole, Unprocessed Single Ingredient Foods.
Single-ingredient foods, such as rice, chicken, lentils, and veggies, tend to be cheaper foods to buy. Without added ingredients or complex manufacturing processes, companies have an easier time distributing food to customers, which lowers their price value. The best part is that they tend to be the healthiest types of foods as well!
2-Recipe Versatility.
Versatility is important because if a food can be used in a variety of creative recipes, you are more likely to buy it consistently. Foods such as eggs, oats, and shrimp are quite versatile, and you can eat them almost any time of the day. When it comes to saving money, consistent food purchases allow you to more easily build up healthy spending habits.
3-Long/Indefinite Shelf Life (+ Buying In Bulk).
If a food has a long shelf life, it is more valuable as a budget-friendly food because it limits how many times you need to go to the grocery store. This will result in less gas expenditure and less time spent, which is great. Bulk foods are considered “bundled” items, so they cost less than buying multiple smaller quantities of the same food.
Buying stable foods in bulk (like rice, beans, nuts, etc.) is a fantastic way to get your fill of meals and snacks over a lengthy period of time while saving money. Of course, this doesn’t apply to most refrigerated foods, but dry foods do comprise a large part of people’s diets.
Best Food Options For Eating Healthy On a Budget
Remember to prioritize budget-friendly, nutrient-dense foods.
Bulk rolled/steel-cut oats. High in fiber and minerals. Soak them overnight in skim milk to reduce any potential bloating. Creating homemade overnight oats is very simple and saves a lot of time. Check out this recipe on peanut butter dark-chocolate overnight oats if you need some mouthwatering inspiration.
Brown rice or quinoa. Easy, cheap carbs that go well with everything. They last virtually forever in your pantry and you won’t ever have to worry about them going stale or spoiled.
Frozen fruits + vegetables. These are way better than the normal produce foods, because they last much longer.
Canned beans/lentils. Beans are the ultimate shelf-stable food besides rice and are usually dirt cheap. Black beans are my favorite, since they are high in fiber and protein. Lentils are an underrated plant-based food that has an extremely high level of protein. In fact, vegans often use red lentils as one of their primary protein sources.
Eggs. Great for virtually all important functions that the body needs to survive, and high in protein. If you buy a dozen eggs that cost $10 or less, it may sound like a lot, but keep in mind that you are paying less than a dollar for every single egg that’s inside. Even though eggs in general are becoming less abundant on grocery store shelves, they are undeniably one of the best budget-friendly food choices.
Peanut butter. Nut butters are high healthy fats and protein. Peanut butter is no exception, and is the cheapest of all of them. Even just a couple tablespoons of quality peanut butter can trick your brain into thinking you are full.
Cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. These particular plant foods are cheap, versatile, and long-lasting.
Budget fruits. Bananas, apples and avocados are good examples of shelf-stable fruits that are absurdly cheap, yet full of great nutrients. Anytime you feel hungry, it’s easy to just grab one of these and eat them, instead of making a big meal when you don’t necessarily need it.
Chicken. Poultry like chicken is usually cheaper than other types of meat. Depending on the way the chicken is cut (like breasts or legs), it can be more or less expensive. Chicken breast is the most reliable, easy-to-cook, and protein-heavy cut of chicken.
Canned tuna/salmon. Meat in general is quite expensive, but canned fish is an exception. They are full of omega-3 fats and protein. I would suggest consuming them in moderation, though, because there may be a small amount of mercury in these foods.
Ground beef. The cheapest beef option, ground beef is easy to cook and combine with cheap ingredients like taco seasoning and quesadillas.
Greek yogurt. Not all yogurts are cheap, but Greek yogurt can’t be ignored. It provides healthy vitamins, protein, and probiotics. They are often on sale in most grocery stores. Buy the brands that are low in added sugars, to prevent unnecessary carb buildup.
Healthy Meal Ideas
Combine these foods into unique, delicious meals. Creative recipes do not necessarily require expensive ingredients.
Here are some unique recipes you can create at home which include these food options.
- Canned tuna + mashed avocado
- Banana/apple + peanut butter spread
- Scrambled eggs
- Frozen Greek yogurt
- Overnight oats soaked in skim milk and mixed with cinnamon spice
- Grilled chicken w/ roasted sweet potatoes
- Beef stir fry w/ veggies (one of my favorites)
- Lentils + rice skillet
- Veggie egg muffins (requires a muffin pan)
- And lots more.
How To Shop With A Budget-Conscious Mindset
Now that you know what food types tend to be the cheapest, you can begin your experimentation. Try going to your favorite grocery stores and browse for foods that are both healthy and cheap under normal circumstances. Prioritize single-ingredient foods, like we mentioned earlier. For boxed/bagged foods, always look at the ingredients of the foods you buy. It is important to check and make sure there are no weird additives or preservatives in them.
The biggest hurdle you will face when budget shopping is resisting the urge to buy on impulse. This is the obstacle that a lot of people don’t realize they are being held back by until it’s too late. Saving money is our goal here, yet it is tempting to buy feel-good foods like cookies, bread, or the like. Make sure you have a very clear reason for limiting your spending so that you don’t have to feel overpowered by sudden urges when they come up.
An interesting challenge you can make for yourself is to set a price limit on what you can buy. If you could only spend a maximum of $50 for this weeks’ worth of food, what would you buy? Consider factors like how many people you need to feed if you have a family, and how much percentage of your income you could realistically budget on food. Setting a consistent spending plan is the first key step in figuring out how to eat healthy on a budget.
You really can save a lot of money on food if you know how to shop well. For example, you can grab bulk bags of dry goods like brown rice, quinoa, lentils, and beans for cheap prices, and they probably could consistently feed one person for an entire month. This is just one example, but it highlights what is possible even in today’s debt-ridden economy.
The benefits
Once you become consistent and skilled at budget-shopping, you can expect a lot of good things to happen to you! For one, you become really good at minimalism, which basically means you know how to do a lot with very little. You become a creative problem-solver and you are able to use what you have to create some really unique recipes.
The other obvious benefit is saving money, but if you have a steady income stream, you are also accruing more money. Simple math suggests that if you decrease spending but keep your income level the same, you will be making more money over time. Then, you can either spend or invest the extra dollars into things that are meaningful for you. People know this, yet it seems that most don’t do it! Earning and spending are both two sides of the same coin and they must be balanced. Try to manage both if you want to live financially healthy.
How To Set Up a Personalized Budgeted Meal Plan
Step 1) Create a T-chart comparing income vs. expenses.
To gain a better perspective on what exactly your inflow and outflow of money looks like, it helps to create a T-chart. They are super useful for giving you clarity and peace of mind when attempting to start a budgeted meal plan.
Here is a sample T-chart to help give you a better idea of what you can do with the resources you have. This fictional person works an entry-level office job and lives with their spouse and two children. They have experience investing in stocks and bonds, and they have a good amount of savings built up after they bought their house. This couple decides to create a T-chart, food expenditure not included, to see how much they can spend on food alone. It is quite simple to create with nothing more than pencil and paper. In fact, this style of finance comparison can be used for any number of isolated expenses that you want to work around, not just food.
In this example T-chart, monthly income is equal to $2,100, and monthly expenditure is equal to $1,030. That means they have a net profit of $1,000 available for other needs. While $1,000 sounds like a lot, it isn’t, because most of the time, we need extra money to cover things like emergencies, taking care of children, and taxes. So, realistically, this person can expect $500 per month to go into food alone in this example. By creating your own personal T-chart, you will have a real-world understanding of how much breathing room you have.
Step 2) Create a budgeted meal plan (examples below).
After you finish your T-chart, it’s time to structure your diet around your lifestyle. It is best that you choose a meal plan that best fits your income level, your available time, and any dependencies that live with you (unless you only need to support yourself). For convenience, here are 5 great ways to create your own budgeted meal plans. By adopting at least one, you will save valuable resources and keep your body healthy.
1. Use the FIFO method (first in, first out)
In this method, you decide that what you will eat today are the foods that are the closest to expiring. FIFO guarantees that you will never have to worry about certain foods getting spoiled, which ends up wasting your money as a result.
Chilled/refrigerated foods always end up spoiling first, so if you don’t know exactly what to eat or drink one day, you should start with those. For example, if you find out that your cup of Greek yogurt expires in 2 days, then you could have Greek yogurt overnight oats next morning. For foods that you don’t plan on eating right away, freezing them is a great idea to make them last for a longer time.
Overall, FIFO helps a lot when it comes to saving money and making fast dieting decisions.
2. Using sales/discounts/coupons and planning your meals around them
Some stores or websites have plenty of ways for you to save money through sales and discounts like coupons. If some of your favorite healthy foods go on sale, you can buy a high quantity of them and either save them or use them to batch create certain recipes. Speaking of batching…
3. Batching meals together
Batching is one of my favorite strategies when it comes to effective meal planning. It is such a huge time-saver, especially if you work full-time and you never have enough time to prepare meals.
To batch meals together, choose one specific time out of your week (Sunday nights usually being the most convenient). In this timeframe, prep and cook every single meal you will have throughout the week. What does this achieve? Instead of spending 20 minutes per day cooking dinner, for example, you will spend maybe 40 minutes or so cooking 5 dinners for the next 5 days. You then store these complete meals elsewhere and take them out when you’re ready to eat them.
Batching is insanely efficient and productive, and can be a useful strategy for a lot more than just food recipes. Batching saves money, too, because it encourages you to buy bulk ingredients to ensure you have the right quantity for a full week’s worth of meals. Bulk goods help families just as well as individuals, since portion sharing is abundant enough to not be an issue.
4. Make extra food/Use leftovers
There will be many times when you make certain foods like lentils and cooked meats, and you find that you have leftovers that you cannot finish. Store them for later! You can eat your leftovers for lunch the next day and save other food options for later. Assuming you eat 3 meals a day, this can help immensely for food preservation.
On a similar note, you can often cook foods higher than the serving size and plan to eat the whole meal across two separate days. For example, you can cook beef stir fry over a large pan instead of a medium pan, and save half of it for the next day. There will also be times where you pour out an ingredient box for a recipe, but you end up almost using the whole container up. Just pour the whole thing anyway! It never hurts to scale recipes above your comfortable portion sizes and save the rest for later.
5. Make a personalized menu or grocery checklist
As you do the work of budget-shopping and you become familiar with what works best for you in terms of health and affordability, you will find that it helps to remember what foods matter most to you and your financial situation. Write these foods down on a notepad or checklist so you don’t forget! This will help you stay even more consistent with your food options.
You can also use your food checklist to brainstorm creative recipe ideas. Most foods you buy can be mixed together in unique and unusual ways, potentially offering healthy balances of carbs, protein, and fat (as explained earlier).
Overall, figuring out how to eat healthy on a budget doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require vigilance and commitment. With the information provided to you in this post, you now have a clearer understanding of what foods to look out for. You also know how to create a budget-conscious lifestyle while still keeping health at the forefront of your mind.
