Many people believe that shifting to healthy eating can cost you a fortune and make a hole in your pocket. It is a mass belief that you have to eat more junk and skip healthy eating to be economical.
On the contrary, eating healthy can help you to save money and at the same time change your eating habits for good.
The money-saving factor in healthy eating habits
Firstly, most of the junk food available in the market does not do any good to your body and provides no energy. It just contains empty calories that increase the fat and cholesterol content in your body to make you lethargic and slow.
Most of them provide a quick burst of energy followed by exhaustion and increase hunger after some time.
The foods that actually provide us nutrition and energy are easy to find, but most are overlooked because of the vast availability of junk food.
When you starve, it is always easier to hog on to jump to junk rather than sticking to healthy options.
Fortunately, you do not have to sacrifice anything to shift to healthy options. With a little planning and budgeting, you can shift to a healthy diet without making a hole in your pocket.
In Ireland, many money lenders provide you instant loans to fund your expensive food choices but do not get trapped in these loans and instead make informed choices to stay away from any debt.
Ways to stay healthy on budget
- Prepare a shopping list
Before going food shopping, prepare a weekly list to plan your meals. Check with the ingredients you already have and write for the items you need more to prepare your dishes.
Do not shop when you are feeling hungry. You may end up buying a lot more stuff than required. Also, when you are hungry, you are more inclined towards junk food and may make unfavorable choices.
Junk food contains extra fat and sugar that is not required by the body and makes the body more lazy and fat.
- Avoid wastage
It is observed that an average family wastes and throws almost £60 of food every month. Do not waste food and be strict with your purchasing. Buy what you actually want to eat.
If you have any leftover food, freeze it and use it later. You can get storage boxes and store your food in those boxes for your later use.
- Use leftovers for your lunch
One good way is to cook extra food for your evening meal and use the leftover meal the next day for your lunch. Freeze the food for your next day so that you can log on to the home-cooked food to avoid buying and eating junk food.
You can also look for various tips online to use preserve and use your leftovers safely.
- Buy frozen foods
You can go for frozen fruit and vegetables as they come ready to cook and eat. They are chopped and ready to use. One good factor is that they are cheaper than the fresh food varieties.
These frozen fruits and vegetables are sealed with freshness and nutrients and can be used instead of buying fresh fruits and veggies. You can also look for various tips to freeze and defrost all the fruits and vegetables to use when you want.
- Try cheaper brands
Instead of going for high-end brands, make a shift to cheaper counterparts. You can save money by changing your buying preferences.
You can find various cheaper counterparts without compromising on the quality.
Do not make your taste buds dependent on the shiny tags. Instead, give your taste buds exposure to the affordable range and be the judge.
You can make an informed choice once you have consumed the cheaper varieties. Also, check out for ways to how food labels can help you make healthier choices.
- Shift to vegetarian food
If you are a non-vegetarian, you must be spending a major amount on buying fish and meat. Typically, they are the most expensive food items on your shopping list.
Instead of buying meat and fish, you can buy more vegetables for yourself and store them to use the next day. If not shifting, you can try some vegetarian dishes during the week and save some money.
Along with money-saving, it will also keep you healthy and fit. To avoid non-vegetarian food, you can join meat-free groups and make it fun for you.
- Cook pulses often
When you visit supermarkets, you can grab some pulses such as peas, beans, lentils, etc., as they are the cheapest options available and the healthiest.
Although these pulses come under packaged items but are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins, you can use these pulses in your chicken or meat dishes and make tasty meals.
Conclusion
Health is not an expensive deal. You just have to be aware and alert to stay healthy. Do remember to intake full nutrition when on a tight budget. You can make healthier food choices and take care of your finances at the same time.