How-To: Eating Healthy on a Budget

Many people have the misconception that eating healthily has to be expensive. And while many of us debate about the meaning of "healthy foods", for the purpose of this post I will limit the definition to general whole foods as I do not eat organic, non-GMO, or gluten-free foods.


Sales! Sales! Sales!!

The key to eating relatively cheaply is to keep and eye on your weekly grocery ads. Different meats, veggies, and fruits are on sale at different times of the year, so I recommend stocking up while you can. Different preservation methods come in handy if you want to buy everything in bulk. Freezing is the easiest, with canning and dehydrating also being valid, but more involved choices.

I keep a pen and paper handy while looking at the online ads and jot down the things that are on sale and the prices. I actually just did this, so I'll include the list that I made. Keep in mind that your prices may vary from mine as different regions have different sales. I also included the price per ounce (28g) for the purpose of meal cost tracking.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - $1.79/lb (0.11/oz)
Swai Fish Nuggets - $1.49/lb (0.09/oz)
Swai Fish Fillets - $2.29/lb (0.14/oz)
Ground Beef 80/20 - $2.89/lb (0.18/oz)

White and Red Potatoes - 3lbs/$0.99 (0.02/oz)
Long Grain Rice - $0.45/lb (0.03/oz)
Pinto Beans - $0.69/lb (0.04/oz)
Sweet Potatoes - 5lbs/$0.99 (0.01/oz)

Green Peppers - 3lbs/$0.99 (0.02/oz)
Cilantro - 4bundles/$0.99 (who the hell knows, cheap)
Brown Onion - 3lbs/$0.99 (0.02/oz)
Spinach Bunch 2/$0.99 (0.03/oz)
Avocado 2/$0.99 (Varies based on size)
Roma Tomatoes $0.89/lb (0.06/oz)

Sharp Chedder Cheese 24-32oz block - $7.99 (0.25/oz)
Crema Mexicana - 2/$4 (Not sure until I see how many tablespoons are in each, but cheap)

Frozen Mixed Veggies 32oz/$1.99 (0.06/oz)
Corn Tortillas 72ct $2.29 (0.03/tortilla)
Tomato Sauce 3can/$0.99 ($0.04/oz)

Plan Ahead!!

Meal planning can be a very effective tool in both sticking with your diet and staying within your budget. I decided to base my dinners for next week based almost entirely on what is on sale. However, I am assuming that you have spices, garlic, tomato sauce, chicken stock, and hamburger buns already. Ok, not hamburger buns, but definitely the rest. If you don't have chicken stock, then at least chicken bouillon cubes? Do you even pantry brah?

So I threw together 7 meals based on the sales. Order them the way you wish.

Fish Tacos with spanish rice and mashed pinto beans
Fish Nuggets with roasted potatoes
Fish Fillet with rice and mixed veggies
Burgers with roasted potato wedges
Grilled Chicken with rice and mixed veggies with avocado
Grilled Chicken with baked sweet potato and a spinach salad w/ tomato
Chicken Stir Fry


Meal Cost

Ok, now let's break it down by cost per meal.

Fish Tacos (8oz Swai nuggets($0.72), 2 tortillas($0.06), 2oz Roma Tomato ($0.12), 1oz cheese ($0.25), 1oz rice ($0.03), 2oz Tomato Sauce ($0.08), 2oz Brown Onion ($0.04), 44g Pinto Beans ($0.06), 2TB Crema (Pennies?)

This comes to a meal cost of about $1.36. Let's say $1.45 for the sake of factoring in the cream, two garlic cloves, and one tablespoon of canola oil. Holy **** that is cheap!!

And for the nutrient breakdown. Keep in mind that this will probably make the 1200 calorie per day crowd gasp, but for the rest of us this is easily doable.

Calories: 750
Protein: 50g
Fats: 35g
Carbs: 80g
Fiber: 20g

Which is pretty darn good considering that this is the most calorie dense of all the meals I listed.

In any event, I do hope that this helps some understand the process that makes cheap, healthy dinners possible and apply a similar method to their breakfasts and lunches.