Healthy Foods to Eat on a Budget
If you are on a tight budget, finding healthy foods in the grocery store may seem like a challenge, but there are healthy and inexpensive options in every aisle of the store. As tempting as all that junk food may seem, it can actually be cheaper to eat food prepared at home. And with a little imagination and experimenting with herbs and spices in the kitchen, it will taste better too. The first key to healthier eating is having more healthy foods available to eat at home. So stop going self-service and buy no more prepackaged and processed foods than you probably have in your kitchen now. Get organized by creating a meal plan and a shopping list of the foods you need to prepare those meals. The next step is to go to your local grocery store and start shopping for whole foods that you can make at home with the kitchen resources you have there.
Increasing your consumption of whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, will make your overall food selection much easier. If the foods you are choosing contain more than 5 ingredients and include many unknown and unpronounceable items, you may want to reconsider your purchase. Counting calories, carbohydrates or grams of fat will not be as necessary when selecting foods that are more of a product of nature than a product of industry. Finding healthy foods to eat at the grocery store is pretty simple. They are found in “fresh food” sections such as the produce and refrigerated meat and fish departments. Frozen and dry aisles also contain good healthy foods, though there are plenty of unhealthy distractions too.
Healthy foods to have available at home to cook include whole foods (foods in their most natural state), fruits and vegetables, dairy products (low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs), seafood, lean cuts of pork, and meat. beef and chicken, naturally sweetened whole juices and lots of water.
The types of foods to avoid include refined grains (white flour or white rice), refined white sugar, any form of corn syrup, and anything that contains more than 5 ingredients in a box.
Making the switch to eating healthy foods requires a change in mindset, along with some imagination and preparation. It will help to make a weekly meal plan and, from there, a good, organized shopping list to take to the store. This will help you stay focused and reduce the amount of trips you make to the grocery store.
