Cost Effective Eating: Why eating healthy is better for your budget

October 19, 2020

There is a myth that eating a healthy diet is expensive however we have known for some time that if you take into account multiple factors this is far from true.

Eating healthy has actually been shown to reduce the likelihood and duration of colds and flus as well as prevent and reduce our risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer to name a few.  This means that and if you eat a healthy diet you would not be needing to take time off work for illness and spend as much money on doctor visits, tests and medications for years to come.

Eating a healthy diet means you do not need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on vitamin, mineral or herbal supplementation each year, you will get what your body needs from eating a range of foods.

Unfortunately eating a sensible healthy diet does not ‘sell’.  The fad diet industry is multi-billion dollar often selling you a lie with unqualified authors, muddy science and promised short term ‘miracle cures’.  Make  promise to yourself to never buy into these things again.  The evidence says that about 80-90% of people that lose weight quickly with these methods put even more weight back on and the experience leads to more of a negative impact to health and wellbeing.

Here are some things you can do to help you cut costs on your food budget.

 At the shops

• Choose healthy everyday foods from the 5 food groups: wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, meat/meat alternatives, dairy/dairy alternatives and healthy fats/oils. In fact choosing more legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils) and plant based foods is cheaper and healthier.
• Choose whole foods in order to cook from scratch.  Your knife skills will improve over time, you may even get more creative in the kitchen and you will not be spending extra money on pre-chopped vegetables and pre-made foods like pre-prepared meals, sauces, dressings and marinades.
• Limit your purchasing of sometimes foods to only special occasions. These are high in sugar, fat and are of little nutritional value. As a hose rule avoid them having a home in your home.
• Make a list and stick to it. Plan what foods your family will eat for meals and snacks over the week, get in and out as quick as a flash! You could even time your shopping trip.
• Avoid going shopping hungry to avoid impulse buying. We know that when we are hungry our self control part of brain does not function well  and will be actively seeking out those high fat, high sugar foods for fast energy with little nutrition.  Eating a sensible snack before shopping like a piece of fruit will  definitely help the hip pocket in more ways than one.

In the kitchen

Avoid food waste:

• Do not peel vegetables that is money wasted and tummies less full of fibre!
• Portion food out carefully when cooking and serving to avoid overeating and plan who is going to eat leftovers and when.
• Make sure your fridge and vegie storage area is the right temperature and getting the appropriate amount of air ventilation by adjusting the vents.

Avoid the tempted take-away or eating out

• Cook extra to have leftovers the next day
• Have some quick and easy meal written on a list on the fridge to remind you. Some ideas include:
  • Baked beans or banana and peanut butter on toast
  • Spanish omelette or frittata
  • Boiled egg salad with bread
  • 2 minute noodles with frozen veg and tofu
  • Vermicelli noodle salad with a can of beans.
• Have some healthy meals that you have cooked frozen ready for times you do not have time to cook. Good options include fried rice, bolognaise sauce, soup or a casserole.
• Get all members of the household involved with some of the food prep so many hands make light work and even the kids learn the very important life skills of cooking a balanced meal. Perhaps allocate one person to cook each day of the week.

In the garden

There are many things you can grow that will make meals more interesting and cheaper than purchasing from the shops. Some easy to grow foods include:

• herbs:  parsley, oregano, basil, chives, rosemary, coriander, lemongrass, sage, mint
• vegetables:  shallots, lettuce, spinach, snow peas, choko, sweet potato,
• fruit: berries like raspberries, blueberries or perhaps a mulberry tree, grapes, avocado, nut trees
• edible flowers can be used for flavour or decorating instead of sugar coated decoration: nasturtiums, violets, rose or marigold petals and any herb flowers,
• tea- peppermint, camomile, lemon verberna, rosemary, even some scented geraniums make lovely teas like rose or cinnamon geranium.

  With so many healthy tips to try imagine how much money could you save in a whole year.