5 Easy Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Want to eat healthy on a budget? Join the club! Fortunately, it’s often a myth that eating healthy has to cost a lot of money. Here are five super easy ways to eat healthy on a budget.

With processed foods looking attractive to anyone on a budget ($1 for dinner!), it may sometimes be hard to resist the somewhat tempting deals for premade food in your weekly grocery flyer.

That’s why I’m here to help! (Picture me in a cape if you wish… a la superwoman coming to save you from making choices that are bad for your wallet and your waistline).

Luckily there are many options for how to eat healthy on a budget.

Some need more prep, but ultimately each one is better for your health and your pocketbook. Especially when you factor in all the “hidden” costs of a processed or industrial foods diet.

Here are 5 of my favourite ways to eat healthy on a budget:  

1. Make your own almond or other nut milk.

When you make your own almond milk, you can control the quality of the ingredients. For example, you can choose raw, organic almonds instead of roasted or conventionally grown almonds. You can save money and support your health goals by making this dairy-free almond milk in your own kitchen.

Want to know how?

Check out my tutorial on how to make almond milk. You can easily swap in other seeds or nuts, or make a blend if almond milk doesn’t float your boat!

2. Make your own salad dressings.

Want to eat healthy on a budget? Make your own salad dressings!

Even simple combinations of different oils + vinegars + seasonings are delicious. They always taste better than junk-laden grocery store salad dressings.

You can combine your favourite oil with your favourite vinegar. Oil choices like olive, flax, hemp, coconut, pumpkin seed, etc. are great. Limit canola, sunflower, safflower, and “vegetable oil” because we get more than enough omega-6 fatty acids in our diets already. Vinegar could include apple cider vinegar, white wine, rice wine or balsamic. You could also use an acid like lemon or lime juice. And what about a delicious flavoured homemade herbal vinegar?

I like a ratio of 3 tablespoons of oil per 1 tablespoon of vinegar or acid. Season well with salt and pepper. You can also add other spices or flavour boosters like fresh garlic or ginger if you like.

Homemade salad dressings provide excellent boosts in flavour for even simple salads. It doesn’t matter if it’s spring, summer, fall or winter!

Check out some of my fav salad dressings like my Creamy Citrus Dressing. This is a tahini-based dressing that will stand up to winter and root vegetables of all kinds. You might also like my Maple-Spiced Dressing.  

3. Make homemade versions of staples you buy often.

It’s very simple to make your own applesauce, your own homemade fruit jam or savoury jam/chutney, and even your own dairy-free ice cream.

Make staple foods from scratch and then either freeze or can them. This helps you cut down on waste, save money and enjoy tremendous health benefits like reduced sodium and sugar.

Cutting down on both of these is key if you want to feel well. Reducing sodium and sugar will improve your mental health, help you lose weight, and stay fit as you age. It also reduces risks of so many chronic health conditions.  

4. Grow your own fresh sprouts.

Conventional (not organic) fresh sprouts in the grocery stores often sell for $2.99 or more per plastic clamshell. But did you know you can grow your own fresh, organic sprouts for just pennies a serving?

If a seed packet costs $2-3 and yields about 12 cups, one cup of alfalfa, grown at home, might cost you just $1.12.

That’s a steal! Growing your own sprouts is super simple, too.

Want to flex your green thumb? Check out my tutorial detailing the 5 easy steps to grow your own healthy sprouts. You’ll also lots of other helpful info like where to buy sprouting seeds.  

5. Avoid the coffee chains and make your own gourmet coffee at home.

If you’re a coffee drinker and flavoured coffees are your fav, it’s much cheaper and healthier to make your own. Try adding a stick of cinnamon or a vanilla bean to your coffee grounds for a special breakfast treat.

Hopefully these ideas inspire you (and help convince you!) that you can eat healthy on a budget.

Now, what’s YOUR favourite way to eat healthy on a budget?

Life is a plate… Eat up!

Ashleigh

Looking for more ideas to save money? Meal planning is one of the best ways I know of to save money on your weekly grocery budget.