I have heard it so many times and heck, even I used to think the exact same thing as everyone else. People often think that it is expensive to eat “healthy”. What are your thoughts?
Although many people may not agree, it can actually be cheaper!!
So here I am to prove to you that “healthy” eating can in fact be cheaper! I have even gone through the liberty of compiling a list on my top 10 tips to help you save $$$.
The proof that healthier is cheaper
Let’s take a snack item for example and look at the potential price of each.
As we can see the banana has a larger serving size of 165 g compared to the 25 g serve of chocolate. If we then look at the process we can see that there is a small difference between cost per serve, with the banana showing it is still cheaper. Then if we look at cost per kg we can see the banana is much cheaper!
If you compare the serving size with the cost you can see that with the banana you are getting more for less money. The recommended serve is much larger than that of the chocolate and not to mention the banana is more likely to fill you up and provide the body with beneficial nutrients than the chocolate.
This is only one example, but from this we can see that:
· Fruit and veg are good for you and good value for money, especially when in season. You can even buy canned or frozen which cut costs even more and are still loaded with positive benefits.
· Processed foods are much more expensive per kg
Stretch your food dollar further with these easy tips:
1. Modify your recipies
One way to bring costs of meals down is to reduce expensive ingredients and add cheaper ingredients!
Not only will adding cheaper ingredients like vegetables (especially canned or frozen) save you cash dollars, they provide many important nutrients and are better for you but they also help make a meal go further.
To help make simple swaps to your recipes try:
Increase vegetables by adding in extra vegetables or legumes to your meals
Reduce the amount of meat you put into your meals. I always try to reduce my meat to about 100g per meal.
2. Canned and frozen are just as good and steer clear of organic!!!
Some people tend to think that canned and frozen veg loose their nutrients and are not as good as fresh! Well I call BS, these are just as nourishing as fresh fruit and veg and are also much cheaper!!
Organic food items, may seem fabulous and must be healthier because they are organic right! WRONG… in my opinion the word “organic” means nothing to me. Canned, fresh, frozen and “normal” items are perfectly fine to eat! And items labelled “organic” tend be more expensive. So if you wish to save money, steer clear of foods labelled “organic”.
3. Choose the “home brand” options
Be careful of “brand named” food items they tend to be much more expensive than your “home brand”, “no frills”, Woolworths branded, etc food items.
4. Plan your week and create a shopping list
This one may not seem like you are saving money but you are reducing waste and only buying what you need and not overflling the trolley and spending money on things you simply don’t need. Meal prepping is also a great way to ensure that you reduce waste and therefore save money because your not throwing out as much foods that go bad, or spending money on lunch because you forgot to pack your lunch for work or were to tired to make it the night before (we are all guilty of that!)
5. Buy in season
Fruit and veg that are in season are usually cheaper. I absolutely love Cancer Councils list of seasonal fruit and veg! It is a great guide to help point you in the right season! (the link can be found at end of this post)
6. Shop for specials whenever you can
Supermarkets often have specials. As soon as I notice those specials I stock up! Especially when they specials are on foods that spoil or go out of date like your frozen, canned food items.
7. Compare products by kg
If you have the time do the math!
8. Avoid pre-packaged foods and keep it fresh
Sometimes pre-packaged food can be more expensive. For example, chopping your own carrots or coleslaw rather then buying it already pre-made.
9. Shop less
Instead of doing small frequent shops when ever you run out of ingredients try to do one big shop once per week or fortnight. The more time you spend at the supermarket the more likely you are to overspend. This tip works well with menu planning and having a shopping list!!
10. DON’T SHOP WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY
This is one I am guilty for. If you shop when your hungry you are more likely to overfill the trolley with foods that you don’t need which leads to $$$$. Shopping when your hungry also tends to lead to more processed and packaged snack foods which also leads to $$$$.
So don’t make the same mistakes as I do, please do not shop when you are hungry!
They are all my tips when it comes to trying to save money in the supermarket. I like to keep in simple with more fruit and veg, have a plan/list and sales!! Hope they were helpful… If you have any tips on how you like to save money please comment them below!!
Happy saving!! $$$
Enjoy xx
The tips I provide where just tips I follow myself. Here are some links to other websites that have awesome money saving tips if your looking for some extras:
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