10 Ways to Eat Healthier on a Dime

One of my excuses for not eating healthier in the past was that healthy food was more expensive than junk food. In some ways it is, but in other ways, you spend less. For example, in general, your medical bills should be less when you are living a healthier lifestyle. But for the most part I have found that it is not more expensive to eat healthier.

Here are some ways we save money now that we are eating healthier.

1. Grow your own fruits and vegetables. It's not hard and it's a no brainer for me. If you have a small area, you can grow many things in pots or small raised bed planters. Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew is a great book to get started growing your own things in a small space. Even if you grow only 3 or 4 things, you can save money.

2. If you can't grow your own, buy at your local farmer's market. The produce comes directly from the grower, is fresher and is usually less expensive. You can also buy organic products for less their too. If you missed my post about the farmer's market on my other blog, check it out here.

3. Don't buy traditional side dishes like boxed stuffing, bagged noodle mixes or boxed rice dishes. Not only are they loaded with sodium, they are not cheap. We should be getting most of our carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits anyway. If you like having a side dish like this once in a while, purchase the rice, dried beans, noodles or couscous in their plain form and make up your own side dishes. You can do wonders by cooking these things in chicken broth and them flavoring them with spices of your own without adding extra fat, preservatives, sodium and calories.

4. Invest in good quality fresh and dried spices (or grow your own). I've found that because I use a lot of spices in my cooking, I feel pampered and don't have the urge to eat out as much, plus it saves money and calories. Combine good home cooked meals with fancy china and goblets and who needs to eat out at a noisy restaurant anyway?

5. When you do eat out, use coupons whenever possible and only eat half of what you order and take the rest home. This will help keep you on your diet and you have a meal to eat the next day for "free". Take a look at their nutritional information online before you go and decide what you will eat before you get there and stick to it. Don't be persuaded by nightly specials. Not only will you likely spend more money, but you won't know what the calorie, fat and fiber content is ahead of time, which could throw off your diet for the week.

6. Plan your meals ahead of time and shop for only the items you need for that week's meals. Try to use up the items you already have before buying something new. You will be surprised at how little you can spend at the store by just "shopping" your cabinets first. This also cuts down waste.

7. Don't buy sodas and juices, drink water instead. Not only are soda and juices full of chemicals and calories, they are expensive. You need 8-10 glasses of water a day, and how can you get that, if you drink soda half the day? Eating the actual fruit is much better for you than drinking juice. Even diet soda can cause you to crave sweets, so skip it, and drink water or iced tea instead. If you don't like the taste of your water right out of the tap, invest in a filter. We have well water that has a slight sulfur smell. It's not strong enough to need a filter, so we just sit a gallon of water on the counter and let the sulfur evaporate for a few hours before drinking it. It tastes delicious and is free. You can do the same with water that has been chlorinated. Sometimes, if you let that evaporate before drinking, you may find that you like the taste without buying a filter. Give it a try.

8. Don't waste money on those 100 calorie snack packs. You pay more for the packaging and all that packaging is not good for the environment. You are also eating the same processed foods that aren't so good for you, just in smaller amounts. Instead, buy or make your favorite snacks in bulk and then package them yourself in re-usable plastic containers or invest in some little snack bags, which by the way can be reused, if you are careful.

9. Use a price book to keep track of what things cost at different stores. It takes a little time to set up initially, but once you are done, it will make shopping cheaply a breeze. I use one of those 3x5 notepads and divide the book into sections. One for produce, one for frozen foods, one for dairy, one for meat, one for breads, one for boxed and canned goods, one for cleaning products and one for miscellaneous items. On each page I list several items I shop for the most and their regular prices. I list prices for three stores that I shop at most. If I happen to be at another store and see a "good" deal, I can check my book and see if it really is a good deal. Some people also get pretty elaborate and use 3x5 cards and a recipe box to keep track of all their prices, but that's probably not necessary for most of us.

10. Buy produce that's in season or foods that are on sale and nothing else. If you shop your cabinets every week before planning your meals, you should have a good idea of what you have on hand at any given time. And if you plan your meals ahead of time, you can plan your menus around what is on sale. I've noticed that certain foods always seem to go on sale at certain times of the year and in most cases, I can stock up when they are on sale for a later meal. Buying produce that is abundant and in season is almost always cheaper than the produce that is not in season. I rarely buy anything that is not on sale or that I don't have a coupon for. That saves me money!