A healthy and balanced diet does not always mean more expenses. We can reduce our expenses without having to reduce the quality of our food. Small but important changes in our daily lives can help us achieve this.
Some practical tips to eat healthily and shop economically are:
- Schedule your meals
Use one day each week to plan your meals for the next week. Next, make a list of the things you need from the supermarket, after you have of course checked your fridge and cupboards for existing food. Plan to buy only what you know you will use so you do not end up throwing away a lot of what you bought.
- Stay on the supermarkets’s list you have built
It is very easy as soon as you enter the supermarket to be led to involuntary and expensive purchases. Follow the list you have made faithfully. In addition, there are some applications that help you have the list written on your mobile so that there is no fear of forgetting it at home!
Tip: An easy way to stay on your list is to place your order in the supermarket by phone or online so that you do not get tempted by the various offers that you might find if you visited the store!
- Visit the supermarket eaten
We always go to the supermarket eaten and not fasting! Hunger can lead us to buy products that we do not really need!
- Cook at home
Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating out. Make it a habit to cook the food from the morning or from the previous day so that you do not end up with last minute solutions that are usually the food from outside!
Generally you can make food for 4 people at the same price that you would get outside food for 2 people!
- Do not buy “junk” food
You will be surprised if you calculate how much money you can give for cookies, chips, soft drinks and the like in the supermarket. By skipping unhealthy foods you can spend more than your budget on higher quality, healthier foods.
- Reduce red meat consumption to 2-3 times a month
Prefer the consumption of white meat (chicken, turkey) on a weekly basis which is definitely cheaper and contains much less amounts of saturated fat.
- Do not avoid eating fish
Fish such as sardines, anchovies, fish sea bream are important sources of essential nutrients at a fairly low cost.
- Increase the consumption of legumes
Legumes are a very economical and at the same time very nutritious solution. They can be cooked in many different ways. For example, in addition to the usual soups we all know, you can make a salad with black beans along with tomatoes, chives, carrots and parsley.
- Follow the seasonality of fruits and vegetables
Seasonal fruits and vegetables are on the one hand cheaper and on the other hand more nutritious than imported or greenhouse counterparts. So the benefit is twofold, as it benefits both our health and our pocket.
- Get breakfast from home
When preparing something from home for breakfast it is certain that we choose something more nutritious and more economical than something we would buy. A great idea for a snack at work could be a bag of mixed nuts or dried fruit or some fruit we get from home.
- Do not throw away leftover food
You do not need to throw away any portion of food that you have cooked. You can put it in a taper and store it in the freezer to consume it next week. So the next time you have not cooked, by opening your freezer you will be able to have a ready portion of cooked and nutritious food on your table in a very short time.