For maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you have to eat healthy without skipping nutrition. There is no rule of spending a lot on food to get better nutrition. It’s a myth to break before your bank account breaks. A healthy eating budget includes plenty of green vegetables, fruits, and proteins. These items are not just enriched with nutrients and vitamins, but most of them are available at a reasonable price.
“Sorry, there’s no magic bullet. You gotta eat healthy and live healthy to be healthy and look healthy. End of story.” – Morgan Spurlock.
Moreover, eating on a budget requires planning and understanding what you intake and what benefits it can provide you. Further, it involves your personal choice of food taste, need and of course the budget. We have gathered some tips for eating healthy in a budget for you; let’s have a look.
Create a Grocery List
For eating healthy and cheap buying, draw up a weekly meal plan. While going grocery shopping, make a small tour of the kitchen. Look out for the ingredients and items you already have and are missing. In such a way you can make a shopping list of things which are needed while cutting the cost of other expenses.
Keep a planned list of grocery items. It will help you hold the impulse buying and unnecessary items. Further, you can avoid extra trips. For healthy eating, add nuts, grains, and beans to the list. It is better to buy in quantity and stock up for future meal plans.
Plan Meals for Healthy Eating Budget
Planning your meal keeps you relaxed for a long time. When you are planning recipes and daily meals, you can quickly select it at any time. For example, you can make a chart of the healthy ingredients and mix-match them with different spices. Select a whole chicken and cook it at one time. Moreover, you can utilize the chicken with several other ingredients like pasta, stir fry vegetables, or pulses. In this way, to get proper proteins, nutrients, and a healthy diet.
Fun fact: Whole-grain pasta is healthy, low in carbs, and higher in fiber and nutrients. A healthy pasta dish is a good addition to your diet.
Meanwhile, consider the following chart as your healthy diet plan for a week; you can repeat the recipes in alternative weeks too.
| Days | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
| Sunday | Oat and Chia Porridge | Sushi Rolls | Grilled chicken with veggies |
| Monday | Omelet and Wheat Bread | Beetroot and feta pasta | Chicken corn soup |
| Tuesday | Banana pancakes | Black Bean salsa | Fruit and vegetable salad |
| Wednesday | Strawberry smoothie | Chickpea salad | Big BBQ chicken kebab |
| Thursday | Egg with bacon and sausages | Fresh tomato soup with cheesy cornbread | Grilled chicken wings |
| Friday | Avocado toast | Sandwich wrap and roll | Zucchini Noddle salad with chicken |
| Saturday | Apple pie and orange juice | Buffalo chicken grain bowl | Beef steak with boiled avocado |
Buy Frozen Food
We often neglect healthy food items like fruits and vegetables. The reason to avoid them is primarily the procedure to clean and chop. Therefore, to save trouble, we have frozen fruits and vegetables. They are chopped and ready to use. Also, available in variety at different supermarkets in the town with cheaper rates than fresh ones.
Eat more Vegetable
Meat and fish are undoubtedly the most expensive food items on a shopping list. Switching vegetables is a healthy diet on a budget. Also, to maintain healthy eating habits, always add a small portion of vegetables. The benefits of vegetables include lower blood pressure and reducing heart disease and stroke risk.
Cook Pulses, Chickpeas
Beans, lentils, green peas, kidney beans, green gram, and chickpeas are the healthiest and cheapest to a healthy lifestyle. These pulses are low in calories and full of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. You can use them either with boiled rice, brown rice, or chicken. Further, you can cook them to eat when starving.
Create your Recipes
Working in the kitchen is a kind of fun activity. You can save a lot by cutting back on food orders and dining out in restaurants. Preparing food of your own choice with healthy food ingredients is the best option a person can opt for. You can know about your favourite food items by experimenting with multiple cuisines. Further, always clean the space to maintain the kitchen. A famous saying by American author and nutritionist Adelle Davis is that “Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper.” If you are familiar with your food choices, you can go well along with the quote mentioned.
Buy a whole Chicken
Always buy a whole chicken; this is the very budget-friendly method people follow. In complete chicken, you will get two chest pieces, two thighs, drumsticks, and wings. Similarly, you can stock up a single whole chicken for a week. You can utilize it on an alternative day, like one day dedicated to vegetables and another day for chicken. Also, you can try various food items like chicken soup, wings, BBQ, chicken burgers, and so much more.
However, there is no denial COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lifestyle and diet. Munching on snacks, unhealthy food, desserts, and sugary drinks became part of our lives. Indeed, gaining weight while sitting at home and eating unhealthily was the most common concern.
Nonetheless, is it never too late? There is no better time to shift toward a healthy eating lifestyle. You can play around the kitchen, invest time in some creative eating options and enjoy comfortable food at home.
This is all about healthy eating on a budget; if you want to read more about life in Pakistan you can check our blog on the cost of living in Pakistan.
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