Eating Healthy on a Budget

Eating healthy is easier and more affordable than you might think. Listed below are a variety of tips to help you eat well while stretching your food dollar.

Shopping Tips

Make a grocery list before shopping to prevent overspending and stay within your food budget (U.S. Department of Agriculture 2020).

Organize your grocery list by sections of the grocery store to minimize the amount of time you spend in the store.

Plan your grocery list based on a personalized weekly meal schedule (see the Weekly Meal Schedule Example).

Use MyPlate as a guide for eating a variety of foods each day.

Weekly Meal Schedule Example

Join your grocery store's loyalty program for discounts and coupons.

Compare food costs based on their cost per unit rather than their retail price. Take a look at the unit pricing on store shelves to determine the product's price per ounce or per pound.

"Family-sized" and "value-pack" bulk food items usually have a lower cost per ounce or pound than their standard-size counterparts. If the larger food package fits into your food budget, has a lower unit price, and you will use it before its expiration or use-by date, it is the better buy.

Buy frozen and canned fruits and vegetables to reduce food waste if fresh produce typically goes unused.

• Use frozen vegetables for roasting and sautéing and canned vegetables for soup-making.
• Incorporate frozen and canned fruit in baked goods, fruit salads, and smoothies.

Read the labels on food products.

• When buying canned and frozen fruits, vegetables, soups, and sauces, look for products with health claims such as "Low Sodium," "No Added Sugar," and "Reduced Fat."
• Purchase canned fruit packed in water or 100 percent fruit juice.
• Choose lean ground meat options (7 percent or lower fat content) and fat-free/low-fat dairy products.

Use herbs and spices to enhance flavor and add variety to your meals without adding sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.

• If you don't have many herbs and spices in your cupboard, buy a few each week and build your collection.

Maintain your supply of staples for easy-to-make meals. For example, whole grain pasta, brown rice, old-fashioned rolled oats, canned tomatoes, and dried or canned beans are great items to always have available in your cupboard.

Tips to Plan and Prepare Meals

Download a meal-planning mobile app. These apps will ask you what foods you currently have on hand and provide you with recipes based on these ingredients.

Schedule your meals for the week. Prepare easy-to-make meals and eat leftovers on busier days. Cook larger, more time-consuming meals on the days you have extra time.

Repurpose leftovers to add variety to your meals while saving time and energy.

• Roasted chicken → Chicken salad
• Sautéed vegetables → Soup
• Taco meat → Chili
• Steamed rice → Rice pilaf

Keep a variety of small, medium, and large food storage containers to store leftovers.

Invest in a good chef’s knife for more efficient and safe food preparation.

Make simple meals that include several food groups, like one-pot soups and casseroles, rice, and pasta recipes.

Healthy and tasty homemade meals don’t have to be complicated and are usually less expensive. The information below compares a variety of premade items with homemade items.

On average, the homemade meals cost half as much as the premade dishes, saving you $2.09 per meal! When you purchase frozen entrees, which tend to be more expensive, they only provide one or two meals. When you repurpose leftover ingredients from homemade recipes, you stretch your food dollar by making more meals.

Reference

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2020. "Healthy Eating on a Budget." MyPlate.gov.

Cost Comparison of Pre-Made Food versus Homemade Food

Salt-Free Seasoning Blend

• Leading Brand - $0.35 per 1 Tablespoon
• Homemade - $0.16 per 1 Tablespoon

Herb Roasted Chicken Frozen Meal

• Leading Brand (Frozen Meal) - $2.48 per serving*
• Homemade - $1.35 per serving*

Seasoned Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

• Leading Brand - $0.65 per serving**
• Homemade - $0.25 per serving**

Instant Rice

• Leading Brand Instant Rice - $0.79 per serving***
• Homemade Brown Rice with Herbs and Spices - $0.23 per serving***

Total Cost for Dishes

• Premade Dishes - $3.92
• Homemade Dishes - $1.83

Servings are:

*Chicken = 202-gram serving
**Vegetables = 78.1-gram serving
***Rice = 136-gram serving

Prepared by Mary Alice Gettings, M.S., RDN, LDN, CDCES, extension educator; Dori Owczarzak, M.S., RDN, LDN, extension educator; and Lindsay Aluquin, undergraduate, Department of Nutritional Sciences.