Do you want to eat healthy and affordable food, but feel that a nutritious Paleo diet is not within your budget? Learn these handy tips to start saving money and eating healthier. You can enjoy nutritious and delicious food, without spending a fortune! The average American spends $6,300 per year on food, but you can learn to save money and your health!
Top 10 Tips for Healthy and Affordable Food
1) Go with homemade. Americans today spend 49% of their food budget on eating out at restaurants. When you make it yourself, you know what’s in it – and you can save a lot of money, too.
2) Use bulk bins. Buying non-perishables from bulk bins will save you an average of 56% over buying the same items pre-packaged.
3) Cook in quantity. Whether you live alone or are part of a big family, making big sauces, pots of soup, casseroles and other meals saves time in the long run. You can freeze extras for convenient instant meals, or create meal-sharing arrangements with friends or co-workers.
4) Grow food. It takes time, but gardening is the most economical way to enjoy the freshest most nutrient dense food possible. In urban neighborhoods, community gardens are a great way to grow food and build community at the same time. There are an estimated 18,000 community gardens in the US and Canada. For resources to help you start one, visit this the
5) Buy direct from farmers. When you join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), you enter into a direct win-win partnership with local farmers. Farmer’s Markets are a fantastic way to support farmers while enjoying fresh food straight from the source. In the US, the number of farmer’s markets has more than doubled in the last decade.
6) Eat Seasonally. Use what’s in season, economical and nutritious. Some of the most budget-conscious starches are potatoes. Some of the most affordable and nutritionally potent vegetables often include cabbage, carrots, and onions.
7) Meat Shares. You can find a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation at Westonaprice.org and buy grass-fed animals as a collective. You can team up with a few families and buy the half or whole grass fed animals for dollars a pound (1/2 kilo). Meat shares, plans for buying meat in bulk, are cropping up around the country.
8) Buy local. Visit Eatwild.com for local sources of meat, eggs, and produce.
9) Eat before shopping. Grocery stores know the power of delectable smells. Everything looks good when our stomachs are screaming, “feed me!” and that can lead to more impulse buying.
10) Join Green Polka Dot Box. This is a natural and organic buyer’s collective that makes healthy ad GMO-free foods available for great prices, delivered straight to your door, anywhere in the United States.
Healthy food is a fundamental building block to a healthy life. It’s an investment worth making. And in many cases, we can even save money in the process. Think of it this way: You’re going to spend money on food today, or your money on doctors, medications and nursing homes later. You must budget for healthy food!
