Most of us are trying to save money any way we can right now. As living on a budget becomes more important, it is helpful to look at how to stretch your food dollars and still eat a healthy diet. Fortunately, there are many creative ways to do this.

It takes a little knowledge, time, and planning, but it is possible to enjoy healthy food on any budget. Overall, the more you focus on purchasing local, unprocessed food and preparing meals at home, the healthier it is and the more money you will save.

You can save money and still enjoy healthy, delicious food

Making smart choices saves money. Evaluate how you spend your money on food. What unnecessary items do you purchase? Do you eat out often? The first way to save money on food is to limit or cut out unnecessary food spending. Some specific ways to do this:

• Cut the junk: Evaluate how much money you are spending on items such as soda (regular or diet), juice, packages of cookies, crackers, prepackaged meals, processed foods, etc. Limit or cut out completely these unhealthy foods. Your wallet and your body will thank you.
• Eat out less: Even just reducing your meals out by 1 or 2 times per week can save you about $15 – $25 per week. This is an easy way to save money and even have some extra to spend on higher quality foods.
• Stick to your grocery list: The more prepared you are when you get to the store the less impulse purchases you will make. So write out a grocery list and stick to it!
• Shop the perimeter of the store first: This way you will fill your cart with healthy whole foods like fresh produce and meat, leaving less room for the “junk food fillers” and thus saving money.
• Cook large portions ahead: It saves time to cook once and eat multiple times. One idea is to make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week or whenever you go food shopping. When you don’t feel like cooking, help yourself to a hearty bowlful along with a green salad. This makes a nutritious lunch or dinner anytime.

Purchasing the healthiest food possible

When eating on a budget it is still important to think about the quality/purity of the food you purchase. How foods are grown or raised has an impact on their quality and also impact your health. Organically grown food reduces the potential health and environmental hazards posed by pesticides, GMOs, irradiation and additives. An investment in your food now, could save you money on health bills later.

Here are a few ways to stretch your money when purchasing high quality, organic foods:

• Buy the highest quality possible for the foods you eat the most. This way you reduce your exposure to things such as pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics, while increasing the nutritional value of your food. Organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants and various vitamins and minerals such as: vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
• Use excess food money to buy higher quality food. If possible, focus on purchasing organic/grass-fed/free-range sources of meat & dairy, because of the possible higher concentration of antibiotics and hormones that could be passed on to you.
• Educate yourself. When you know which produce has the most chemical residue (and which has the least) you can choose to buy certain things organic or from local farmers who do not use chemicals, and others conventional.