Healthy Eating on a budget
Hopefully this blog motivates you to make some healthy changes and gives ideas for food discipline.
Hundreds of individuals use the line ‘I can’t afford to eat healthy.’ Or blame their eating habits on their budget and income. Back when I was a student I probably ate the healthiest, because I had to control what I ate. Eating healthy is very possible and I have done it, you just need to do a little research.
The old cliche of breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day! Okay so Budget white bread is about $1 at your local Countdown and doesn’t fill your stomach, it releases energy fast and doesn’t keep you going. BUY OATS! $2 from Countdown and they will last longer than your loaf of white bread, keeps you going for longer, fills you up and not to mention the health benefits!
Health benefits of oats: they increase appetite control hormones, improve your immune system, lowers bad cholesterol and controls blood pressure. You may go on to say they’re bland and your children will not eat them but you can add so much to them! Whatever you have in the cupboard – cinnamon, apples and yogurt.
Drink water only, no need for sugary juice or fizzy drinks. It maybe a $1 for a 1L of budget cola, but $0 to have a cup of water. Eating healthy on a budget is really all about adjustment, choice and research. The underlying reason for people eating badly on low incomes is food choices and pure fussiness. If you care about your families’ health and your own. ADAPT and PLAN. If you hate water and your or your children are super fussy, buy sparkling water! It’s still pretty cheap and you can head to your local markets on Sunday to stock up on lemons if you want to add a little citrus flavour.
Have a play with cheap meals, tomato soup with roasted chickpeas. This website has heaps of ideas and I will add an example below:
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes/view-all
Here is a meal idea for under $10! Healthy Nachos for the kids!
Chili beans $2
Tinned corn 0.89c
Tinned Tomatoes $1
Onion 0.60c
Plain Corn Chips $2
Natural Yogurt $2.90 (You will have left overs, add to your oats in the morning)
Total: $9.39
Another thing that saves money is portion sizes! We often overeat meaning we end up spending more money; have water and buy a bag of apples. Then, when you make meals you can have leftovers for the next day. Make homemade hummus by blending chickpeas, lemon and garlic. There’s no need to spend $4 on processed dips.
So don’t just buy the cheapest food and stock up on carbs; use Google. Research, don’t be lazy. Have fun with it and care about your health!