Hi Reader!
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say they can't afford to eat healthy.
And yes, there are situations where that’s true. But for a lot of people, it’s not actually about money.
If you’re shopping at Walmart, eating out here and there, or have Starbucks money, healthy eating can fit into your budget.
As a single-income family, we’re not working with anything extra, but that’s never stopped us from prioritizing real, nourishing food.
Here's how we do it:
Buy in Bulk
You may need to first invest in a deep freezer (hello, FB Marketplace!), food-grade buckets, or a store membership, but you'll save so much in the end.
- Costco and Azure Standard are our go-to's
- Purchase on sale - If it's something that won't spoil before we can use it, I'll buy the limit. We're still eating tuna we got on sale 9 months ago!
- Buy bulk meat locally - This isn't always cheaper, but it often is.
What to Buy
Organic sprouted bread will always be multiple times the cost of white bread, so choosing the right foods is key to eating healthy on a budget.
- Focus on nutrient dense foods - Tough love, but you don't need clean-ingredient potato chips. The money is better spent on meat and veggies.
- Buy ingredients, not convenience food - It's cheaper to buy produce, whole grains, meat, etc. than premade foods like granola bars, fruit snacks, and meatballs. If you have a little time, even foods like bread and peanut butter can fall into this category.
- Frozen produce is your friend - It's more affordable and often healthier than what's on the shelves.
- Choose cheap cuts - Ground beef and chicken breast go a long way, so there's no need to splurge on pricier cuts to eat well.
Healthy Budget Recipes
Here are a few of my family's favorites that I keep on rotation around here:
What's the most challenging part about eating healthy on a budget for you? Hit "reply" and let me know!
This week in our home...
Between locking my keys in the car at Costco and finishing up planting the garden while baby-wearing, it’s been one of those full, slightly chaotic weeks over here. We’ve been squeezing in time outside to soak up the nice weather and slowly checking things off that never-ending to-do list, but it's been the good kind of full (minus the Costco incident 😂).
From my kitchen to yours,
Violet
