How to Reduce Your Food Budget

I’ve worked with many patients and clients that list financial burden as a barrier to eating healthy.  Eating healthy can be more expensive, but it can also be less expensive based on how you approach it.  Sadly, the media and pop culture have created a picture of what healthy eating looks like that most cannot afford.  Eating healthy does not mean purchasing organic, dairy-free or completely avoiding items that come in cans or boxes.  I wanted to share five tips I use to keep our food costs down.

Meal Plan

I’m sure you’re tired of me singing its praises, but this is only because there are so many benefits to meal planning.  I’ve had many clients note a secondary financial savings after they start meal planning with the initial intention of weight loss or another health goal.  By choosing your meals for the week ahead of time to determine what you purchase, you are going to save money (and a lot of stress and food waste).  Meal planning also reduces the number of unpredictable evenings where you make be more tempted to order takeout, which certainly comes at an added cost.

Embrace Vegetarian Proteins

In addition to being nutrient packed and supportive of health, legumes such as beans and lentils are a cost effective protein source.  Eggs and tofu are other options that are easy on the wallet.  They also have a longer shelf life, which reduces the likelihood of food waste. 

Experiment with Meal Delivery & Bulk Ordering

Meal kits and bulk ordering services are very popular (and convenient) right now.  While they can be expensive to do long term, I love taking advantage of the trial period many offer to save money and try something new.  To date, Sun Basket scores the highest with me based on nutrition and flavor.  Bulk ordering services for non-perishables such as Thrive Market may be a cost effective way to save.  Imperfect Foods is another grocery delivery option to consider for produce and other items at a savings.

Use Your Freezer

A freezer can help cut costs in so many ways.  It can support batch cooking (cooking multiple batches of an item and freezing in single/meal sized servings).  It also allows for the preservation of items that typically would be thrown away due to spoilage.  For example, I freeze any partial leftovers from canned goods or fruit/veggies that are about to turn vs. finding them rotten at the back of the fridge a week later.  

Coupons

Before you paint me to be a crazy coupon lady, hear me out.  Coupons are certainly a marketing tactic used by companies to encourage the purchase of additional (and potentially unnecessary) items.  I keep my coupons in the console of my car and before entering the grocery store, I review my list to see if any of the coupons match items on my list.  If they do, I bring them inside.  If they don’t, I leave them behind.  In this way, I’m not encouraged to spend based on the coupons.  Did you know that coupons can also be given at curbside for a deduction off a pickup order? I spend the time parked while I’m waiting for my order to come out to see if any of my coupons apply to my order.