In the health world, the biggest myth is that a healthy diet is just too expensive. People often think unhealthy foods such as fast food, fruit juice, cakes, and pizza are cheaper and easier to get. The idea that you can’t eat well and save money is untrue and will hurt your wallet and health in the long run.
On average, eating healthy costs about $1.50 extra per day than eating poorly. Considering that eating well can save your life, the price difference isn’t a big deal. This number is also about average; you can easily cut it down to fit your budget. Few people are shouting that a head of romaine lettuce is cheaper than a complete fast-food meal.
But a healthy diet can be as easy if you understand how to control your money and plan. The only issue is that not many people do. Ads for unhealthy brand-name foods are everywhere today, so it’s hard to blame anyone for not knowing how to allocate funds and plan a healthy diet.
We’re not telling you you should never eat these things again. The occasional pizza or burger won’t hurt you. But eating too much junk food and making it a habit can be very bad for your health. Because of this, you need to learn how to plan and budget your food to meet your health needs.
From lettuce and cucumbers to organic chicken breasts and lentils and beans, your local grocery store is full of cheap hidden gems to help you eat healthier. Planning meals and looking for healthy foods at the grocery store can be fun.
Trying new stuff is a big aspect of being human, and a new healthy diet that will make you feel healthy and full of energy is just a bonus. Here is a long list of healthy foods and meals that are also cheap. Here to make you eat well on a tight budget and stop eating badly.
What Cheap Meals Can I Get Healthy?
The first step to dispelling this myth about healthy eating on a budget is to make a list of foods that will not break the bank. This article would’ve been hundreds of pages long if we tried to list all the cheap and healthy foods.
So, we made a simple list by category and put our favorites and suggestions at the top. Remember that these are average prices from several stores, and they may change based on where you live and which store you go to.
How Can I Afford to Consume Healthy Foods?
There are so many cheap fruits, vegetables, meats, and other healthy foods that you can buy; some can even be frozen. Here are our favorites.
Bananas
Bananas are simply amazing. They are filled with vitamins and fiber that can aid in weight loss and boost the immune and digestive systems. Bananas are also fast and easy; you can take them anywhere, at any time. Bananas usually cost about $0.60 per pound, which makes them one of the least expensive fruits.
Mixed Berries
Berries are our favorite fruits in terms of taste, and there are many of them to choose from when making your grocery list. Berries contain vitamins and nutrients that help your body fight illness. Usually, a pound of berries costs between $2 and $3, making them some other cheap and healthy fruit. For a quick and easy meal or snack, berries go well with oats and yogurt.
Broccoli
When it comes to vegetables, broccoli has some of the healthiest benefits of all of them. Some people don’t like how it tastes, but you can easily add steamed, lightly salted broccoli to your meals or dip raw broccoli in some light ranch dressing. Broccoli is also one of the least expensive vegetables. On average, a head of broccoli costs between $1.20 and $0.60. Add broccoli to stir-fries or eat it with a healthy dip as a snack.
Potatoes
Baked, roasted, sweet, skinned, etc. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are great sources of vitamin supplements, minerals, and other nutrients. The best thing about potatoes is how many ways you can use them. There are many ways to cook potatoes to make them taste how you like. Potatoes are easy to make and taste great with roasts, steak, soups, and stews. Prices range from $0.90 to $2 per pound, depending on the potato type.
Pork
Protein is important for everyone, no matter what they eat. There is a lot of it in pork and then some. Don’t forget that pork also gives you vitamins and other good things for your body. Pork is among the cheaper cuts of lean meat, costing between $3 and $6 per pound.
Chicken Breast
Pork and chicken breast are very alike, including in how much they cost. Only the taste and a little bit of the texture are different. Depending on your tastes and the dish you’re making, chicken breasts are a tasty, high-quality product that can be used in many healthy meals, like chicken and brown rice, chicken lettuce wraps, and much more!
Eggs
Eggs are the only ones of their kind. When you think about how small they are and how much they cost (around $2 per dozen at most and as little as 25c per dozen), the protein, vitamins, and nutrients they have are like nothing else, and they are very cheap.
Eggs are an excellent way to begin the day and get it well with many other foods. Now that you know the best and cheapest nutritious foods and ingredients available, let’s examine how you may plan your meals for the week.
What is meal planning?
Meal prep has become very popular in recent years. Meal prepping is just what it sounds like, planning and preparing your meals for the week ahead. This will save you time and money and help you maintain your healthy lifestyle. Let’s look at a real-world example.
Usually, you’ll like to start meal prepping on Sunday before starting a new week. You can head to the grocery store with a plan for what you’ll eat each day until next Sunday. This can help you avoid buying things you don’t need.
The best part would be that meal prepping is based on what you like and don’t like. Monday’s breakfast will be eggs with avocado, lunch will be a fruit or vegetable smoothie with peaches and oranges, and dinner will be a chicken breast with herbs and potatoes or spinach on the side. This is an instance of meal prepping.
You can change your schedule based on what works and what doesn’t for you. Knowing what you’ll eat and when you will eat it will help you keep eating healthy and keep you from stopping for ready meals, ordering pizza, or any unhealthy meal you might be tempted to eat.
The food has already been bought and sometimes even cooked for you. You don’t want to waste food or money, so you can’t order anything unhealthy. You might wonder how you’ll keep a record of everything and want more advice and recommendations for healthy foods that are cheap or don’t cost much.
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