Trying to eat a healthy diet can be an intimidating challenge, especially if you’re new to a lifestyle change.
Many people think that because the food is healthy, it must be more expensive.
This perception is made worse by the association of healthy living with stores that are notorious for people spending double or even triple their budget, like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.
The truth is, it’s always possible to spend a fortune at any store.
But when you plan your week carefully, you can spend $100 for the week and buy healthy choices, even at stores like Whole Foods.
Keep reading to learn about how this is possible so that you can improve your daily diet for less.
Follow These Five Rules of Healthy Meal Planning:
Taking a look at your current diet and what you bought from your last shopping trip can help you analyze what your current diet looks like.
By being honest with yourself about the foods you eat and what you can remove from your diet, you’ll tighten up your lifestyle and your budget.
Stop the Overconsumption
You might love to snack because snacks taste good, can make you feel good in the moment, and might be the way you cope with stress.
However, this not only keeps your blood sugar levels in a constantly elevated state, but buying snacks is expensive, especially in today’s economy.
By choosing only one or two quality snacks for the week, you’ll find that you’re going to be more satisfied and will actually snack less.
Foods like nuts can offer a crunchy snack to satisfy your cravings while providing your body with healthy fats, protein, and fiber.
Cutting out processed sugars will also work to significantly clean up your diet.
Removing soft drinks, sugary snacks and cereals, and other sweets will not only help you save money in your budget, but your body will thank you as well.
Choose Healthy Fats
The types of fats in your diet matter. The oils you use will dictate the overall success of your health.
There are many hidden sources of oil that you might not even know about.
Products like mayonnaise, chips, processed foods, and salad dressings can be filled with cheap and unhealthy oil.
When choosing a cooking oil, avoid highly processed oils like canola, vegetable oil, and corn oil.
Instead go with olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, or even safflower oil.
When buying an oil, look for cold-pressed, organic options, which will help give you the most benefits.
If you need to swap out unhealthy products like classic mayo or Miracle Whip, there are better options that are made with olive and avocado oil.
You just have to take your time and read the ingredient labels.
Clean Proteins
When picking out your meats for the week, look for the best-quality meat that’s pasture-raised, organic, and grass-fed.
While these might be more costly, they’re going to give your body more benefits in the long and short run.
Buying an organic whole chicken can be a good way to get multiple meals from one product.
You can roast the chicken for a great dinner one night, use the leftovers for chicken salad, and then even boil what’s left to make a great bone broth base for chicken soup.
Alternating your meats and also cutting back on how much meat you eat in one week can help you clean up your diet and cut down the cost of groceries.
Pay Attention to Nutrients
It’s important to make sure that you’re getting enough micronutrients in your diet.
Putting greens and veggies in your cart first ensures that you’re not loading your cart with too many starches and carbs.
It also helps you make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need in your everyday diet.
Buying a bag or box of organic spinach or prewashed spring mix can help you save time during the week and make it easier for you to consume more greens.
Veggies like this can be used in many different ways, making it an easy and versatile option for many meals.
It’s also a good idea to buy longer-lasting veggies like carrots and cabbage that, when kept properly, can last more than a week.
This will help you prioritize what you eat while also allowing flexibility in the different recipes you make throughout the week.
Eat Mindfully
Eating more mindfully will help you support healthy blood sugar levels and reach any weight loss goals you might have.
It’s good to have lighter meals and one main meal during the day.
Most people prefer to make dinner their bigger meal, but lunch can be just as good.
Incorporating a light fasting schedule in between meals can help you cut back on the needless eating and allow your blood sugar levels to even out before your next meal.
Plan Three Main Meals for the Week
Planning is the key to providing direction for how you use the ingredients you buy during the week.
When you plan for three bigger meals for the week that will provide leftovers, you’ll find that you need much less compared to when you go shopping without a plan.
Try using online shopping carts from your favorite grocery store to help calculate your total.
Even if you’re still going to go grocery shopping in person, that can help you plan and make sure you stay within budget.
The best thing you can do when shopping is to make a list and really stick to it with few exceptions.
This way, you won’t feel tempted to buy other items that you may want but aren’t good for you.
Use Flexible Ingredients
Don’t buy ingredients that are meant for only one small meal. Buy foods that can be swapped in and out for other recipes.
By doing this, you’ll ensure that there’s less food waste in your kitchen.
When the end of the week comes around, you should be able to look at what perishables need to be used up and incorporate them into meals.
Using up the veggies and foods you buy within the week will help you stretch your budget further and save you money.
Take Control of Your Diet Today!
When you take control of your diet and your grocery shopping habits, you’ll be surprised at how fast you can clean up your lifestyle.
By following these tips and guidelines, grocery shopping will become much more straightforward and manageable.
If you want to learn more ways you can make changes to your lifestyle like these, my book will help guide you and teach you different recipes and ways you can get creative while still living healthy.
Remember that these tips aren’t set in stone.
Depending on your family size, you might need a higher or lower budget that fits your specific needs.
You shouldn’t get caught up on numbers. Instead, follow these steps to bring order to your diet and lifestyle.
Feel free to check out and join our community, where you can see other people’s experiences, as well as share your own. You’re not alone on this journey to real health. If you want to read more articles like this or check out healthy recipes, click here.
