Recently I followed a thread on twitter about the struggles people have eating healthy within a budget, especially after bariatric surgery. There was a time for me as well where cooking needed to be on a budget. Many decades ago when my husband and I were a young couple with three kids, one with special needs, his company went bankrupt. There were many changes required to make ends meet from the kids going to new schools to me going back to work full time. I also needed to plan healthy, satisfying meals on a budget. It was then that I learned it really is possible to eat healthy on a budget and enjoy what you are eating.
There are some strategies to use, however, that help make low cost meals on a budget doable. Here are some ideas to help all of us stretch our dollars and be mindful of making the most of our grocery store purchases:
- cook seasonally—even canned goods and frozen items can be cheaper seasonally in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables
- avoid pre-packaged and highly processed foods because they tend to be more expensive for a lot less product
- stock up when there are sales, especially for non-perishables
- buy in bulk when possible, especially for your staples
- use canned and frozen items in addition to fresh; research shows they have the same nutrients and benefits as their fresh counterparts
- consider soups a staple. They are filling and provide for many meals
- cook at home as much as possible and prepare lunches to take to work and school
- need to have a freezer and a storage area for non-perishables
- plan multiple meals that can use the same product so none of it is wasted or goes bad. Here's an example from one roasted chicken: roasted chicken, pesto pasta with chicken, chicken salad sandwich, cobb salad with chicken
- plan your meals to cut down on wasted food
- consider having a backyard vegetable garden during the summer or join a community garden to grow your own fresh foods
 |
| Budget Friendly Frozen Veggie Burger Dinner Served up on Livliga |
Many of the recipes I have developed and my family enjoys are ones I created when I needed to count my pennies everyday. I thought I would provide links to a few of those recipes here:
Frozen Veggie Burger Dinner
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Best Chicken Soup Ever
Super Simple Shrimp Tacos
Currently I am developing new recipes, like a vegetable beef soup that uses frozen mixed vegetables, that I will add to Livliga’s list of Budget-Friendly Meals. Sign up to receive notice of our blogs so you don’t miss out on more delicious and healthy meals from Livliga!
No comments