IS IT POSSIBLE TO EAT “HEALTHY” ON A BUDGET?

The short answer is YES.

The long answer is It’s Complicated. How’s that for being cryptic?

There are a LOT of healthy foods (whole, unprocessed) that are available very cheaply. Beans, rice and other whole grains, vegetables, fruits, eggs, certain meats, yogurt, spices.

Some of them can be more expensive than others, and COST must be considered. For example, a bag of certified organic brown rice is going to be more expensive than a regular bag of brown rice. Both are still healthy. One has extra steps to make CERTAIN there have been no chemicals, pesticides, etc., while it was growing. The other does not have that guarantee, but there are still laws and regulations in place to make that food as safe as possible.

Same thing with any other healthy food you might choose – you are going to be paying more for name brands, certified organic, grass-fed/free-range, etc.

The next thing you will pay more for is CONVENIENCE. Example: a package of pre-sliced chicken breast at my local store was $5.67 per pound (and this cost may be higher or lower depending on where you live). This was NOT certified organic, free-range, or guaranteed antibiotic free. Just pre-sliced. A package of whole chicken breasts was $2.67 per pound.

$3 more per pound for the CONVENIENCE of being pre-sliced.

A 16-ounce bag of brown rice costs $0.88. An 8-ounce package of pre-cooked and pre-seasoned brown rice costs $2.33. The convenience of having something pre-cooked/sliced/seasoned will directly affect the price of what you are buying.

TIME is another factor you have to consider when eating healthy is involved. Time can be considered the twin of Convenience. Some things are going to be super simple. Eating a banana is going to be just as easy as eating a candy bar, much healthier, costs less, and requires no time-commitment or effort. Also, microwaving that pre-cooked, pre-seasoned bag of brown rice is going to be much faster than cooking brown rice from scratch on the stovetop.

A 16-ounce bag of beans will make 6 cups of cooked beans, but must be soaked overnight before cooking, or made in a crockpot or pressure cooker to speed up the process. A 15-ounce can of beans has already been cooked, is the same price as a bag of dried beans, but only yields one and a half cups. So now you’re looking at Time, Convenience, and Cost. Is it worth the extra TIME as a trade-off for CONVENIENCE or COST?

Which leads to our next area of consideration – PREFERENCE. This is where eating healthy on a budget can get very nuanced. I have a friend who absolutely cannot stand any kind of canned fish: tuna, salmon, doesn’t matter, she hates it all. I’m fine with it. I like tuna salad, I’ll make salmon dishes with canned salmon, doesn’t bother me at all. I PREFER fresh grilled salmon, but when the budget gets tight, I’m fine with making recipes with canned salmon that taste just as good TO ME.

However, ask me about bell peppers. Because I’m going to tell you – I don’t like green bell peppers. I think they taste bitter and unless I’m cooking with them in VERY SMALL amounts mixed into specific recipes, I don’t like them. I LOVE red, orange, and yellow peppers. I think they are sweet and taste completely different than green. I will eat them raw or with hummus, or in any dish I make that involves peppers as a MAIN component. The colored peppers in my area cost almost twice as much as their green buddies ($1.48 for red, orange, yellow vs. $0.78 for green).

This is where PREFERENCE is going to make the biggest difference to YOU! I’m getting Hubs to the point where he will eat broccoli in certain recipes, cabbage in certain recipes (mostly Asian inspired dishes), but still can’t get him to try Brussel Sprouts. Those are his preferences and we’re working with it.

Olive Oil is more expensive than vegetable oil, but it is also MUCH healthier so I work my budget around making sure I can afford the olive oil because I PREFER to use it in my cooking. It means sacrificing in other areas of my food budget, but I’m willing to do that.

ABILITY. Can you cook? Even simple, basic meals? If not, it might be time to learn. Because, unfortunately, healthy eating on a BUDGET does require a small amount of cooking knowledge. That cooking knowledge might consist of microwaving a package of frozen broccoli, microwaving or baking a russet or sweet potato, and cutting up and cooking a chicken breast in the skillet. This meal might take 15-20 minutes total, is very healthy, and involves minimal cooking skills. Safe handling of the chicken is going to be the biggest requirement.

But a basic ABILITY to cook is going to open up a WORLD of healthy food options to you that are much tougher to achieve if you’re not able cook at all. Learning to scramble eggs, toss in a few veggies, and making whole wheat toast is very basic and incredibly nutritious.

The budget becomes tighter when Costs for expensive options (name-brand, organic, etc.) is a factor, Convenience is more important, Time is limited, your Preferences are more expensive, or your Ability to cook healthy foods is limited. But these are all factors that can be remedied with a little diligence, research, experimentation, and working on new or improving skills.

And if you are looking for help on where to get started, Book a FREE Consultation with me and find out more about Health and Nutrition Coaching.