Learn how to buy healthy groceries on a budget without spending a ton of time and energy. It’s easier than you think and can work even with rising food costs.
Many of us are trying to eat better and reduce our spending. We often believe these two things can’t go together, especially with rising food costs. Isn’t health food expensive? Well, it can be but there are ways to get healthy groceries on a budget.
I have several chronic health issues including fibromyalgia. Conventional medicine offers little more than symptom control for me and I even skip that since it all comes with side effects. I have found when my overall health is at its best my symptoms are minimal.
While some things I buy would be cheaper if I got the less healthy version there would be a bigger cost to my health. Over the years I have found ways to reduce my overall grocery spending to make up for some of the pricier items. And don’t worry, you don’t have to become an extreme couponer or anything.
I’ll admit I let some of these things stop being habits lately and our grocery costs have suffered. I’m getting back to my good habits this year and going to see just how low I can get our grocery costs. We need food, I love food, but I don’t want to spend all of our money on it.
It really is all about habits. These things start to become second nature once you’ve done them for a while. And you have the motivators of more money and feeling better.
Healthy Groceries on a Budget
Eat Out Less Often
Fast food seems cheap but it adds up. And dinners out at restaurants add up even more quickly. And of course, you also end up consuming a lot more calories.
The way I’ve found most helpful for preventing us from eating out too much is to have quick dinner options on hand. Freezer meals really help this, if you have something delicious in your freezer it really helps keep the temptation of dinner out away.
Another thing that has helped me is an Instant Pot. It’s an electric pressure cooker and so much more. Don’t worry this pressure cooker has all kinds of safety features and won’t blow up. And it cooks food so fast. I’ve even cooked a whole frozen chicken in the Instant Pot in less than an hour.
Cook from Scratch
When it comes to healthy food, especially organic food, packaged food is where you will really see a price increase. Learning to make more of your food from scratch can really cut your food budget.
Last year I learned to make some delicious crackers that make an amazing snack and aren’t hard to make at all. Making your own bread can seem overwhelming but really it’s not hard at all.
Even things as simple as making your own taco seasoning can make your food more delicious and save you money. Don’t try and do it all at once, learn to make one thing from scratch at a time. Before long it will all be a habit. And once you try homemade versions of things, it’s hard to go back to the packaged stuff.
Reduce Food Waste
30-40% of food in the US is wasted! Think about 30-40% of your food budget going in the trash. Planning your meals and keeping foods that will expire soon in the front can help reduce food waste.
One of my favorite tips for reducing food waste and saving money is to save your chicken carcass and veggie scraps to make chicken broth or just veggies for vegetable stock. It really is easy, especially if you have an Instant Pot, and makes an amazing broth.
Casseroles, soups, and smoothies are also great ways to use up leftovers and scraps. When fruits are past their prime throw them in smoothies, same with leafy veggies. Bits of cheese, meat, and leftover pasta are all things that can go in soups and casseroles.
Get creative! It really can be fun to try and find ways to use up things that are leftover or going bad soon. Your freezer can also be your friend. Most foods can be frozen and it’s a good way to extend their life. When I have leftovers and don’t feel like eating them again the next time I stick them in the freezer for an easy lunch or dinner later when I feel like it again.
Meal Plan
Meal planning reduces food waste and makes mealtime so much easier. I only grocery shop once a month so a detailed meal plan is a must. I have meal planning printables that I use to stay organized, it really helps.
Another great option is Eat At Home. You can get budget-friendly meal plans that save you time and money. It’s great if you are too busy to meal plan or is just something you really don’t enjoy.
Drink Water
Soda and juice add up and aren’t that great for us. Stick to water most of the time. It’s a lot better for us and you’ll save a lot of money. If you want something different from time to time consider buying some tea in bulk and making homemade iced tea. You get control over the amount of sugar you use and the quality of the tea. And it is a lot cheaper! You could also make some fun homemade coffee drinks at home.
Join Thrive Market
Thrive Market is kind of like Whole Foods, Costco, and Amazon combined. You get wholesale prices on natural food and you can order it online. I just renewed my Thrive Market membership after saving over $700 last year.
For a couple of months, I would price check items on Thrive Market and my grocery store to find which were best. Many of our staples are cheaper on Thrive Market unless they are on sale in stores.
I place an order about every other month to stock up and make sure my order is large enough to get free shipping. They are always adding more products so I’m predicting I will save even more this year.
Join a Co-Op
I was a member of a local co-op for years. Sadly they closed recently but I made some relationships with local producers so I can still get great local food from them.
Co-ops are a great way to cut out the middle man and buy straight from the farmers and ranchers. They get paid better and you spend less. Buying local is also great for your local economy.
Look at Sale Prices and Use Coupons
Before I even think about my meal plan I look at what I have on hand and then I check sale ads and coupons. I try to make as many meals as I can with what I have, sales, and coupons. And yes, there are organic and real food coupons! Some months I find a lot of coupons, some months I’ll use two.
Grocery Shop Less Often
Even if you have a great meal plan and shopping list you likely will end up with a few extra things each time you shop. Plus you have to spend money on gas, which isn’t cheap these days.
Shopping less often means less money and who doesn’t want to spend less time in the grocery store! You can use my Guide to Once a Month Grocery Shopping to learn how to shop less, you don’t have to go only once a month, the tips help even if you want to shop more often than that.
Use Cashback Apps
Getting cashback on your groceries is a way to roll over some of your budget and end up saving money. Many of the apps only give cashback for some items and those are rare healthy options but Fetch Rewards gives you cashback on every receipt.
You can also check the other cashback apps for when they do have things you already are buying, it can’t hurt to get even more back.
Do a Pantry Challenge
Have a lot of food on hand right now? Challenge yourself to do a pantry challenge. Make as many meals as you can using what you already have on hand. You may need to buy a few fresh items but avoid buying as much as possible.
It’s a great time to also do a no-spend challenge. It’s a great way to save up some money quickly and you may learn some good habits while you do the challenge.
Using these tips will have you eating healthy groceries on a budget in no time. Plus your finances overall may just benefit from this plan.
Victoria says
Great posts!! So many great links and ideas!
Thanks for including my free meal planning tool!!
Marci Smith says
Drinking water DEFINITELY helps us cut down on our bill, we never realized how much we were spending!
I need to come up with a meal plan that way we don’t have those days where it’s so much easier to eat out than figure out something to cook
Kam Kay says
I have recently started using meal planner, with inventory list and everything. It makes such a difference, when you write everything down. Thanks for the great tips!
Alli says
Lisa, what a helpful post! Thank you! I am sharing with my little sister, she was just complaining about her grocery bill 🙂
Trish says
Great tips! I am a budget grocery shopper (coupons and store sales), but plan to do more freezer cooking this year as well. That really helps with grocery bills.
Angela Tolsma says
Great tips. It’s been hard moving countries and then trying to figure out food and lower costs. I appreciate the tips and the motivation!
Jacki says
I have a pressure cooker and I use it to make soups and rice on the wood stove – there’s a way to save money! I call it ‘Permaculture Cooking’ because it kills two birds with one stone. Plus the house smells amazing!
Hannah Diane says
Thanks for sharing! These are great tips!
Laura says
Eating healthier and reducing costs are both important on my list for 2016!!! I’m already good about not eating out much and cooking from scratch (obviously… I have a food heavy blog) but two things I want to get better at are Meal Planning and Reducing Food Waste (which is an epidemic!)
Or, at least I need to get better at composting what food waste I do have, rather than sending it to a landfill…
xxox
Laura @ http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
Angie Scheie says
Great post! I haven’t heard of thrive, but I am going to look into it! It’s funny that you mention homemade taco seasoning, because I made my own yesterday 🙂
Dana says
I have been trying to get the hubby to agree to create meal plans (as he is the main cook in the house by choice) but we never get around to doing it. I need to check out Thrive Market, I hear so much about it and have never visited their site. Are they less expensive than Amazon?
Lisa Sharp says
Sometimes yes. And you don’t have to buy most things in bulk.
Liz @ The Clean Eating Couple says
Fabulous tips! I love buying in bulk. Costco and thrive are my go-tos 🙂
Melanie says
Good tips! I need to work more on meal planning – that’s my downfall. I hope you don’t mind me suggesting this to you, but with your fibro (and I don’t know what other health problems you have), have you ever tried cutting nightshades out of your diet to see if it would help? Nightshades include white potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, paprika, cayenne, etc. They’ve been linked to inflammation and higher pain levels in people with arthritis and other inflammatory, painful illnesses (fibro, etc). You can do a Google search…there’s a ton of info out there. Might be at least worth a try? My mom gave up nightshades a few weeks ago at the urging of her natural health practitioner, and she said she feels a million times better. No more pain in her back or hips.
Cara says
Making your own chicken broth is actually super easy and it’s so delicious! These are some really great tips, thank-you for sharing 🙂
Lisa Sharp says
It is surprisingly easy. Glad you enjoyed it.
Farrah says
These are all really great tips! I need to get back into meal planning again (and drinking more water)!
Lisa Sharp says
Thanks! I’m so terrible about drinking enough water.