8 Ways to Save $$ and Eat Healthfully

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Think it's easy to eat healthfully only if your wallet is overflowing and you have a personal chef on call? Think again.

It's easy for the rest of us, too, and all we have to do is alter our shopping and eating habits slightly.

The latest issue of Consumer Reports offers 20 tips for healthful eating on a budget. Here are some of our favorite quick and painless tips:

Plan ahead. Make a menu for the week and aim to get everything you need in one or two trips to save on gas (and impulse buying). Watch for flyers or visit your supermarket online to check for sales, and let those drive your menu.


Buy in season. That means no strawberries in December in Maine, when you'll pay for shipping from some far-off warm place. Seasonal picks include cherries, melon, peaches, tomatoes, and peppers in summer; snow peas, spinach, and strawberries in spring; and carrots, cauliflower, citrus fruits, and cranberries in fall.


Eat beans. They're inexpensive, versatile, and a great source of protein and fiber. Add them to salads, soups, chili, and pasta dishes to increase bulk. Canned beans are the easiest to use, but for maximum economy buy dried beans.

Try tofu. It's a low-cost, nutrient-packed substitute for meat and cheese. Add tofu to salads, or sauté it with vegetables and something savory such as chili sauce or tamari and serve over brown rice. If you don't like tofu, experiment with tempeh, a related product with a meatier texture.

For produce, go frozen. Frozen fruits and vegetables, often flash-frozen soon after picking, can be more nutritious than "fresh" items that have sat on store shelves for a while. And you don't have to worry about the frozen variety spoiling before it's eaten.

Choose store brands. Also called "private label," they are often just as good as the name brand and can save you money.

Buy a whole bird. Get a whole chicken and cut it up (or not) as you wish. It's more economical than buying separate breasts, thighs, etc., and you can get a nutrient packed broth out of it, too. Freeze pieces that you're not using right away in individual freezer bags.

Use your scraps. Cook leftover vegetables and potatoes into a frittata, even for dinner; eggs are a great source of protein. Use bones, meat scraps, or vegetable trimmings to make broth.

For more tips, visit www.ConsumerReports.org.

How do you save money at the supermarket? For me, bulk bins, big-batch cooking and shopping local help keep my grocery bill low.