How to Eat Well On a Budget
by Chloe French MA MSc ANutr
Covid-19 has impacted many of us financially with many children and families worse off compared to the start of the year. However, despite this added challenge a healthy diet does not need to be expensive or complicated. Here are some tips to maximise your health whilst staying on a budget.
Plan and prepare: Spend time at the weekend or when you have free time planning your meals for the week. Write a list and stick to it when you go to the shops. This will help to reduce your waste, prevent impulse buying and shop smarter.
Avoid marketing traps: Super-food powders, protein bars and freshly made juices often look appetising and seem healthy but will typically leave a heavy indent in your bank account. Instead opt for real, whole foods that often contain an equal if not better nutritional benefit than the processed but heavily marketed alternative and will be far cheaper. For example, you could switch:
Spirulina or a super greens powder spinach
Protein bar/ yoghurt Greek yoghurt with peanut butter
Fresh juice Fresh fruit
It is also important to be aware of flash offers. We can often get drawn in by these ‘deals’ which can often lead to us buying unnecessary products. Instead, look out for deals only on items that are on your shopping list.
Make it yourself: Ready meals, processed snacks and eating out are certainly convenient but are not always the healthiest or cheapest option. Instead try to make more of your meals at home. If it’s easier, batch cook a large meal and then have the leftovers for lunch the next day or freeze individual portions to have at a later time when you have got less time or energy.
Go back to basics: Swap more expensive brands for the supermarkets own version- this is especially true for tinned beans/ tomatoes and dried carbohydrates such as pasta or rice where the items will be very similar often only differing in packaging and price. Don’t be scared of the frozen aisle- frozen fruits and vegetables are often much cheaper than the fresh equivalent. In addition, the fruit or veg is frozen immediately after picking so locks in the nutrients and vitamins. Try adding frozen fruit to smoothies or frozen vegetables to curries, soups or stews. It’s also beneficial to eat seasonal foods since the abundance of these products will reduce their price. In November in the U.K look out for butternut squash, cabbage, parsnip, beetroot, leeks, blackberries, apples, plums or pears.
Utilise everything: According to a study from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) the average U.K. household with children wastes £60 a month on throwing away/ wasting food that could have been eaten (1). Planning your meals based on what you have in combined with utilising your freezer can help reduce food waste whilst saving you money. Here are some ways to make the most of commonly wasted foods:
Roast going off vegetables to make vegetable pasta bake or fry off to make a soup.
Blend going off fruit into smoothie’s, or stew them and add to porridge/ yoghurt.
Blend stale bread to make breadcrumbs and make your own stuffing, breaded fish/ chicken or sprinkle over a pasta bake.
Budget friendly foods to include in your diet:
Lentils
Tins of beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans)
Frozen fruit
Frozen vegetables or fresh, especially when in season
Oats, brown rice, pasta, bread
Yoghurt
Tinned tomatoes
Tins of tuna, mackerel or sardines
Eggs
In addition to focusing on our diet, here are a few ways to help support your body and mind to optimise your overall health and requires minimal cost:
Light some candles, run a bath and read a book to practice some inexpensive self care
Go for a walk each day to clear your head and take a break from social media
Try out a free workout class online and do it from your living room
Trial a meditation app
Although fresh foods can seem more expensive than processed alternatives, these tips will help you to make smarter choices to help you save money and eat better.
Chloe French is a Registered Associate Nutritionist spreading her time between working as a freelance Nutritionist and researching the prevalence and severity of food allergies at the University of Manchester. Her aim is to make healthy eating both accessible and interesting. Chloe prioritzes making evidence-based research relevant to our every day life by educating, inspiring and providing tasty and nutritious recipes. This is important to improve our health, performance and energy levels (both mentally and physically).
References
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Food Surplus and Waste in the UK- key facts. [Accessed online: https://wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Food_%20surplus_and_waste_in_the_UK_key_facts_Jan_2020.pdf]