One of the most expensive items in anyone's budget is food costs, so cutting back on your food bill is an excellent way to find that extra cash to put into savings. Here are some of my top tips for saving cash when buying healthy foods:
Buy in Bulk
Buying in bulk can save you a lot of money on many of the items you use on a daily basis. One of the best ways to take advantage of bulk buying is to purchase large quantities of grains, such as brown rice or beans. These types of food can be added to your favorite recipes, to make them heartier or stretch portions, for just pennies a serving.If you have a spare freezer, you can also save significantly by purchasing bulk perishable items such as poultry and beef. Cheaper cuts of meat can be a real budget-cutter; they can be tenderized by preparing them in a slow cooker or using a marinade before cooking. If you are in a time crunch to use frozen meats before freezer-burn sets in, think creatively -- you may not want turkey every night for a week, but turkey sandwiches are great for lunch; meatloaf gets boring meal after meal, so chop it up and use it in spaghetti sauce.
Cook at Home More
Cooking at home is the only way you can truly control portions, calories, nutrition and cost. If you have health concerns, it is the ideal way to keep tabs on the things that may put your health at risk, such as saturated fat or sodium. Meals made from scratch are virtually always less expensive than meals at restaurants or even convenience foods at the grocery store such as frozen meals.Try to build meals around whole foods, such as fresh produce, rather than items that contain a lot of preservatives. (Even if these items are not only typically higher in calories, they are often higher in sodium, such as canned vegetables.) Plus, those foods that are shelf-stable simply cost more; after all, you pay more for convenience.
After a few weeks of shopping for home-cooking, you may find your budget seems to be going up rather than down -- that's more than likely due to purchasing meat since it is often the most expensive ingredient in any entrée recipe. A great solution to this is to go veggie a few times a week and substitute the meat with lower-cost vegetarian ingredients such as mushrooms or black beans.
Make Extra Helpings
When I first started learning to cook, I would often halve or even fourth a recipe since I was preparing the meal for myself alone. Only when I did the math on buying the same ingredients again a week or two later did I realize how much less it costs to prepare the full recipe and freeze the extra servings rather than preparing the reduced portion at another time. (It also saved me a lot of time because I was able to simply defrost the frozen portions in the microwave rather than preparing another meal.)If you prepare meals for a family, consider doubling recipes and freezing half. Not only is it a great way to use any ingredients that you purchase in bulk, it will cut your energy costs -- reheating a meal in the microwave costs a lot less than heating up the oven to prepare a full meal. This can also help with practicing portion control if you pre-portion your extra servings in meal-sized freezer containers. Plus, you will have an instant, portion-controlled lunch to take to work to avoid fast food or takeout temptation, which will save you cash and calories.
Search for the Right Savings
By changing the way you shop for groceries, you can make a huge difference in your food budget. When you go to the market, make your top priority keeping scouting out healthful foods -- like canned fish, broth, or olive oil -- that are on sale, while turning a blind eye to sales on snacks and convenience items. Use the extra money you used to spend on junk food and unhealthy frozen foods to stock up on healthful items when they are on special.Switching to generic brands at the grocery store you already shop at can save you significantly. It may take a little trial and error to find out which store brands you prefer to your usual variety, but give them a chance: Many generic staples -- like frozen vegetables or canned goods -- are virtually identical to brand-name items in taste and quality.
