Sunday 30 June 2013

Being healthy doesn't need to cost a fortune!

Today's blog is about eating healthy on a budget because a lot of people think that to eat on a budget you need to buy processed packet food. 

This is not true! When you add up how much you're spending on processed food it probably works out to be more than it would be if you bought fresh! Not to mention the long term costs of eating processed foods (illnesses, lack of energy - I could go on, I will save that for a another day!)  While some speciality items can be expensive, these are not essentials and if you can't afford them then don't buy them!

If you plan your weekly meals or at least have a fair idea what you want to cook for a few nights, the grocery shop can be easy and cheap!

I put myself to the test with this because at one stage I was spending a ridiculous amount of money on food (over $450 per week for 3 people - 2 adults and a 5 year old -craziness!). I wasn't looking at the price of items and must have been buying random unnecessary items. At the end of the month I was wondering where all my money had gone and when I looked through my bank statement I realised it was all of the little shops in between my big weekend grocery shop that was making it all add up. If I had just planned my meals before my shop and purchased everything I needed on the weekend then there would be no reason to go to the shops at all during the week. Plus it didn't help that I was going to the markets, then to the butcher then to deli... When going to all these different stores it's easy to lose track of how much you're spending. 

So with better planning and my budget cap on I went to Aldi to do my weekly shop (I think I am converted) and can happily say I am spending under $150 per week on groceries - this even includes fresh fruit and vegetables, meats and other house hold items. While no fresh produce compares to an organic farmers market, sometimes it just isn't convenient or accessible so just make sure you wash your produce really well before consuming to remove some of the toxins entering your body from the pesticides used. I always wash mine if non organic in solution of water and apple cider vinegar. (quick tip: you can do all of the washing of the produce all at once and dry it and put it away for the week so you don't have to do it each day).

I like my family to eat whole, clean, organic (when possible) foods, and while I thought it was necessary to buy all fancy items, it really isn't! You can have a yummy wholesome dinner each night for under $15 easily!

Some examples of dinners I will be making my family this week (all from Aldi - btw Aldi has a great selection of organic foods - just not fruit and veg yet).

- Stir-fried grass fed organic beef strips with broccoli, carrot, capsicum and brown rice
- Grilled chicken breast (marinated in garlic and dried herbs over night) with roasted root vegetables, mixed with quinoa topped with goats cheese feta
- Organic grass fed lean beef mince spaghetti bolognese with vegetables (enough for two nights) can be made with gluten free pasta (tastes the same!)
- Quinoa risotto (recipe on blog)

So things to remember when doing your shop- 
- First have your list with you so you know exactly what you are there to buy
- Make your dinners a little bigger so you can eat the left overs for lunch the next day to save buying it
- Buy nutritious side dishes that fill you up such as quinoa or brown rice)
- Actually look at the price of food (this sounds silly but I never did and the food that is expensive is usually not in season!)

Let me know if you have some good recipes or tips on eating healthy on a budget!

Bee xx



image sourced from: jcnn.com.au

2 comments:

  1. Hi, this blog is quite hard to read because of the background!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there! Thanks for your feedback! I am just wondering what background you mean? The writing should be on a white background making it easy to read? Is the white not showing?

      Thanks!

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