Is eating healthy too expensive for your budget?
Eating healthy meals and snacks will help you lose weight, have more energy, improve your mood, and reduce the risk of serious health conditions and diseases. But let’s face it, eating healthy can be expensive or is it? Here are several tips to eat healthy on a budget.
- Plan a weekly or monthly healthy menu before you go shopping.
- To eliminate waste, only buy healthy foods you know you will eat.
- Reduce or eliminate high calorie and low nutrition foods and drinks from your shopping list.
- Drink more water, instead of sugary or expense beverages.
- Remember that eating healthy can reduce your future medical bills and medication costs.
- Eat reasonable or recommended portions, instead of eating until you are full.
- Try to eat the recommended Daily Values. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. For example, based on 2,000 daily calories you should plan for the following:
- Total Fat: 65g
- Sodium: 2,300mg
- Dietary Fiber: 25g
- Pack your own healthy food when you travel. Pack your own lunch or eat at home, instead of eating out.
- Review your personal or family budget to allow for healthy eating; for example, choose less expensive forms of media and entertainment. If fresh vegetables and fruit tend to go bad before you eat them, purchase frozen vegetables or fruit instead.
- At snack time, leave healthy foods out where you and the family will see them so they don’t go for the unhealthy snacks.
- Compare the prices of the various varieties of apples. Apple varieties tend to have a wide range in prices.
- Compare food labels of similar foods to ensure the best nutritional value.
- Compare food prices by looking at the price per ounce.
Use fresh vegetables instead of canned, pre-cut, ready made packed ones.
- Increase your daily fiber by buying vegetables, breads, and cereals with 3 grams or more of fiber per serving. High-fiber foods typical are more filling so you eat and buy less. Fiber also has a lot of health benefits, such as helping you maintain a healthy weight and lowering your risk of expensive and serious health conditions and diseases.
Choose one of these tips and try it today!
Contact us for additional information!
Jeff Smith, MPA
Diabetes Program Development Manager
620 South 400 East Ste 362
St. George, UT 84770