Money Saving Meals

Contrary to popular belief, healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive.  I’m not exactly sure where this myth originated, but it probably has a lot to do with the fact that processed, sugary “health foods” such as Vitamin Water and weight-loss diets tend to be so expensive.  I’ve got news for you:  most so-called “health food” promoted on TV is pure junk.  True, they may help you lose weight in the short term, but they won’t provide your body with the nutrients it needs to remain healthy in the long run.

I’ve written about frugal guidelines for healthy eating before and here is a ton of great advice about this topic online; however, I thought it would be valuable to be a bit more concrete and share some specific techniques I use to eat healthy for under $10 per day (barring days I eat out of course, which I’ve been doing a bit too much of lately).

Healthy Eating Under $10 Per Day

A 99 cent cheeseburger may be cheap and easy, but I think it’s safe to say you aren’t getting very much bang-for-your-buck with that cheeseburger, nutrition-wise.  Your focus should be not so much on cutting calories or watching fat intake but on getting good nutritional value for the calories consumed.  If you’re eating healthy, nutrient-dense foods your calorie and fat intake problems will take care of themselves.  I’d find it hard to believe anybody could manage to eat more than 500 calories of broccoli and carrots without literally bursting.

• Find a healthy, inexpensive meal you like and eat it every day – Eating the same thing most days of the week is a good way to get the nutrients your body needs and save a few bucks at the same time.  This may seem counter-intuitive to most people because it seems like you might get bored eating the same thing day after day.  In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth.  To the contrary, there’s comfort in routine.  The absolute most dangerous thing for both your waist-line and your wallet is to ask yourself at 11:30 AM “What do I feel like having for lunch today?”  Chances are, you’re pretty hungry by then and will end up making a choice based more on what sounds good for your craving than what’s good for your health.  Hence, you’re likely to end up eating twice the calories you should at 4 times the price at a nearby restaurant.  If you make a habit of eating the same or similar meals every day, you probably won’t even stop to ask yourself “what do I want to eat for lunch today?”  The answer will be automatic:  “the same thing I have every day.”  Temptation is removed.
• Base most meals on beans, nuts, and grains like couscous, quinoa, and brown rice – Pound for pound, there are few foods on earth that pack in as many nutrients per calorie as beans and certain types of grains.  Beans, especially the darker varieties (think black beans), are high in fiber, protein, B-complex vitamins, and extremely low in fat.  Coupled with some nuts, and a grain such as couscous, quinoa, or to a lesser extent brown rice, you have a high-fiber, low-fat meal option with practically every single nutrient your body needs to survive.  Furthermore, you can completely change the taste and character of your meal by mixing in different kinds of fresh vegetables.
• Snack on raw broccoli , carrots, and mixed nuts – A key component of healthy eating is to avoid fatty, unhealthy snacks.  While it would be ideal to avoid unnecessary snacking altogether, the reality is all of us get the munchies from time to time.  If you must snack, do so in a healthy way.  You can eat enough raw broccoli, carrots, and mixed nuts to completely satisfy your hunger for hours at a time for the cost of only about 100 calories or so.  That’s a snack that won’t kill your waistline or your wallet.  If you need something a little sweeter, add raisins.  Avoid Cheetos at all costs.
• Avoid meat – Meat is one of the highest-cost protein sources around.  While some meat is worse for you than others (red meat, for instance), even lean cuts contain a lot of saturated fat.  I’m not saying you should avoid meat altogether, but it is a fact that most Americans eat far more meat than is wise or healthy.  A good guideline would be to eat meat with only one meal a day, and even then keep it to one or perhaps two servings (a serving of meat is roughly the size of your fist).  Any more meat than that and you’re doing a huge disservice both to your health and your pocket book.
• Eat high-fat cheeses and meats (if you must) – Most people simply love the taste of meat and other fatty foods such as cheese.  That’s fine and I have to admit I have an unnatural love of cheese, myself.  Furthermore, both of these foods are good for you in small amounts.  So if you simply must eat meat or cheese, eat the unprocessed full-fat versions.  It will taste better and you will be satisfied with smaller portions since fat is relatively filling compared to carbohydrates and even protein.  The trick is to limit yourself to just one or two servings of each per day.  There’s nothing wrong with indulging so long as you indulge in moderation.
• Fresh fruit is expensive and contains lots of sugar – It pains me to say this since fruit is by far my favorite food group, but fresh fruit is generally expensive and contains a lot of sugar.  It’s natural sugar to be sure, but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.  The general guideline is that you should eat twice as many vegetables as fruits in any given day.  A fortunate side-benefit of this guideline is that fresh vegetables (especially broccoli and carrots) cost roughly half their fruit counterparts, so you’ll save a good bit of money.  Among the few fruits that are cheap enough to eat regularly without breaking the bank are bananas, peaches, and apples.  Fruits that are probably more expensive (or less nutritious) than they’re worth are most berries (including strawberries and acai), watermelons, and oranges.  You can and should still eat these foods, of course, but probably not every day.
• Consider whey protein powder as a protein source – Whey protein is well-known to the gym-rats amongst you, but even non-athletes should consider including it in their daily diet.  You can sprinkle it in your oatmeal, cereal, stir fry, and many other meals or just drink it as a shake.  Two scoops of whey protein per day can cost you less than $1 and account for more than half your daily protein needs.  To save money, consider buying in bulk.  A 4.4 lbs container of Designer Whey (my favorite brand) costs around $50 from Amazon and will last you 4-5 weeks assuming you take 2 scoops per day.  It’s nearly impossible to find a cheaper protein source than that.

If you follow the above guidelines to the T, you can easily eat healthier than 99% of the American population for less than $10 per day.  Don’t think you can live on rice, beans, nuts, and vegetables alone?  Not only can you survive, but you’ll find you have far more energy and are far more satisfied after meals than you currently are eating fast food with piles of meat.