Eating Healthy On A Budget

I have it heard over and over... "It's to expensive to eat healthy",  "I'm not buying organic, its not worth it", "I don't have time to prepare something for lunch, I'll just get something on the way to work".  I have to disagree with all the excuses some come up with.  When you consider the value of food in terms of nutrients, the servings it provides and the long term health benefits preparing your own meals over "fast food" choices, there is no comparisons.  What kind of costs will you pay later by eating $1 menu burgers, etc. instead of a little bit more on healthy foods that you prepared.  Eating healthy and plant-based is not only easy, but the best part is you will probably save money over the course of a month, especially when you cut out the "drive thru".

Some are blessed with the availability of a close by Trader Joe's( my favorite), Whole Foods( yes you can get great prices on their own "365" brand) or Aldi's have great prices on store brands.  

The other day I went to Walmart to see what your hard earned money can buy in terms of healthy food.  Here are several items I found that could be used to meal prep for a weeks worth of healthy meals:

Breakfast- Do Over Night Oats

*Great Value Multi-Grain Oats 18 oz $2.68 

*Ground Organic Flax seeds 16 oz $2.98

*Frozen Berries Mix 32 oz $9.96

*Hodgson Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour 5 lb $3.96( for pancakes)

Great Value Organic Chia seeds 12 oz $3.92

Bananas .44 cents per lb.

Lunch-

La Banderita Whole Wheat Tortillas $1.98

Great Value Multi Grain Bread $2.50

Vegan Just Mayo $3.48

Organic Romaine Lettuce 3-pak  $3.42

Organic Chopped Kale 16 oz bag $4.28

Tomatoes $1.29 per lb

Avocados $1.00 each 

Organic Baby Carrots 2 lb bag $3.48

Organic Celery $1.94

with Organic Peanut Butter $3.92

Dinners-

Iberia Brown Rice 5 lb bag $3.14(WOW!)

Great Value Organic Red Quinoa 16 oz $3.92

Organic extra Firm Tofu @2.80

Great Value Organic Black Beans 92 cents per can

Great Value Organic Chick Peas 92 cents per can

Dry Black Beans/Chick Peas/Lentils 1 lb bag $1.42 Great for making soups!

Frozen Broccoli Florets 3 lb bag $5.94

Frozen Mixed Veggies 3 lb bag $5.94

Sweet Potatoes 3 lb bag $2.94

Russet Gold Potatoes 5 lb bag $2.47

Gluten-free 4 grain Spaghetti $1.77

Whole Wheat Spaghetti $1.00

Organic Crushed Tomatoes 28 oz can $1.98

Head of Cauliflower $2.97( make "rice crumbles" with Taco seasonings $1.00

to make "meat" for spaghetti)

You can make quite a few different recipes with these ingredients for a whole weeks worth of meals.

 Most nutrient dense foods are very affordable, so you can can eat healthy for less money!

Check out my 3-part series on "Eat Like Peasant, Live Like Royalty"

Coming soon; Meal Prepping

P.S. Checkout "What The Health" now available on Netflix.

It's an eye opening Documentary from the makers of "Cowspiracy"

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd