We all know fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are the best options when it comes to eating; but these good-for-you items are often much more expensive than their frozen, canned or drive-thru counterparts. Unfortunately for many, the dollar sign is more important than the nutritional value of the meal and their shopping cart is filled with frozen dinners and packaged noodle dishes.

With product sizing and portions differing from box to box, it’s hard to determine which product is really the best option for your money. One tip is to compare the “unit price” often listed on the price label on the shelf. The “unit price” breaks down the price by measurement so you can compare your canned and frozen beans’ price per ounce. It’s all about strategy!

In addition to shopping by “unite price” one of the best strategies for eating healthy at home is to use “the 3 P’s:”

  • Plan: Sit down before going to the store to plan meals and snacks for the week on an established budget. Knowing what ingredients you need and what dishes you will actually make with them is a good way to avoid buying too many perishable items that will go bad before you consume them. With your plan in hand, you can also browse local sales fliers to decide which stores to buy what ingredients. Remember to include leftovers in your plan, as you may not need to prepare food the day after a big meal.
  • Purchase: If possible, go to the grocery store alone when you are not hungry or in a rush to avoid impulsive buys. Remember, convenience sizes and pre-cut fruits and vegetables usually cost more, so even though the alternative may take more prep time, the savings add up. Fresh vegetables are more expensive when not in season, so seek out low-sodium alternatives in the canned aisle. Good low-cost items available all year round include beans, carrots, greens, potatoes, apples and bananas.
  • Prepare: Pre-cooking larger meals in advance is a great way to prepare healthy dishes to eat when you are in a rush or tired from a long day at work. You can even spread out your cooking by making larger portions and freezing meal-sized containers for later use. Be creative with your fruits and vegetables, using them in a variety of ways during the week to avoid getting burnt out on your homemade meals.

So, try it out! With some strategy, planning, and our tips, you too can eat healthy on a budget!

Related Articles

We would love to learn what would be helpful on this page for you.

Articles by tag

2020 2021-top-workplace 4th-of-July 5-star-physician ACLS AED air-purification allentown Allergies announcement Antibiotics anxiety Aspen Hill coming soon Asthma autumn award awards back-to-school baltimore baltimore-child baltimore's-child baltimore-sun beach bedside-manner bel-air Best of Best urgent care Best urgent care VA beach best-for-families Bestof best-of best-of-2019 Best-of-2020 best-of-award best-of-awards bestofcountytimes Best-of-Jewish-times-winner best-urgent-care Best-urgent-Care-Bowie-Blade-News best-workplace bethlehem Biking Black-Friday blog Blood-Donation BLS Blueberries Camping capital-gazette careers CDC Cholesterol Circadian-Rhythm Cold cold-prevention colon-cancer concussion coronavirus covid-19 COVID-19-Test CPR cramp-prevention Dehydration dental-health Depression Dermatitis diabetes Drowning Drug Screening Dry-Skin eastern-pa easton Eating-Disorder employees employment Ergonomics E-Scooter exercise eye-health face-mask fall fall-sports Farmer's-Market First-Aid Fitness Flu Flu-season flu-shots food-storage food-swaps football For Parents For Women for-moms for-parents fredericksburg free-play Gastrointestinal General Generation-X-Health gift-ideas Goals Halloween hand-foot-and-mouth Hand-Washing Hanukkah harrisburg headache Head-Lice Health Healthcare Health-History health-symptoms Healthy Living healthy-eating healthy-living healthy-swaps Heart Heart-Disease heart-health Heat Heat-Exhaustion Heat-Safety hiking holiday Holidays horizonBCBS horizon-blue-shield Humidifier hydration Illness Inclusivity Inclusivity & Accessibility inclusivity-&-accessability injury-prevention Insect-Stings Insurance jetlag jobs Kidney Kwanzaa Laughter lehigh-valley life-support-class Lightning maryland Mask meal-prep mechanicsburg medical-records melanoma Memory Retention memory-retention Men's-Health mental-health Migrane millennial Millennials montco montco-pa montgomery-county montgomery-county-pa Mood Improvement Movember MRSA new jersey new-center new-jersey new-year New-Year's northern-va northern-virginia nova Nutrition Obesity Occupational Health ocean-safety osteoporosis outdoors Paddle-Sports PALS parenting Parenting-Tips parent-tips patient-first pennsylvania pets philadelphia philly physicals poison-ivy poison-prevention Power-Outage Pregnancy Probiotics Productivity Protein pumpkin recipe recipes registration resolutions richmond River Running safety Safety Tips safety-tips Seasonal-Affective-Disorder shin-splings sickness-prevention simply-the-best skin sleep Smoke-Detector Smoking Snow soccer sore-throat south-jersey sports Sports-Physicals spotsylvania Spring spring-cleaning St.-Patrick's-Day stafford Stitches strep Strep-Throat stress stress-managment Stroke summer summer-sports Sunburn Sunglasses Sun-Safety Sunscreen Swimmer's-ear swimming TBI Teal-Pumpkin Teething Thyroid tick tips-for-parents top-physicians top-workplace traveling-tips travel-tips Travel-Vaccines urgent-care Urinary-health vacation vaccinations vaccines Valentine's-Day Valentines-Day Video Vitamin-D volunteering Walking washington-dc washington-post washington-post-2019 Water-Sports Weight-Lifting Wellness Winter Workouts Yard-Work Yearly-Physical