HEALTHY ON A BUDGET -

As food prices go up, we tend to decrease our grocery budget. Whenever I hear people tell me it’s too expensive to eat healthy I give them the straight face. (Insert straight face emoji). So here are a few tips and tricks for you to keep healthy in mind next time you’re deciding between a bag of chips and a bag of kale. (Ps. Kale chips are soooo tasty and a lot better for you than potato chips, also Kale is so inexpensive read on!)

Plan and think about how much you can spend on a month to month basis, keep your receipt and see what you’re buying. Plan your meals so you know ahead of time what ingredients you will need. Make a list and stick to it!

If you want a healthy diet and you want to even out your budget you’re looking at spending more on essentials and spending less on the extras like chips and cookies. Spending your money on fruits and veggies instead of the snacks will help you to slash the dollars instead of slashing nutrition. Fruits and veggies make great snacks actually! Have you ever tried strawberries and cool whip? Or apples sprinkled with cinnamon?

Don’t shop when you’re hungry. I like to snack before arriving at the grocery store because I always accidentally put more in my cart when I’m starving. *I hate it when I accidentally drive to Chipotle and eat an entire burrito.

Take a peak at prices next time you’re in the grocery store and compare, how much is your regular milk vs. soy/coconut/almond milk. If a bag of organic green beans are out of your budget opt for grabbing fresh green beans again compare prices and decide if you are willing to spend the extra cent or dollar amount and forgo that unhealthy snack. If you are looking to jump start a healthy eating lifestyle really take a look at what you need versus what you don’t need. Larger brands will also be a bit more expensive than the off brands, so don’t get sucked into this, also take a look at the ingredients of what you are buying, learn about reading food labels.

Get creative. You can use lemon on salads, in water as a refresher and on fruit! Carrots and celery last a lot long longer when you wrap it in aluminum foil. Get fancy with nuts and other seeds. Add them to your meals, beans are inexpensive high in fiber and protein. Green peppers taste great sautéed for dinner or fried up with your eggs and they also double as a healthy snack with hummus. Think of new ways to eat the same foods different ways.

Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa & Black Beans

Save more money by eating at home more frequently. Just remember that when you cook at home you are controlling what you eat. Buying the ingredients to make a pizza lasts a lot longer than one frozen pizza or ordering pizza online.

If you’re feeling lost you can save my eat clean grocery list for beginner right here. Save it on your phone and take it with you! If you plan on printing this you can add your other items in the extra column!

Pineapple and raspberries with OJ Smoothie with Chia Seeds

That’s that! I can’t believe September is already over! If you have been following along on my Facebook Page you know that there was a September challenge to qualify you just had to like my Facebook Page and post one of your healthy meal ideas, the more you posted the more that increased your chance of winning. The winner will be receiving a sweat belt (targets the tummy area and helps to decrease bloating) some weights and a workout top! I’ll be announcing the winner at the end of today on my Facebook page so stay tuned if you’ve been participating, thank you for your continuous support and good luck!