We all know that fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are the healthiest options when it comes to eating. However, these nutritious items can be more costly than their frozen, canned, or fast-food counterparts. For some, price is a bigger concern than the nutritional value of the food, leading them to fill up their shopping carts with less healthy options.

With product sizing and portions differing from box to box, you may struggle to determine what 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 goods’ price per ounce. It’s all about strategy!

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

  • Plan: Before going to the store, sit down to plan meals and snacks for the week on an established budget. A good way to avoid buying too many perishable items is knowing what ingredients you need and what dishes you will make. With your plan in hand, you can also browse local sales fliers to decide at which stores to buy what ingredients. Remember to include leftovers when planning, 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 or 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 these tips, you too can eat healthy on a budget!

Related Articles

Articles by tag

2020 2021-top-workplace 4th-of-July ACLS AED air-purification allentown Allergies Announcement Antibiotics anxiety Aspen Hill coming soon Asthma award awards back-to-school baltimore baltimore-child baltimore's-child baltimore-sun beach bedside-manner bel-air Best of Best urgent care 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 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 Men For Parents For Women for-moms for-parents fredericksburg 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 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 Men's-Health mental-health Migrane millennial Millennials Mood Improvement Movember MRSA new jersey new-center new-jersey new-year New-Year's northern-va northern-virginia nova Now open in Annandale Nutrition Occupational Health ocean-safety osteoporosis outdoors Paddle-Sports PALS Parenting Parenting-Tips parent-tips patient-first pennsylvania pets physicals poison-ivy poison-prevention Power-Outage Pregnancy probiotics Productivity Protein 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 spring-cleaning St.-Patrick's-Day 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 Travel 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