How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Going grocery shopping/buying food is that never ending chore that is completely necessary and sadly, not cheap. Even more so, healthy food is not cheap. Why does a hamburger at Mcdonalds cost 1$ but a salad cost $7? 

Living on a college budget I have learned a few tricks to eating healthy for less! 

1. Plan meal list ahead of time
Planning your meals out for each day allows you to see exactly what you will need and will lessen the chance that you will have to travel back to the store. It also helps curve those cravings to eat out if you already have something planned. 

2. Try to avoid eating out
Living fast paced lives some times makes it impossible to avoid eating out so if you do choose places that are healthy and give you a lot of bang for your buck! My absolute favorites are Chipotle where one burrito bowl with two tortilla shells on the side runs 6.93$ and will feed me for two meals (I make two burritos out of one bowl) and I also love Sweet Tomatoes! They have an incredible salad bar, soup bar and you can take it home too! 

3. Spice up healthy store bought items
I usually buy my groceries from Walmart not only because it is the cheapest but because it is convenient. Buying healthier more organic foods can be plain and boring. The key is to take these store bought items and turn them into something delicious. For example, I will turn ground turkey, pinto and kidney beans, spices and vegetables into a delicious turkey chili that everyone loves! Using ground turkey instead of ground beef is a less fatty and less salty option. Another great meal makeover is turning a healthy canned chunky chicken noodle soup into a star by adding lime juice, fresh black pepper and drops of Siracha for flavor. It's all about creativity! 

4. Find stores that cut out the middle man
There is this magical place called Fresh Fields Farms that deals with local farmers and buys, packages and sells everything in house "cutting out the middle man." Their product is incredible and I can literally get two weeks of healthy and fresh groceries for under 100$. (You don't believe me)... The picture above was literally right after a trip to FFF. The entire left side of the fridge is mine and it is filled with pounds of organic vegetables and freshly cut meats. The bill that day was $98.76 and I still have some of the meats in the freezer. Other stores include local farmers markets, Trader Joe's and Aldi. 

5. Embrace leftovers
Some people can't stand the thought of left overs. I used to be one of them. The trick is... You cannot microwave everything!!! Leftover pizza (unhealthy but sooo yummy) can be eaten cold or even heated up in a skillet, this allows the crust to get crispy again and melt the cheese on top. Things like potatoes, breads or sandwiches can be re heated in the oven. At restaurants if you order a salad, only pour dressing on half of it that way you can take the other half to go and the lettuce won't be soggy and gross. 

Please leave comments if you have any other tricks to eating healthy on a budget as I am always looking for ways to add money to my shopping budget LOL!!