Eating healthy doesn’t have to include expensive trips to the grocery store. We believe that when you eat real ingredients there are no rules to eating. To help you eat healthier, we’ve mapped out a few tips to shopping smarter and making lifestyle changes that’ll leave you and your wallet feeling satisfied.
What’s on sale and in season?
Before you plan your meal, take a peek at what can still be used in your refrigerator and then check the flyer for seasonal ingredients that are on sale. Not only does sale shopping allow us to try new ingredients we wouldn’t otherwise select, but allows us to get even more creative in the kitchen. To find out if a specific item is on sale, we use Flipp, a mobile app that searches all grocers for the item you’re looking for at the cheapest price.
Meal plan
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks – plan it. It’s important to plan out your meals for the week to save costs and ensure you have enough food to last so you aren’t hitting up the grocery store for snacks (by snacks I means chips) or getting takeout. We use a daily meal planning sheet that allows us to insert all of our meals for the week ahead. Once we’ve got a plan, we jot down the ingredients needed, head to the grocery store and…
Shop with a list
What’s worse: entering a grocery store hungry or entering a grocery store without a list? Trick question, they are equal recipes for disaster. Both make you add items to your cart that arent needed. Both steer you off of the meal plan you created for your week. And both make you select unhealthy choices – because who can say no to a fresh french baguette…mmm butter. Off topic… see this is what grocery shopping without a list is like. Don’t do it.
Don’t be afraid of the f word
Frozen. What did you think we meant? If your favourite fruit or veggie isn’t in season, check the frozen section. Not only is it cheaper to purchase, but it lasts longer especially if you don’t plan on using the entire package right away. Plus, how convenient is it to pull out frozen berries for shakes or frozen corn for chilli?
Stretch your ingredients
Purchase items that do double, or even triple duty. A weekly staple in our kitchen is a whole chicken. We start by roasting the bird – seasoned with spices, lemons and garlic, and have roast chicken with veggie sides for roughly three meals. Next, we feature chicken as the star of a dish, whether it be quesadillas, curry or a teriyaki. Now, here’s where it gets fun. We save all our bones, make our own bone broth and by week’s end, we’ve got a pot of soup on the stove. Challenge yourself to stretch ingredients and repurpose items throughout the week.
Buy in bulk
Spices, grains and nuts are much less expensive when purchased in bulk as opposed to premeasured packages. Buying in bulk reduces waste, overall costs and lets you choose how much or how little of something you want. Also, since you aren’t committing to giant packages of product, you can test small portions of ingredients you’ve always wanted to try like that exotic black quinoa or spicy smoked paprika.
Eat non-animal types of protein
Skipping meat once per week is a natural and common method in our kitchen. Try working with tofu, chickpeas or lentils – these sources of protein are substantial and nutrient packed selections that mix up your culinary routine and amp you up with additional vitamins. Working with a protein you aren’t familiar with can increase your inventiveness in the kitchen too.
Pack your lunch
There’s no surer way to blow your budget and make unhealthier choices then forgetting to pack your lunch. Try prepping the night before, or rise 10 minutes earlier to ensure you are successfully preparing for the week ahead. This is where relying on meal planning can aid in healthier and cheaper food choices versus spending $10 on a “healthy” turkey sandwich pulsed with loads of sodium and ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Shop the Sale Cart
There’s no surer way to blow your budget and make unhealthier choices then forgetting to pack your lunch. Try prepping the night before, or rise 10 minutes earlier to ensure you are successfully preparing for the week ahead. This is where relying on meal planning can aid in healthier and cheaper food choices versus spending $10 on a “healthy” turkey sandwich pulsed with loads of sodium and ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Grow Your Own
There’s no surer way to blow your budget and make unhealthier choices then forgetting to pack your lunch. Try prepping the night before, or rise 10 minutes earlier to ensure you are successfully preparing for the week ahead. This is where relying on meal planning can aid in healthier and cheaper food choices versus spending $10 on a “healthy” turkey sandwich pulsed with loads of sodium and ingredients you can’t pronounce.
What are your suggestions for eating healthy on budget?
Bon appetit,
Chef Sous Chef
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