A lot of people associate eating healthy as quite an expensive way of life. But switching from highly processed convenience foods, to fresh single ingredient foods need not be as expensive as you would think. In fact in many ways it can be cheaper.  I have outlined below my tips for eating healthy on a budget

1. Scour the Shelves

Most supermarkets have a reduced aisle that they will add to throughout the day.  Fresh stuff will always go out of date and supermarkets will always want to sell them, rather than put them in the bin. A good time to have a look at these is at the end of the day or at lunchtime when they know people are looking for something to have for lunch/dinner. Here you should find cheaper fresh fish, deli meats, prepared salads, fruit, vegetables and yoghurts. As long as you don’t mind having 1-2 days to eat the goods then you will be able to eat fresh very well on limited funds!

2. Batch Cook

Most of us eat overeat when it comes to portions.  So this is not only a great way to be organised but it’s a great way to “portion” food up for the future.  Invest in a stack of good Tupper-wear boxes and portion your meals up in these.  They can then be frozen or refrigerated for “ready meals” on the nights you are busy or can be kept as lunches to bring in to work. One of my favourite batch cooking techniques is to make home-made burgers (look out for the reduced mince as in tip 1!). Pack them full of your favourite ingredients, cook and freeze.  A 500g pack of mince will normally make 8-12 burgers.  More than enough for a week!

3.Eat Eggs

These nutritious little gems are very versatile and are my fast food! They are cheap, nutritious, delicious and can be made as part of or as a meal of their own. Fried, poached, scrambled, baked, omelettes and boiled!

4. Buy Frozen

Veg is veg. So whether it is bough fresh and organic, or bought cheap and frozen you will still get their goodness. I have seen bags of mixed vegetables for less than £1 a bag that will last 2-3 days if added to every dinner.

What are your tips for eating healthy on a budget?