Healthy Eating on a Budget! Why is it so freakin' EXPENSIVE?!

I have struggled with my diet for a long time now. I can definitely say that when I first became interested in changing my eating habits, the prices of healthy foods disappointed me. All I could think was "It's so important to be eating healthy foods but how in the world can I if everything is so freakin expensive? There is NO WAY I could afford it!" I am pre-diabetic at 22 years old. I HAVE TO change the way I eat but with my budget, I just couldn't see how I was going to keep food in the house for me and my 2 year old (who is very picky), while still buying the healthiest food I could. Not to mention, try to keep my head above water with all my bills.

 

I know you have been in the grocery store and looked at organic and all natural foods and wondered why it costs so much to eat the foods that we are "supposed to" eat. There are plenty of reasons to eat organic food... good, better yet, GREAT reasons to do it but for some of us that just can't afford it. I really thought that I had to eat organic, all natural food to be healthy and it made me want to give up. While it is better to eat organic foods, it is not 100% necessary to do so. Some fruits and vegetables are safe to eat even if they're conventionally grown. Let me tell you this was a relief to me!   I had to do a bit of researching but it was really quite simple. Here are steps that I am taking to eat healthy on a tight budget.

• I thought that I had to buy FRESH fruits and vegetables. But guess what? Frozen is good too!! In some cases, they are more nutritious than fresh. Just depends on what's in season in your area, how long after it was picked before frozen and how it was frozen. But either way, frozen fruits and veggies are great and can be cheaper than fresh.

• Don't be afraid to go for the generic or store-brand items. They (a lot of the time) taste the same and sometimes better. You should still check the product labels for specific differences in the brands but for the most part, you can save plenty of money by going with generic healthy foods without splurging on the name brand stuff. It's not really necessary.

• If you are a meat eater, I seriously recommend checking out the meat section and look for meats that have been marked down because they are getting closer to their "Use By" date. Especially if you plan on using them quickly, or if you buy it in bulk (example being...I found a family pack of chicken breasts kinda like whats below. I am a single parent... just me and my 2 year old so that lasts a little while.

Be on the look out for coupons and check your grocery store's sales papers. You can find some really awesome deals if you take a look.

On that last one, I think i will try becoming one of those extreme couponers. LOL... Can't knock their hustle. Some of them are getting hundreds of dollars worth of food and paying little to nothing for it. I will probably have more paper cuts than I really need, especially since I am a massage therapist. I really don't want to use gloves if its not necessary and considering my luck with paper cuts (and I got the equivalent of a paper cut with a piece of plastic) I should probably rethink that plan!

With that being said, I am going to hang out and enjoy the rest of my evening with my little princess. But before I go, I must ask...

How do you save money when grocery shopping for healthy foods?