Healthy Eating on a Budget Effective Budget Meal Planning

There are simple steps you can take to healthy eating on a budget and I am going to reveal three of them. Today, there is a multi-million dollar industry built around so-called "health foods". However, if you examine the ingredients found within these products they turn out to be not so healthy.

This is because many "health food," or diet products are made primarily with processed ingredients and chemicals. These are things that not only drive up the cost of your food, but also reduce the actual health benefits of the foods, driving up rising health care costs. If you want effective budget meal planning and to eat healthy, use these three great strategies to save money without breaking the bank.

Container Garden

One of the easiest ways to healthy eating on a budget is to grow your own herbs and vegetables in containers. For less than $25 you can set up a container garden in your house or on your patio that will provide you with months of fresh organic herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables. Plants that do well in containers include strawberries, blueberries, most herbs, peppers, tomatoes and legumes.

Package Your Own Single-Serve Meals

Today people spend a lot of money on pre-packaged, single-serve healthy meals. These meals can cost anywhere from a couple dollars a package to over $6 per package. While these products are convenient, you have no control over the quality of the ingredients going into your meals.

What I like to do is buy the reusable snack storage containers that come with lids and that are freezer friendly. I then spend one day a month slow cooking soup, stew, rice dishes and other healthy eating on a budget meals that freeze well. I then measure out one serving for each container and freeze the meals for later. All month long I have a great selection of budget meal planning that cost less than $1 per serving ready to go.

Buy in Bulk

Buying healthy foods in bulk is really the best way to go. Buying in bulk means that you are not paying for containers, just the food that you are buying. It also allows you to select from a wider selection of ingredients to cook with as bulk food stores offer you dozens of options. This means you can experiment with healthier alternatives to wheat flour, processed white sugar and other staples in your kitchen.

You can also find tasty ways to healthy eating on a budget by adding fiber, spice and texture to your food without adding any extra fat, sugar or other unhealthy elements to your recipes. Try one of these budget meal planning ideas yourself and let me know how it goes.

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This guest article is by Madeline from About Personal Finances, which is all about living a good life, enjoying it, and being responsible financially.

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