4 tips to save money on groceries when trying to eat healthy

4 tips to save money on groceries when trying to eat healthy Have you ever experienced a shockingly high grocery bill when trying to eat healthier? If so, you're not the only one.

A meta-analysis of 27 previous studies in fact, suggests that eating a healthy diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and nuts costs about 1.50 euros more per day than eating a less healthy diet full of refined grains and meats. Yet you can eat healthy food and lose weight without spending a lot of money with some careful planning and frugal choices. In fact, the tips below will help with this!

Go for commercials

In any given week, supermarkets hold promotions and sales for a variety of items. Keeping track of these sales and incorporating them into your meal plan can be a great way to reduce your weekly grocery bill. One of the best ways to find deals and special coupon offers is to check the weekly circular, but do this before you shop. So plan your weekly menu and shopping list around the produce, meats and stock items that are on sale, and then buy extra items like meat, vegetables and fruit to freeze for later use.

Choose cheap brands

While it may seem like you should stick to well-known, trusted brands to eat healthier, that is not always the case. The shop brand is often made by the same manufacturer as its competitors, but at a lower price. With shop brands costing a few cents to a few euros less, those savings will start to add up, especially when you consider that shop brands can be found for almost every category of food you can think of. So buy the healthy ingredients you use in your weekly menu mainly from the cheap shop brands.

Bulk can be useful

Buying rice or pasta that can be cooked in the microwave in one minute sounds convenient, but it can also make an inexpensive food more expensive. Save money by choosing foods that have a longer cooking time. Prepared and convenience foods like pre-cut fruit or instant rice can cost more money than foods that require more prep work, like whole fruit or rice, that take more than 30 minutes to prepare. It may take a few extra minutes and some extra energy cost to prepare your meal, but the savings and health benefits may be worth it.

Substitute ingredients from recipes

We've all experienced it before - you find a new recipe you can't wait to try, but it calls for small amounts of several ingredients and spices you've never tried before. Instead of buying a big, full jar of spice that you may never use again and paying a hefty fee for it, consider replacing it with an ingredient you have on hand or know you will use again. Especially handy if it's cheaper!