Often, people give up in their struggle for healthy eating at the very first steps, just because they think it’s too costly to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They are right in some aspects as real superfoods and trendy healthy products typically cost more than you expect. That’s marketing! Yet, eating healthy doesn’t mean that you need to spend almost all your family budget on food. Moreover, there are lots of products in the middle and low-pricing segment you can afford daily and eat healthy.

Let’s learn more about them.

The Most Affordable Food You Can Add to Your Healthy Menu

HLS is frequently supposed to eat costly food like fresh avocados, chia seeds, organic veal meat or exclusive poultry. That’s more about status, we can say. Healthy food products are not always on the central shelves of the mall. They can be affordable too. Let’s consider which products you can buy to cook them healthy.

  • Seasonal vegetables and fruits always cost less than exotic ones. That’s why eating squash and cabbage in autumn when it’s their harvest time, is no less healthy than trying to eat only pineapples, fresh sprouts, and the same avocados. Better remember the proverb that an apple a day keeps a doctor away, as apples are available all year round. Seasonal products can be the basis for your meal prep ideas. Eat fresh berries and sprouts in spring, enjoy the diversity of greenery and vegetables in summer, and pick the best recipes for apples, pumpkins, beats, and carrots for autumn and winter.
  • Substitute odious olive oil and GHI butter with no less healthy types of vegetable oils. Cotton oil, sunflower oil, and even mustard oil are real superfoods but cost less.
  • Do not stick to salmon or branzino as a source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fat acids. Just consider which types of cold water fish are available in your market and select the one you love the most. Get a hint: mackerel and horse mackerel, sardines, and even tiny anchovies and sprats can be great healthy proteins.
  • Buying whole chicken is always cheaper than its chopped parts. Instead of spending money on filet or breasts, get the whole chicken and chop it yourself. You can use breasts, thighs, and legs to serve as a protein part of your plate while wings, necks, and carcasses suit great to cook the broth.
  • Eat fresh vegetables daily and prepare them yourself instead of buying ready-made packs. Celery and carrot sticks and salad greenery mixtures can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Yet, you do not overpay for them when you make them from the products you get from your fridge.
  • Add lentils and grains to your menu. Do you know why Japanese people live long? They eat rice daily. Except for various types of rice which also can be affordable, you can create great garnishing of pearl barley, buckwheat, and corn grits. Boil them and add a portion to your plate.
  • Homemade yogurt and dairy products save you money. The secret is simple – you need to get only milk and some yogurt culture or ferments. Your slow cooker will do all the rest. When you make yogurt yourself, you do not overpay for marketing expenses, and you are sure that there are no extra sugars, colorants, or doubtful ingredients in it.

That’s the basis for your cost-saving meal prep ideas. Yet, which dishes can be made of them?

The Ideas for Healthy Meal Prep Goals: What to Cook to Eat Healthily

Healthy eating is not just about food selection. It’s also about cooking techniques and portions. Thus, when you decide to cook your cheap products to eat them healthy, the best ideas may be as follows:

  • Cook vegetables and protein using a steamer.
  • Multi-cooker is great for cooking grains for garnish.
  • Do not use deep-frying. Just grill or use an air fryer, or bake your products.
  • Monitor portions to keep the balance.

As for cooking ideas to save your budget and eat healthy, at the same time, we have a couple of them to share with you.

  • Steamed chicken meatballs with yogurt sauce and boiled rice are an example of easy-to-cook and cheap HLS serving. Besides, you can make fish balls the same way.
  • A baked mixture of seasonal vegetables like carrots, broccoli, leek stems, squash slices, celery roots, and others can become a great lunch. Just season them with some herbs, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and some additional tastes like soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, chili paste, or pesto, or paprika and then bake in a tray.
  • Baked cabbage steaks can be a great alternative to meat for low cost. Seasoning is the secret of their taste.
  • Use techniques of oriental or Mediterranean cuisines to cook cheap food. For example, Middle Eastern falafel (crockets made of chickpea with dried mint and spices) used for some kind of wraps are great for healthy eating. Consider also Greece souvlaki, Israeli shakshuka, and Italian Caprese or Panzanella salads to be great examples of simple, tasty, healthy, and cheap servings.

We just enclosed a couple of secrets of how to eat healthy without spending top dollar. Besides, we have one more for you. Just take a look at our healthy meals prep & delivery menu. Often, ordering ready-made meals from us saves you both time and money. So, save them and enjoy healthy meals with no harm to your budget.