I often hear that eating a particular way is expensive and that what we suggest to our members (Fresh Start) is not affordable long term. However, there may be a way to eating healthy on a budget.
Healthy eating and saving money is not the most obvious combination, but it can be done when planned properly. Utilising local markets and discounted produce, as well as cooking foods that keep well, can make saving money a reality.
The best way for me to show you, is to use my own experience, as healthy produce is a very important aspect of not only my results, but also my lifestyle. Sundays are my shop and preparation day, however this same approach can be broken into daily shopping.
Utilising local markets and discounted produce, as well as cooking foods that keep well, can make saving money a reality.
Meat is a considerable component of the Fresh Start, as well as fats. The need to rotate foods is important, for not only your health (gut function etc.) but also to keep things interesting, so I change my meat week to week. When eating healthy on a budget, I make sure I’m covered in all areas of proteins, having red, white and seafood each day. Fats differ weekly as well, and this is heavily dictated by what is on special when I do my shop.
I start at the South Melbourne Market. Markets are fantastic, as they cut out the middleman between farmer and supermarket, allowing the produce to be considerably cheaper. I focus on using meat cuts that are from the not so fancy part of the animal which automatically cheapens them, for example:
- Offal (liver, cheek, oxtail etc.)
- Mince
- Chuck steak
- Boler blade
The benefit of these cuts on top of their cost effectiveness, is the ease of cooking them. All can be either slow cooked in stock or made into some sort of sauce. This takes minimal time and concentration. This applies to white meat as well, such as turkey, pork and chicken.
I should mention that I try to leave my market shop towards the back end of a Sunday, as all produce must be sold by the end of the working day, so stalls will start to reduce the price in order to move the produce. Supermarkets can leave their produce in fridges for days, where as markets cannot, so I often get a great price on these already cheaper cuts.
Vegetables are bought purely based on what is the cheapest that day. Due to seasons, veggies will differ in price, and so this dictates what I eat and when. I really try to avoid consuming the same types year round… although I do love zucchinis. The same principle on Sunday afternoons can be applied to vegetable shopping at the markets. I just got a kilo of sweet potato for $5!
My last stop is larger supermarkets. The only produce I buy is packet based foods such as rice, butter, olive oil and stock. All of these purchases are dictated by which brand is discounted on the day. For me, cost of produce is the priority over organic, however I still manage to buy mostly organic foods. Coles and Woolworths now both have organic brands in their generic home brands. If I have to make a midweek stop at a supermarket, I only purchase the discounted meat. You can usually find a saving of 20-50% off the produce, with the only difference being it needs to be cooked that same day. Organic meat produce can also be found in large chained supermarkets, one great brand is Cleavers Meats, sold both at Coles and Woolworths.
A budgeted Fresh Start can be done! You just need to be structured in your approach to the shop as well as the cook (everything is slow cooked, so flavour mostly comes from something as simple as onions and herbs). The main focus on eating healthy on a budget: Market Shop, Discounted Produce and Seasonal Produce.
