5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Food

What are your biggest challenges to eating healthfully?  There are a few I hear from readers and my health coaching clients all the time...

Eating healthy is boring; healthy food isn't delicious. I like to eat things that taste good -- and that usually means they are bad for me. 

Eating healthy is EXPENSIVE! I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods every day. 

Eating healthy takes a lot of time and I'm a busy person. It's just not possible to eat healthfully and cook all the time with my schedule. 

I definitely know the challenges. And believe me when I say that I'm not made of time or money either, but it is possible to eat healthy, delicious, amazing, good-for-you food without spending a ton of money or a ton of time in the kitchen. 

Today I'm going to share a few simple ways to get started.

1. Plan Your Meals
Ooh the daunting task of planning meals. It sounds so overwhelming and time-consuming, right? I mean, don't you need a calendar, twenty cookbooks, a shopping list, a calculator, a pot of coffee, a snuggie, and a Masters Degree to get started? Wrong. 

Just hearing the term "meal planning" makes some folks run away in fear. But, let me tell you, there is no reason to be scared. Meal planning can be as simple (or as complicated) as you want it to be. Meal planning works differently for each person and every family, but in my house, I set up a loose structure for the week to give me some guidance, but allow for flexibility as needed. I start by thinking about:

• Produce that is in season 
• Flavors or certain types of food that I'm craving (or that have been requested by my partner)
• How much time I have for meal prep and cooking this week
• How many meals we will need for the week

Then I map out a simple plan from there including recipe ideas and assigning prep work to different days. I usually like to do a large batch of cooking on Sundays and prepare our meals for Monday through Wednesday. Then I typically try to reserve my Wednesday evenings for cooking Thursday through Saturday. Having a meal plan helps me to keep cooking time to a minimum because I can cook in batches since I know exactly what we'll be eating.
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