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This month, we are giving a spotlight to a guide written by Conor Walsh at Delivery Rank: How to Eat Healthy on a Budget. Conor's guide is full of helpful tips - from grocery shopping to eating out - that are sure to give you the tools to stick to your budget while keeping a balanced diet. In this post, we are highlighting five of these tips to get you started.
1. Learn to Store Food Properly
Food wastage is costly, but usually forgotten about. By some estimates, 30-40% of all food purchased is dumped in the bin. That’s 30-40% of your grocery budget you’re not even eating! The quickest way to reduce food waste is storing food correctly so it doesn’t go bad before you eat it. You’ll throw less food out, the less you’ll buy replacing the waste.
Practical Steps Print out the guides below and stick them up in your kitchen somewhere they’re easy to see. Any time you put something in the fridge or freezer, label it to know precisely when it expires. Always check your food purchases for individual storage guidelines.
2. Shop at Ethnic Stores
If you live in a medium-sized city, you probably have a few Asian and other ethnic food stores in your area. Often serving lower-income and immigrant communities, these shops are a goldmine for cheap, delicious food from all over the world. If you enjoy experimenting with international cuisines, make sure you’re getting your ingredients from ethnic stores before going to bigger supermarkets.
You’ll also be supporting small, independent businesses.
Practical Steps Look for ethnic stores to buy all your spices, sauces, and specialty ingredients. You can often buy produce in bulk, and many ethnic stores support online shopping.
3. Learn How to Use Leftovers
Cooking at home usually means lots of leftover food lying around in your fridge and pantry. Usually, this food gets thrown out, discarded, or left to spoil. But you can probably reuse much of this food in various ways to create even more healthy, delicious dishes.
Practical Steps Before dumping leftover food, think about how you could use it in something else you like to cook. Burritos, stews, soups, broth, homemade pizza, salad, stir-fries, and sandwiches can all be made from leftovers.
4. Check a Restaurant's Menu Online
When choosing a restaurant, check their menu first to see how much dishes cost and if they’re within your budget. Doing some basic research saves you any awkwardness when you arrive at the restaurant - or regret if you end up overspending. You can also decide if it's worth splashing out on an expensive meal, but waiting until you have a little more disposable money to do so.
Practical Steps
Check a restaurant’s website to read an online version of their menu before booking a table or turning up without a reservation.
If they don’t have a menu online, see if it's listed on any food delivery apps instead. The prices should be the same as in the restaurant.
5. Carry Healthy Snacks (While Travelling)
Snacking is the quickest and easiest way to fall into bad food habits while traveling. The lack of routine, constant sightseeing, and long days mean you can easily wind up depending on junk food and unhealthy snacks to keep you going.
To avoid this, set aside some time to make quick, healthy, and filling snacks you can carry around in your bag or backpack and eat on the go.
This is also a great way to avoid snacking on cheap food when you’re in transit on buses or trains.
Practical Steps Pack some reusable Ziploc bags or lightweight Tupperware in your luggage for DIY snacks when you travel.
Get 75 more useful tips by exploring the Healthy Eating on a Budget guide for yourself! Visit https://www.deliveryrank.com/blog/how-to-eat-healthy-on-a-budget and start building better habits today.
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