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Health & Fitness

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Christianne McCall shares 3 simple tips on stretching a budget to allow more healthy foods. She is offering FREE consultations to anyone who mentions this blog post.

 

So, yeah, I was laid off this week. That sucks. Really. I have three kids and a hungry hubby to feed. I’m also a Health Coach so I really pay attention to what I put in my cart at the store. So now that I have a restricted amount of cash coming in, I am going to have to get more creative with how I feed my family. Below are some things I thought I’d share since the poll I took on my Facebook page clearly showed a need for how to eat well on a limited budget.

  1. Use coupons. I already coupon, pretty heavily. I’ve got one of those three ring binders with the baseball card holders like you see on that television show. If you’re not already couponing, I encourage you to give it a try. For the short period of time in the week it takes to clip, sort and research the coupons you can save A LOT of money. My family alone has saved $3400 in one year from combining sales and coupons. (No joke…it’s on my register receipt!) I am picky about my coupons too. If you look, they are out there for natural and better for you foods. Try websites like Mambo Sprouts for some great options. There are a lot of coupons out there for junk, so you have to be selective. But again, you can find them. (Reach out to me for a private coupon session if you are interested!)
  2. Buy in season. This mostly pertains to produce, but if you eat the way you are supposed to (Health Coach Tip alert!) you should be fruit and veggie heavy in your diet. The spring is coming so expect to see berries, asparagus, peas and more being placed in the front of the produce section. Eating this way is better on your wallet, the environment as they don’t need to be shipped from half a world away! Stock up and freeze for eating later.
  3. Forgo Processed Foods. This is not the easiest thing to do. (I know with a toddler who only wants “chick nugs” and “mac n cheese!”) Plus, think about the LACK of nutrients and LOADS of crap in packaged foods. But YOU can learn to cook a lot of these things from scratch. Seriously have you ever had homemade macaroni and cheese? WOW! Not nearly at all close to the stuff with the powder pack. Research options for your favorite prepackaged stuff. Take an hour or two on the weekend and whip up a double batch of pancakes. Freeze ‘em and then when the kiddos are hungry in the morning before school nuke a few, slice a banana and spread some peanut butter on them. Filling meal in moments. Cheap too!

These are just a few things you can do. There are really many ways you can stretch a family budget to feed them well and not break the bank. I would love to help you out with your food planning. Reach out to me and schedule a free sit-down. In 45 minutes I can give you more ideas on how to use up pantry items, plan a weekly menu and save a few pennies in the process!

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