You can make healthy frugal meals even if you are a beginner!
Is it really possible to make really frugal meals that are also really healthy? It definitely is! I spend way less than most people on groceries and I make very healthy meals. But, it is a process to learn how to make healthy frugal meals. It can definitely be challenging at times! Here are 5 steps to make it easier.
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1. Find your motivation
Having a goal can keep you moving forward even when the going gets tough. And keeping healthy frugal meals on the table can get tough sometimes! But when I think of the benefits, I want to keep going!
I enjoy having extra money to buy pretty things for my house or splurge on quality non toxic makeup. I enjoy taking care of my kids and being able to spend more on homeschooling materials or on other interests that my kids have. I also enjoy having extra money to do things with my family just for fun.
I also love feeling good and having a healthy body. I know what it is like to feel badly, and miss out on doing things I wanted to do in life. I treasure my health.
Your goals might be different than mine. Maybe you want to go on vacation, lose weight or pay off debt. Knowing what your goal is can help you stay motivated to keep saving money! Knowing my goal definitely works for me-whenever I think about what I am able to do or buy because of the money I have saved, I am motivated to keep saving! And whenever I think about the things I am able to enjoy because I feel good, I want to keep eating healthy!
2. Track Your Spending
If you are like most people, this will be a very eye opening experience! It is very easy to overspend on food, especially for busy families. The average family of four spends between $564 and $1288 monthly on food eaten at home according to the USDA. There is a big difference between those two numbers! You might be surprised what you are spending on food every month. If you eat out, you could be spending even more on food.
If all food costs (including meals out) are added together, the amount of money spent each month can be substantial. Tracking your food costs can help you know your starting point and give you some idea of what number you would like to shoot for.
For example Dina Marie was able to cut $500 a month from her grocery budget! She was able to save on food even though she has a family of 10!
Find out how much you are spending with my free printable Food Expense Tracker.
3. CHOOSE CHEAP HEALTHY GROCERIES AND MAKE A MEAL PLAN
Once you know how much you spend normally, then you can begin to work on actively reducing your food costs.
My Clean Eating Cheap Grocery List can help you know which healthy foods are the very cheapest in the grocery store. It is a master list of the healthiest cheapest foods around.
You may also be interested in these articles on how to choose high quality, healthy food on a really tight budget-
The Best Chicken to Buy: Real Food on a Budget
Clean Eating on a Budget-Cheap Fruit
Cheap Healthy Salmon (+ Recipes)
Cheap and Healthy Chicken Broth
The Healthiest White Rice (+ Recipes)
After looking over some of these articles and taking a look at my Cheap Clean Eating Grocery List, you can decide which foods you would like to buy and which recipes you would like to make. If you need some healthy meal ideas, Here are some:
- You might like some of my Quick and Healthy Dinner Ideas.
- Soup is a very inexpensive meal when you use homemade chicken broth. The broth helps to “stretch the protein” so that you can get away using less meat. This Hearty Sausage Kale Soup would be a very inexpensive meal especially served with cornbread.
- Meals based around beans are super cheap. (In fact, beans might save you $12,000!) This 3 Bean Soup is filling and very inexpensive!
Once you have picked some recipes you would like to try, it is a good idea to write them down. If you want a menu planner to write down your frugal meals for a week, I have some free printable menu planners on my blog.If you want a plan with recipes already picked out for you, you can check out my Quick Healthy Cheap Meal Plan. I tried to make it as simple as possible. I know how overwhelming changing eating habits can be!But, if even that plan seems like a little too much, feel free to start very simply. You can try:
- Changing only a few meals a week. Even cooking a few meals can save you alot-especially if you normally eat out or rely on expensive convenience foods.
- Make grilled cheezes using healthy store bought bread. Serve them with veggies.
- Cook once and double or triple the recipe. Eat the leftovers for a few days.
- Spend less time in the kitchen with my Clean Eating Tips.
4. Go Shopping and Cook
This is the part I like! Pick a grocery store with good prices and buy the cheap groceries you need. (I like Food Lion :)) You can simply circle what you need on the Cheap Clean Eating Grocery List, or write out a list. Obviously, the next step is to cook your cheap healthy groceries. 🙂
5. COMPARE YOUR SPENDING
After you have been buying and eating cheap healthy food for a while, you will want to compare how much you used to spend on food and how much you currently spend. There are a few different ways to do this.
- You can keep tracking your expenses even after you start changing your spending habits and compare the numbers.
- You could take out in cash what you used to spend for a month on food, and put it in an envelope marked “food”. Then only use this cash to buy your groceries/pay at the restaurant. When the month is up, use the cash you didn’t spend on whatever you want. The only caveat is that if you order something online, you will need to take that out of the cash as well.
Free Printable Frugal Meals Checklist and Worksheet
Whew!! I know that was a lot of information! But don’t forget-each step brings you closer to a healthy body (and family) and helps you to save a lot of money!
If you are anything like me, it helps if you can see it all laid out on paper. I made you a printable checklist and worksheet to help you work through the steps.
Click here to download the printable. Don’t forget to bookmark this page or pin this article so that you will have all the links at your fingertips!