Healthy food doesn’t have to break the bank. Learn how to eat healthy on a budget with these actionable tips so you can keep some more cash in your wallet.

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Once you’ve launched into the journey of losing weight and breaking those chains of yo-yo dieting, it’s crucial to get your foundation in order:

• Establish a moderate calorie deficit that you can sustain for the long haul without going crazy.
• Implement a strength training program that will help bolster your fat loss progress.
• Create a few staple meals that satisfy your protein and macro requirements so you can stay on target throughout the program.

As you start diving into this newfound lifestyle, the sticker shock of the prices involved in the health industry can leave you wondering if this is even worth it.

It can be quite expensive to be healthy.

You’ve got to load up on tons of protein and perhaps even grab some protein powders.

Can’t forget the gym membership and toss in any additional classes you’d like to take.

Not to mention the rest of your food.

The flashy Instagram Influencers have led you to believe that in order to lose weight, you need the most expensive non-GMO, organically produced, fair trade, never been farted on super power super food that grows out of the anus of a fucking unicorn.

Preferably those wonder foods will come via that specific Insta Influencer’s discount code to some random online shop that will ship out your new meal plan in weekly installments. Look how that worked out, right?

This is far from what you need in order to lose weight, look good and feel great.

In this article, I’m going to break down how to lose weight and eat healthy on a budget. It is possible. I promise.

We’ll go over some of the simple things you can do today to get started and highlight the minimum effective dose of eating healthy so you don’t have to let cost be the barrier to entry to unlocking your fat burning furnace.

Let’s get into it.

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12 Simple Strategies to Eat Healthy on a Budget

When getting started, it’s important to understand that the basic tenets of the fat loss diet must stay intact in order for you to be successful.

You know the main characters:

• Calorie deficit
• Adequate protein
• Nutrient-dense foods
• High(er) fiber options

Toss in some level of physical activity with that mix of well-balanced foods (and that all-important calorie deficit) and you will see weight loss that is sustainable and healthy.

This same system applies whether you are paying a metric fuck ton of money for your meals or if you are utilizing the same approach and tips that I lay out here to save cash.

When things get difficult and you think you simply cannot do or afford this, or you’re just simply confused about how to make it work, just remember those pillars as your template and starting guideline.

And always, it begins with having a plan.

1. Meal Plan

I’ve gone over in detail why the idea of a meal plan is a fantastic idea if you’re just getting started on your weight loss journey. It’s not something that I create for my online coaching clients, but rather a tool and a skill that I encourage them (and you) to create for yourself.

Doing so empowers you to start thinking critically about real-time food decisions and you’ll be forced into the repetition of making judgment calls and analyzing the nutrient details of foods. It’ll sharpen your fat burning skill over time.

Now in order to eat healthy on a budget (budget being the key word here), you’ve really got to dig deep to plan out what you’d like to eat and then take the next step to determine how to make it fit within the money you have available.

2. Cook in bulk

Simply put here: if you’ve got more food at your disposal, the less likely you’ll be to go out and buy more takeout and delivery meals. 

Restaurant meals are ridiculously expensive. Not to mention, they are loaded with excess calories that can explode your calorie deficit.

So your job is to eliminate as many of those purchasing opportunities as possible. And cooking more food in bigger quantities is a way to provide yourself with more home cooked meal options and fewer chef cooked meal options.

Make sense? Good.

So how do you make it work? 

By just doubling recipes when possible. Spend a few extra minutes making a little bit more food so you can prepare for the obstacles when your schedule is jam packed and you can’t get a home cooked meal. 

Items like rice, and beans and soups are perfect options for food sources that you can make in abundance and use throughout your week for additional recipes.

If you are tired of a certain option, it’s because you haven’t gotten creative enough. 

• Chicken and veggies over rice one night. 
• Pork stir fry over rice the next. 
• Then mix it up with some chicken sausage and peppers over rice to cap it off.

This is how you take your meal plan to the next level. 

Preparation is the name of the game in fitness, in fat loss, in muscle gain, in business, in life, in parenting and even in learning how to eat healthy on a budget.

3. Meal prep

Making food ahead of time might be exactly what you need to hold you accountable to your diet and calorie deficit. And it could be just what the money doctor ordered to keep you from ordering lunch at the office every single day.

I’m not the biggest fan of meal prep, but only because it’s just not something I’m personally into doing. A lot of my online coaching clients have success prepping their food ahead of time and it works wonders.

If making a bunch of meals ahead of time isn’t your thing, no worries. As I laid out in this article on fat loss strategies for busy parents, you can check out how I simply double my recipes to ensure plenty of leftovers throughout my week.

So it might be the same for you. 

Remember this is all about saving some money here and there.

And if you can create a few meals to keep you from buying a few meals later in the week, that’s a huge monetary win.

4. Skip the snacks and specialty items

There is a time and a place for grab and go options like protein bars. But when you’re trying to crunch numbers in the budget, this ain’t one of those times. 

To be honest, I’m simply not a big fan of snack options, especially protein bars. They pack a ton of calories and usually don’t include a comparable range of actual protein for the amount of calories you’re getting.

But, nutrient mix aside, the problem with snacky foods is that they are incredibly expensive for the volume of food you’re actually getting. You are much better off cooking up a few chicken breasts and prioritizing more lean whole foods during meals than trying to supplement your diet with a protein bar.

If chewing on that much protein becomes daunting and you need some help hitting your target for the day, then you can lean on something like a protein powder to make shakes.

Protein powders are relatively cheap when you break down the per-serving amount of protein you’re getting. And mixing some powder in water is almost as convenient as the protein bar … but the powder form is almost entirely pure protein with minimal added calories.

This same philosophy applies to other snack foods. Many of which you can make on your own.

Things like trail mix and granola are quite simple to create and there are no shortage of recipes that The Google Machine will find for you on these things. Buy both of those items from the store, and you’ll notice that the monthly grocery bill jumps up pretty quickly.

5. Add in your favorite foods in moderation

If you’ve been following me long enough (and you should, because I am awesome), you know that I am a huge fan of balance in your diet. There is no need to be restrictive and avoid foods that you love.

Unless of course you have some triggers that can lead to repetitive binges and poor relationships with food. So please take that into consideration here, too.

But for the most part, you should be able to include some of your favorite foods and still see incredible results.

I cap off my day with some sort of serving of chocolate, maybe even a glass of wine. Every single day. Seriously.

Related: If you want to know how to include alcohol in your diet and still lose weight, you’ll want to read my guide to that.

Now when it comes to applying your fave foods while learning how to eat healthy on a budget, you’ve got to take a few things into consideration.

For example, chocolate and wine drive the prices up. You might want to find a substitute solution if the price of these foods/drinks are a bit outside of your weekly/monthly income.

But, if you are really pinching pennies elsewhere and you have a little wiggle room, I highly recommend adding in a little bit of your favorite foods so you can give yourself a little flexibility in your diet.

If you are following my recommendation for eating this food 10-20 percent of the time, you shouldn’t have to break the bank to have it available.

As with any food, the pre-packed varieties are going to be more expensive than making them at home.

Go compare the price per volume of some cookies compared to the Tollhouse specials you make on your own and you’ll understand real quick how they drive up the price for baking your cookies and throwing them in some plastic containers.

However, when you make these treats at home for yourself, you have to juggle the leftover problem. Those packages are convenient because they are typically smaller servings and you can eliminate them from the house and your line of sight and thus totally remove them from your temptation.

The solution here is to make what you want, portion out a few days and then freeze or give away as much as you can.

You’ll still come out ahead in cost.

6. Opt for Cheaper Proteins

Protein is super important for overall health. I won’t go into too much detail as to why you need to eat more of it, since I’ve already covered that ad nauseam. 

But, the bottom line is that you need protein. And yes, protein can be pretty pricey. But not if you shop savvy. 

While the tasty cuts of meats are the ones with a bit of super marbling of fats, those cuts come at a higher price point. Some of the more affordable options are meats that are typically leaner and more of the white meat variety.

So aim for things like pork tenderloin, which is an underrated cut of meat, super easy to cook up and packs a ton of protein.

Red meat options include things like sirloin that don’t pack a ton of extra fat, therefore it comes in lower on the calorie side.

And of course, you cannot go wrong with the undisputed champion of protein, chicken. Chicken breast is fantastic.

But, if you really want a tad more taste, you can even opt for the thigh that will carry a little less protein and a little more fat, so be mindful of that, but the taste is a major upgrade.

Avoid filling up your grocery cart with cuts of meat like ribeyes and lamb shanks and you’ll notice a major difference in savings.

7. Frozen is your friend

Do not turn your nose up at frozen fruits and vegetables. In many cases, they are super clean, they pack just as many nutrients as their fresh variety and they typically last longer, because they are frozen (duh).

While overall cost here might be similar for frozen vs fresh variety, it is the storage aspect that gives the frozen section more bang for your buck.

How often do you find yourself buying a bunch of fresh fruit or vegetables and notice after a few days that they’ve gone bad and you end up needing to throw some (or all) of them out? That’s not only a waste of food, but a waste of money.

The frozen food is easily stored in the freezer for lengthy periods of time (like up to 6 months for many of the options). 

Yes, there is a bit of a drop-off in taste for some of the frozen varieties (I can’t stand frozen strawberries). But, with proper preparation and seasoning and cooking skills, you’ll be totally fine.

8. Aim for cheaper starches 

Carbs do not make you fat. I repeat, carbs do not make you fat. One more time for the folks in the back, carbs … do not make you fat.

Now that we have that covered, let’s talk about cutting costs in this arena.

First, you’ll want to aim for the cheaper options of starches. So instead of picking up boxed or pre-produced rice, potatoes or pastas, opt to make them yourself.

You can grab a five pound bag of white or brown rice for really cheap. A pound of potatoes goes a long way. So does fruit like bananas or apples (we already touched on the frozen options, too). 

9. Rice and beans for the win (keep it simple)

Rice is cheap. We just went over that one in the last point. Beans are an incredible source of fiber, complex carbs and even provide a small dose of protein.

Put both options together and you get a cheap, filling, nutritious meal.

Do not forget the simple meals that can sometimes provide a powerful punch for your diet.

10. Skip the liquid calories

Liquid calories do not fill you up. So while that pre-made protein drink might be tasty, it might actually be detrimental to your satiety. 

If that’s not working for you, it might be time to ditch the liquid calories for whole nutrient dense foods instead.

So while I did recommend looking into a protein powder to make shakes, I do encourage you to chew your protein rather than drink it, whenever possible. It’ll help keep you fuller. 

11. Storage is crucial (freeze things often)

Be honest with yourself here: How often do you find yourself dumping out old food or wasted produce that you never had a chance to even cook? It’s more common than you’d think.

And if you are doing this on a regular basis, you are basically lighting your wallet on fire and burning through money. 

The solution is about planning ahead for that fat loss grocery list and then strategizing how to create your own fat loss meal plan.

But then it’s up to you to execute by making the food and storing it properly.

12. The freezer is your friend

Utilize the frozen foods you picked up. Grab some storage bags and containers that are freezer friendly. Make things in bulk, freeze any leftovers that you cannot consume within a few days. Create a rotation of foods that you thaw and cook and eat.

Try to use every single food in your kitchen without letting it go to waste by planning ahead of time with recipes that will put them to good use.

In fact here’s a little challenge for yourself: Instead of finding yourself making random drop-ins to your local grocery store throughout the week to “pick up eggs” or “grab a thing of spinach,” commit to shopping one time this week. 

And you cannot return.

This sort of challenge forces you to get resourceful with your existing stockpile of foods and will open your eyes to how much you actually do have.

Related: Here are some of my favorite personal challenges that will build fortitude and resilience and turn you into a fat burning, goal crushing warrior.

Not to mention, it’ll save you on cash flow at the end of the day since you won’t be dropping into the store that often. And let’s be honest, you might go to the store with the intention of buying just one item, and end up buying two or three. That stuff adds up and can really screw up your monthly budget.

You don’t have to incorporate all of these tips in order to eat healthy on a budget, just find the few strategies that work for you and fit your lifestyle and your level of comfort. Start small, build up the habits from there.

Please don’t let cost be the one thing holding you back from making a change. You can do this. 

Let me help you eat healthy on a budget … 

I’m here to help you out. 

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Eat healthy on a budget” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, maybe you’d like more knowledge bombs from me. I’d be honored if you join my mailing list to get regular updates every time I post something pretty dope.