Many diet and fitness ‘experts’ are very quick to tell us that it’s easy to eat healthily on a budget but is that really the case?
I’ve just read an interesting article from Precision Nutrition that talked about the difficulties of eating well on a budget. Here’s the article if you’d like to look for yourself.
I’m very aware that I am in a fortunate position financially in that I don’t have to budget to the ‘nth degree or worry about whether I will have enough money to pay all the bills. I’m also very aware that this is a privileged position to be in and that not everyone is so fortunate.
So can a person really eat healthily on a strict budget? The PN article raises some very valid points which I’ve summarised below:
Not everyone has access to a fresh foods market
Not everyone has the time to visit a market every day to get the best deals
Not everyone has the transport required to be able to carry large bags of heavy fruit and vegetables
Not everyone has the skills to know what to do with all the fresh foods they’ve bought
Not everyone has the myriad equipment that appears to be essential to cook a meal from scratch
Not everyone has a public transport system that makes it easy to get to the best value shops
Not everyone has the time to jump from store to store in order to get the best deals
Certainly where I live getting to a fresh produce market is very difficult. My closest one is about 12 miles away and because I live in quite a rural area I have limited access to decent public transport. To get to the market would mean a 24 mile round trip and parking charges when I got to the market town, assuming I could get parked at all.
I still work Monday to Thursday and I’m located 5 miles away from the nearest shops. Walking is not realistic so again a car is needed and this involves parking fees. Not to mention my working day is from 7 in the morning until 5 in the evening which means anywhere other than the Supermarkets are closed.
My time is extremely valuable as I’m trying to work on my business as well as the day job and also find time to exercise, and have a bit of ‘down’ time to myself. Therefore the idea of bouncing from discount supermarket to discount supermarket trying to save a few pennies off the cost of a cauliflower is not something that gets my thrift juices flowing!
On top of the practical difficulties highlighted above, there’s also the question of what actually constitutes a healthy diet. If you believed all the advertising and marketing hype, you’d HAVE to eat expensive ‘superfoods’ like wheat grass, spirulina and chia seeds to name but a few.
So after all that I’m left with trying to do the best I can with what little time I have available.
Thankfully I grew up in a home where cooking food from scratch was generally the norm. My mum taught me how to bake, and I went to school in an era where we were still taught ‘home economics’.
I recall a few years ago when my own daughter was doing ‘Tech’ at school and the one term that they devoted to cookery came round. She came home and asked if I could get the ingredients she needed as they were going to be learning how to bake bread. She gave me the list and I was shocked to see that the ingredients list consisted of just one item – a packet of wholemeal bread mix! I suppose I should be grateful for the fact it was asking for wholemeal but, really? Since when did adding water to a packet of dried ingredients constitute learning how to cook!
So anyway, first and foremost, let’s figure out what constitutes a healthy food.
In my humble opinion, whilst expensive superfoods may very well help us get closer to ‘optimal’ levels of antioxidents and nutrients, most of us have survived pretty well so far without adding spirulina powder to our porridge.
Let’s keep things nice and simple – the best way to eat well is to ensure that your diet contains lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and poultry, grains, beans and pulses. Basically, single ingredient, unprocessed foods that don’t come with a long ingredients list. Stick to the basics, choose a range of different coloured foods and you can’t really go too far wrong.
Add in there the ability to shop seasonally (ie buy fruits and veg while they’re in season and therefore plentiful) and you’re likely to get the best produce at the cheapest price. If you want Strawberries in December they’re going to have to travel a fair distance to reach you and you’ll be paying for those transport costs in both price and quality.
And what about going ‘Organic’? It would be great if we could always go for the organic options when we buy food. Unfortunately, this is a luxury that for many is just too far out of their reach. In an ideal world all our produce would be organically grown and all our livestock free to roam. Whilst I am all for going organic, I also think it’s unrealistic to impose the organic moral high ground on people who are simply trying to eat as well as they can on a very small amount of money.
One way to go organic could be to Google your local authority and see where the local allotments are and consider GROWING YOUR OWN. Or maybe you’ve a garden where you could start to grow some of your own vegetables or even just a window box to grow some herbs.
Although, if you’re anything like me and you can’t even manage to nurture a silk rose without causing it a slow and painful death, growing your own may not be a great solution.
However, it might still be worth looking up local allotments and seeing if you can tap into some of their produce. Most allotment owners I’ve come across struggle to consume all of their own stuff. If you can cook, you could consider trading your cooking skills for their produce and sharing some of your creations back with them.
Let’s not forget that frozen fruit and veg isn’t a bad option. Usually the time between picking to freezing is pretty short – certainly a lot shorter than fresh produce that been flown half way around the Globe to get to the supermarket shelves. Frozen fruit and veg can save on time and waste as you only use what you need.
And then of course there’s the amazing invention that is ‘online grocery shopping’. Apart from the fact that it takes the temptation away from seeing all the sparkly things down the supermarket aisles, it also means you don’t have to waste valuable time getting to and from the store. Yes, you may need to pay for delivery, but that’s probably no more expensive than the fuel to drive you there or the bus fare you might incur. Online shopping means you can see exactly what you’re spending as you go, and if you buy their ‘special’ offers carefully you can save money. Caution: beware the 3 for 2 offers on perishable goods – they can appear to be a saving when in fact you throw more away than you use. Often, too, the BOGOFs tend to be on the highly palatable, high sugar, high fat ‘junk’ foods that the manufacturers are trying to woo you into buying.
Ask around or have a look online to see if you have a local meat wholesaler. If so, they may have a shop where you can buy your meat in bulk and save money. Alternatively there are some good online meat retailers who offer great deals that get delivered to your door and can go straight to the freezer. Companies like Musclefood and Livelean offer meat hampers that you can freeze and, having tried both, I was suitably impressed with their products and their customer service. I’m sure there are many others out there too.
Investing in some basic equipment is essential if you are going to cook good, wholesome meals from scratch, but you don’t need to recreate the set from ‘Saturday Kitchen’ to be able to get going. My basic toolkit suggestions would be:
A non-stick, flat bottomed wok
A heavy based skillet or frying pan
A 3 tier stainless steel steamer pan
A slow cooker
A large chef’s knife
A small paring knife
A chopping board
A grater
A vegetable peeler (or the paring knife if you’re more skilled than me!)
A colander (or you could just use one of the tiers of the steamer pan)
A 2lb loaf tin
A roasting in
A selection of different size Tupperware type boxes
Have a look around local charity shops or car boot sales for things like slow cookers and other utensils. You’d be amazed what you can pick up for next to nothing.
I would also suggest a few store cupboard basics:
Sea Salt
Pepper
Chilli Powder
Paprika
Worcester Sauce
White Wine Vinegar
Dried chillies
Dried Oregano
Dried Mixed Herbs
Dijon Mustard
Runny honey
Cornflour
Olive Oil
With the basic equipment and ingredients above you should be able to adapt many recipes and be able to create tasty homemade meals with ease.
One pot, slow cooker meals are a great way to use cheaper cuts of meat. Thanks to new research we don’t need to worry about how ‘bad’ for us the fattier cuts of meat are – and generally they have a far better flavour than the leaner ones. Things like beef shin, pork shoulder, belly pork and chicken thighs are all relatively inexpensive but slow cook brilliantly. Try putting a search into Google with 3 main ingredients and see what recipe choices you can find. You’d be amazed how much choice there is and how simple cooking can actually be.
The other benefit of slow cooked, one pot meals is that it is incredibly easy to batch cook and freeze them. This way you can ensure you’re eating a healthy, home-made meal without all the time constraints of cooking them from scratch. If you don’t have much space to freeze them, there’s nothing wrong with having the same meals for a few days running. I bet if you were to look closely you’d find you have the same sort of thing for breakfast or lunch most days!
Shopping late in the day when food has been reduced in price is another great trick to help you bag a bargain. Just avoid the temptation to grab the cakes and cookies on the ‘reduced’ shelf!
Planning is a must if you’re trying to save money. Having a small repertoire of nutritious meals, knowing in advance what you are going to cook, making a list and only buying what you need has many benefits. Not least of which is that if you only buy the foods you need to eat well, you don’t have the temptation of those ‘naughties’ shouting your name.
Often Granny knew best and things like pickling and preserving can be a good way to use up seasonal fruits and veg and eat them at a later date. Although, I have to say it’s not something I do personally – but if it appeals to you, go for it!
Finally, if you do nothing else, if you want to save money on your food bill, invest the time it takes to learn to cook. You don’t need to become the next Gordon Ramsey, but learning the basics will reward both your health and your purse. You tube, TV programmes and friends who cook are all great sources of learning. Not only is home cooked food generally cheaper than processed ready meals and takeaways, but you also get to know exactly what has gone into it AND you get the satisfaction of knowing you created that culinary masterpiece!
Fifty, Fit and Fabulous 