This is not the the first time that I have brought up the subject of eating well. It is a common misconception that eating fast processed foods are cheaper than eating healthy. In fact, in many cases you can actually save money by eating well.

There are many ways to keep a healthy diet from emptying your wallet. Take a peek at some of the tips below:

• Grow your own produce. Not only does this save you money but it’s fun and the food is delicious. Nothing tastes better than a crunchy cucumber from your backyard.
• Make your own dressings and sauces. You don’t need fancy equipment to make a succulent sauce. You just need a few staple ingredients. The best thing about making your own dressings is that you can control what goes into them, like how much fat for example.
• Cook simple. You don’ need 20 ingredients to make a delicious meal. In fact some of the best dishes are the simple traditional ones that are full of whole food ingredients that don’t cost a ton.
• Buy local. Take advantage of your farmers markets and CSA’s. This helps reduce your carbon footprint as well as ensures your food is organic.
• Don’t waste food. It is amazing to see how many types of fruits and veggies there are where you can use the whole thing, skin, seeds, and all. Just the other day I made vegetable broth with left over squash skins. I also roasted the seeds for healthy snack.
• Make a meal plan. We do this every two weeks. We pick recipes we want to try and ensure we have the ingredients for them in stock. We also make sure that the recipe doesn’t take more than a half hour to make if it is on a week night. That way we are never tempted after a busy day at work to grab fast food and spend money that we don’t have to.
• Buy in bulk. I cannot stress this enough. You can save a ton by buying things like dried beans, lentils, and whole grains in bulk.
• Buy things that can be cooked more than one way. Things like quinoa and wheat berries can be used in sweet or breakfast recipes like cereals or in savoury dishes like salads and entrees. You can stretch out the ingredient over multiple days.
• Use a crockpot. Crockpots aren’t expensive and they work great. You can cook anything in them,even bread. The best part is, it can cook while you’re not at home. When you get home, all you have to worry about is getting out your utensils and enjoying the meal.
• Buy day old products. Often times groceries stores try to clear out day old items like fruit and baking. Make sure you utilize these discounts. The food tastes just as good and it’s cheaper.

These are just a few ways you can eat well for cheap without sacrificing a ton of time. So try them out and see what kind of difference it makes to your health and your pocket.

Any others tips to add? Please share.