The first step to ensure we’re eating healthy food in our diets is to make sure that our fridges are packed with healthy food choices so we don’t reach for the junk food or head out for fast food when we’re looking for a snack. You may think that diets containing healthy food options have to be expensive, but that’s not the case. Filling your fridge on a budget is possible if you take some time and put a little effort into it.
Filling Your Fridge with Healthy Food
Filling your fridge with healthy food options is the start to living a healthier lifestyle. Here are some tips to fill your fridge on a budget.
1. Skim flyers for sales – instead of tossing out that annoying bunch of weekly flyers without looking at them, browse through them and stock up on sale items.
2. Make a list – before heading to the grocery store, make a shopping list and don’t stray from it. This will not only save money, it will also save time.
3. Buy in bulk – buying family sized packs is often cheaper than individual packages. After you get home separate the bigger packages into smaller portions and freeze what you aren’t going to use right away.
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4. Shop the outside aisles – fruits and veggies, meats and dairy are usually positioned around the perimeter of the grocery store so stick to these aisles for healthier food options.
5. Shop the sale bin – almost every store has a bin of specials that in the meat department. Buy when it’s on sale and freeze it as needed.
6. Buy seasonal – to save money, buy fruits and veggies (and even meats) that are in-season.
Adopting some (if not all) of these budget friendly ideas will help you to stock up your fridge with healthy food options.
Skip the Junk Food
When we consume diets that have lots of junk food we are taking in an excessive amount of calories from fats and sugars. Diets that are high in calories lead to weight gain and possibly obesity. There are many health concerns related to obesity including diabetes, heart disease and an increased risk of some types of cancer. So, a simple solution – pass on the junk food!
Not only is junk food unhealthy, it is often pricey. Most grocery stores are arranged so that junk food including pop, chips, processed foods and other high calorie food items are placed on the inside aisles. Avoid these inside aisles and you will be less tempted to add them to your cart. Another sneaky trick that stores like to do is put these impulse junk food purchases in the checkout lines. In order to avoid the temptation of picking up this junk food, distract yourself while in line. Pick up a magazine and skim the pages or strike up a conversation with the next person in line to keep your eyes off of the junk food.
Diets that are full of healthy food choices are attainable, you just need to have a little patience and employ some budget friendly tips when doing your grocery shopping. Remember, shopping for healthy food, on a budget will get easier each time you do it, so don’t give up.