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I suppose it goes without saying, given my job, that health is on the forefront of my mind, and today I wanted to share a few of the grocery store hacks I use to keep my meals healthy and to avoid falling into the same ol’ same ol’ routine.
Shop Seasonally
While I might be craving strawberries in March, I know that they’ll taste a lot better in the summer. Instead, I try to shop seasonally. This ensures variety each season, and ensures that what I buy tastes really good. For March, in-season foods are foods like avocados, asparagus, and brussels sprouts, which is good news because I love all of them. I use avocados in my morning smoothies, and love having roasted brussels sprouts on hand for easy-to-throw-together lunches and dinners.
Know What You Have at Home
Sometimes I’ll make a list of what I need to have, but then I’ll get inspired to create a different meal, and am not sure what I have at home to complement the meal. Since I’m trying to save for a house, I really want to be cognizant of my spending these days. One of the things that helps is taking a photo of the inside of my fridge before leaving the house. Then, I can easily just open up my phone and see what I’ve got, thereby saving me money.
Take Advantage of Rewards Programs
I do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods, and since I’m an Amazon Prime member, I get 10% off sale prices, and then Prime members also get discounts specific to them as well! It costs me nothing extra, as I’d be a Prime member regardless, and it has saved me so much money in the past. I especially take advantage of this when things go on sale. For example, they often do supplement sales, and that’s when I stock up on my protein powder, collagen creamers and more.
Get Inspired Before You Shop
To avoid falling into the trap of eating the same old things, I really try to aim for variety in my diet. But sometimes, I am just fresh out of ideas. That’s when I’ll crack open a cookbook (I’ve been using this one recently for inspo) or log onto Pinterest for inspiration. I’ve never been great at following recipes, but I’ll use it as a loose guide to put a healthy spin on a meal and cook with ingredients I don’t normally use.
Have One Go-To Cheap and Healthy Meal Option Available
This is the most boring meal on the face of the planet, but sometimes we just want something quick, easy, relatively healthy, and inexpensive. It’s basically a tuna melt but without the bread (cuz I’m allergic to eggs and my boyfriend doesn’t feel great when he eats a lot of bread). So we have jars of tuna on hand, we always have shredded cheese, and we add shredded broccoli and carrots and chopped celery for a good crunch. Then, instead of mayo (again, my darn egg allergy), we use avocado. Add a little salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne, and you’d got a really easy, cheap and healthy meal.
I’d love to hear what your shopping hacks are for healthier meals on a budget! Let me know down in the comments section below
