7 Ways to Save so You Can Eat Healthy

Yesterday I was talking to a good friend of mine who is striving to feed her family healthy like me. Of course, the conversation came up about the rising costs of gas and food and how it is getting trickier to buy healthy foods when the junk foods tend to be so much cheaper.

It would be much easier to grab the junk stuff, but keep focused on the bigger picture of growing a healthy future for you and your family. It may become a challenge to budget for better foods, but it can be done.

Here are some ways I have found that really help my family to buy healthier in a struggling economy...

1. Shop the sales. Very obvious, but very important. And if possible, stock up on those items if you can. When strawberries and peaches are cheap, load up and then freeze them for something good later. 

2. Stop buying the junk. If you stop buying junk, it clears the way for the healthy stuff!

3. Find ways to cut back... specifically you! I have personally made decisions to cut back on my own luxuries so there is a little more leftover for buying food that will benefit my family, specifically my kids. I only get my hair cut once a year, I don't ever get my nails or toes done... and to be a little transparent here, I purchase over 90% of my clothes and shoes either from the Target clearance racks or from my personal favorite, Goodwill. 

4. Shop at different stores to get better deals. I know, more work for you, but this can really help your budget. If grapes are on sale at one store, but apples are cheaper elsewhere those little changes will add up.

5. Clip coupons. Most coupons are for processed foods, but if you look, sometimes there are really good coupons for healthy foods. Like coupons for cherry tomatoes, clementines, Dole salad bags, healthy protein bars, organic juices and more. Here are a few sites to check out for coupons and savings... Mambo Sprouts, Frugal Living, Saving Naturally, and Stonyfield, Seventh Generation, Whole Foods Market.

6. Buy generic where you can. Aldi is a great place to shop. Did you know they are owned by the same family that operates Trader Joe's? I like to buy several things at Aldi like tortilla chips, whole grain pasta, bread and crackers, 100% fruit juices, oats, ground turkey and they have the cheapest and best veggies chips around.

7. Make your own sweets and snacks. My family is a "sweets" family. So this can be a challenge, but I have found when I make my own, from-scratch treats, it helps cut costs plus is so much healthier. Things like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, homemade granola bars, super healthy brownies and of course, smoothies.

What ways help you buy healthy in our economy?