Eating well is really hard. Like really really hard.
Especially when people are posting on their Instagram about burgers and pizza and cocktails with a side of nachos. It’s difficult and I get it. But sometimes you have to put your big person pants on and cook something delicious at home instead of reaching for a take-out menu or going out.
My friend Rhi asked on her Facebook foodie group for tips on saving money while still eating healthy as she is about to move out of home and make it on her own! I left heaps of tips on her post but I thought it might make a great blog post too.

eat well save money
The key is to be prepared and be ready to make a change in your eating habits. It’s entirely possible for you to eat like a king at home, get healthier and save money. It’s the promised land. I’m here to give you a few directions to finding it.

  1. Make a menu and a list

    It can be really difficult to think of what you want for a whole week but thanks to sources like Pinterest (you can find my boards here) you can find easy weeknight meals that are quick to whip up and don’t require specialist equipment or ingredients. Don’t forget to include lunches (even if it’s just leftovers) and budget in a takeaway every now and then because no one is super human. Pop something down on the menu under every day and then build your grocery list from there.

  2. Group ingredients together

    Try and group together meals with the same ingredients so they fall into the same week and the ingredients don’t go to waste. Eg. If you buy a pumpkin, make sure you’re going to use the whole thing. While $1.99 may be a bargain, if you end up throwing half of it away, it’s money literally in the bin. There are plenty of recipes that can help you with this. The most obvious would be picking a protein and making sure it makes many meals. A pork roast on a Sunday can become pulled pork sliders, diced pork tacos and even be shredded to pop into a minestrone soup.

  3. Substitute ingredients depending on seasons and specials

    If you are forearmed with a menu and a list, you’re already doing well but if you can alter that menu and list in a smart and efficient way then you’re onto a winner. Do a bit of research as to what’s in season – buying tomatoes in winter will not be budget friendly – and alter recipes you have to hand to fit that. A veggie lasagne made with eggplant in the summer can have pumpkin between it’s layers in winter and a roast chicken can easily be replaced with beef if it’s on special.

  4. Shop around

    Supermarkets are fantastic things and a lot of the time they have amazing deals. But it pays to shop around and not buy something just because it’s there. Use a grocer for fruit and veg, a butcher for meat, a baker for bread and leave the supermarket for things like toilet paper, tissues, toothpaste and milk. Also look at cultural supermarkets – Asian supermarkets have a fantastic range of noodles at super low prices; Indian stores will have a bigger range of spices and meats for curries.

  5. Use your freezer and pantry

    We have a small freezer and most of the time we can’t buy in bulk the way we would like to, but we use the space we have to our advantage. If something is on special, we’ll buy a few packs and spend a bit of time prepping it. Veggies and meat that will spoil before we eat them will be chopped up and bagged to be vacuum packed and popped in the freezer. It doesn’t take a huge amount of space and it means we don’t waste money or miss specials. I also love tinned foods like chopped tomatoes, four bean mixes and tinned fish to keep in the pantry and add to meals. A tin of beans can be added to tacos, breakfasts and spaghetti to make it go further and add nutrition without taking up huge amounts of space.

  6. Shop with your family

    If you have family (or friends or neighbours) that live nearby and want to shop with you, you can make a huge saving. This works best with staples like rice, pasta and tinned goods. If you all pitch in a certain amount towards the budget and then split the food up between you the price per unit falls drastically. You may not need or have space for a 10kg bag of pasta for you and your OH but you could split it between you and others and it becomes heaps cheaper.

  7. Eat something healthy before shopping

    I read somewhere that those who ate something healthy (an apple in the experiment) just before going shopping, were more likely to buy healthy foods while those that ate something bad for them (a chocolate bar) were more likely to pick up junk foods and processed items. You can always give it a go the next time you’re off to the shops and see how it works for you!

  8. Shop around the outside of the store

    This is a tip everyone suggests but it does actually work. All the fresh stuff is kept in the outer shelves. The inner shelves house things like chips and chocolate and fizzy drinks. Fresh produce, dairy and meat is all housed around the outer edges of the store. Make sure you shop the fresher stuff first and leave the inner shelves alone.

Do you have any great tips and tricks for saving money and eating well? Leave them in a comment below.
Don’t forget to Pin this post to keep this list for next time you shop!