7 ways to cut healthy living costs

Freezer friendly

Frozen veg on a ‘three for two’? Seafood on sale or bargain priced poultry? When a grocery offer is too good to miss it’s a great opportunity to stock up on healthy staples while saving the pennies. Stash them in the freezer for a treasure chest of healthy options for months ahead – for example, chicken or turkey pieces will keep for nine month and a whole chicken can be kept frozen for a year.

Save money by stashing tinned and dried products too, when they’re on offer. Don’t forget; tinned fruit and veg still count towards your ‘five a day’.

Big batches

Dig out your recipe books, head to the library’s foodie collection or print off some simple recipes and set about cooking up some hearty meals. Once you’ve worked your magic in the kitchen you can freeze the meals in portions so you can defrost and reheat as-and-when you need a quick meal, instead of reaching for the takeaway menu. Lean Bolognese, vegetable stews and curries will keep for around two to three months and will taste just as good second time round.

Soupa healthy

Soup has to be one of the simplest, healthiest and cheapest meals around. Soup is the ideal way of using up close-to-passed-it vegetables in the fridge that would have otherwise seen the inside of your bin. Keep a supply of stock cubes, dried pasta and pulses in your cupboard, then just add whatever fresh or frozen veg, or leftover meat from roasts, you can lay your fingers on. Soup has a clever way of turning otherwise boring ingredients into a meal with just some spices, an onion and some stock.

DIY

There are plenty of healthy food options out there, but it’s not an even playing field in terms of cost. If you’re willing to put a small amount of effort into your food preparation then you could be saving a chunk each month in money (and weight! Much pre-prepared food contains added extras we don’t expect). Pre-chopped veg? Say ‘no thanks!’ and get out your own knives and peelers. Tinned tomatoes? Get squishing and seasoning your own. Try infusing your own oils, growing your own herbs and buying living salad instead. Buying from greengrocers and butchers could also save money on packaging too.

Plan ahead

It seems the norm to plan our outfits, weekends and holidays, so why not apply the same principal to your weekly menu? Planning ahead and writing clear shopping lists – or even doing shopping online where you’re not as tempted by displays of food – can help cut healthy living costs. Buying exactly what you need then planning meals using all of the available ingredients avoids buying on impulse, which is what usually makes the food bill rise.


Fit for free
Remove the guilt of not using your gym membership and the debit from your account each month by getting fit for free instead. Start walking everywhere (cutting your petrol cost or bus fare) or get fit by running, dancing or simply playing games in the park with the kids. Not only is this exercise free, but getting physical outside instead of in a stuffy, artificially-lit gym can have 50 per cent improvement on mental health according to the 2008 Scottish Health Survey polling 2000 active people.

Close to home

Buying ingredients that are in season will help you cut your healthy living costs while enabling you to enjoy a variety of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat to create colourful and healthy meals but without forking out. Choosing produce from your own country, or even better, from local farms and producers in your area, will also help keep pennies in your purse as you’re avoiding the extortionate added costs of buying food with more air miles than Brad Pitt.