5 healthy hacks for your body and budget

As a student living out of home, I know it can be a struggle to prepare meals consistently, let alone ensure they’re nutritious and budget friendly.

So, here are my 5 tips for enjoying healthy eating without breaking the bank.

Cooking at home is generally cheaper and healthier than eating out or takeaway.

If your cooking repertoire is currently limited to toast and pasta, don’t worry, we’ve all been there! While it can take some time and effort, learning to cook healthy meals is fun and ultimately a cool life skill to have.

A good place to start your healthy cooking adventure is to:

• plan healthy meals. I find the best way to avoid dining out or takeaway, especially during busy study weeks, is to plan ahead and meal prep. Cookbooks and food websites are great for recipe inspiration.
• make a shopping list. Sticking to a list helps me avoid sneaky diversions to the snack aisles.
• cook in bulk. With large portions, I can pack lunch for the next day or even freeze a week’s worth of meals.

If you’re like me and have a soft spot for eating out, this advice is for you. Split your food budget into 2 categories: one for wants, the other for needs.

Having only one category in your food budget makes it easier to rationalise spending more money on restaurant food, and therefore going over budget.

So, I find separating food into 2 categories helps me keep track of my spending and eating habits. My categories look like this:

• Category 1, essentials (needs): Ingredients for my planned, healthy meals at the grocery store or market.
• Category 2, non-essentials (wants): Discretionary spending on things like snacks, desserts or eating out with friends.

I find having 2 separate bank cards (or spending accounts) also helps me keep tabs on how much I’m spending in each category, making it easier for me to refrain from cheat meals and running over budget.

Fresh produce is second-to-none, but it can be expensive. Especially when it’s not in season.

Since the nutritional value of frozen produce is similar to fresh produce, buying frozen can sometimes be more convenient and affordable.¹

For example, frozen berries are perfect for smoothies and snap-frozen vegetables are great for soups.

Pro tip: Instead of purchasing frozen bananas, freeze freshly sliced bananas yourself for a cheaper option.

While health foods certainly have a reputation for being on the pricy side, the healthy option doesn’t always have to be the more expensive one.

I find that eating more plant-based meals is a great way to get my 5 serves of veg a day and is less expensive than most meat or fish proteins. I love doing this by trying new cuisines or recipes, such as Japanese, Vietnamese or Mediterranean meals.

If you’re buying ingredients that are common in Asian dishes (like tofu, soba noodles or rice paper), they’re usually much cheaper at Asian grocery stores than larger supermarket chains.

If you’ve got a bit more time on your hands, making your own food from scratch is a great way to spend less on food while also keeping track of exactly what you’re putting into your body. Plus, you’ll have a bit of fun while you’re at it!

Recently, I made my own sourdough bread (it’s a work in progress) and kimchi.

You can also get creative with substitutions, like frozen fruit topped with dark chocolate instead of ice cream, or home-made matcha tea instead of takeaway coffee.

A bit of planning, food-savviness and creativity can go a long way when it comes to healthy eating on a budget. And, if you’re like me, eating healthy while saving money will always put a smile on your dial!