Cheapest Health Foods

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Eating healthy on the cheap can be tough, but if you stock your kitchen with the healthy cheap essentials it should save a great deal in the long run.

I buy certain staples like organic cheese and organic butter when they are on sale and keep them in the freezer.

Consider buying your organic meats, eggs, and fish in bulk and store in a larger freezer out in the garage.

Remember we have to pay for our health one way or another. Prevention is key. The food that graces your kitchen table is the best disease prevention money can buy. President Obama thinks that we will never fix the National Deficit until we fix the Health Care Crisis, I think we will never fix the Health Care Crisis until we fix the crisis at our kitchen tables.

Here are my favorite cheap health foods:

• Green Tea

• Flax seeds

• Oatmeal

• Brown Rice

• Apples

• Yams/Sweet potatoes

• Broccoli

• Spinach

• Canned tomatoes

• Carrots

• Bananas

• Yogurt

• Cottage Cheese

• String Cheese

Tips I have learned from the Whole Foods School of Hard Knocks:

1. Avoid buying a bunch of healthy stuff you don’t know how to prepare. Nothing is more wasteful than a bunch of rotting random veggies in your fridge. Instead, commit to making one new healthy recipe per week, experiment with new ingredients and recipes gradually to avoid wasting valuable grocery dollars. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the different grain options, make friends with them one recipe at a time.
2. Drink a smoothie in place of one meal each day. You can easily get two servings of fruits out of the way by doing so. Buy frozen fruit when it is on sale, or save money each summer by picking and freezing your own.
3. Shop at Farmer’s Markets for produce once weekly when possible. Plan meals around the foods that are in season, rely heavily on fresh herbs, pepper, garlic, and onions to season your food in lieu of organic sea salt.
4. Buy frozen chicken breasts and fish on sale.
5. Shop organic when possible, buy “The Dirty Dozen” organic, and save your organic dollars on the “Foods Least Likely to Contain Pesticides”.
6. Avoid canned foods and opt for frozen. Always keep a little frozen broccoli, spincach, cauliflower, and mixed veggies in the freezer. You can quickly dress up any recipe by adding some steamed frozen veggies. Add one cup of frozen veggies to every frozen meal you prepare, most veggies will mix in nicely with the sauce. The fiber in the vegetables will keep you feeling full longer.

Most of the recipes I post on this site are relatively inexpensive and simple to prepare, the reason for this is that I am extremely lazy (er efficient) and have spent ten years of my life as a poor college student. I therefore sincerely believe that if I can do it, so can you. Remember that eating healthy is an investment in your current and long term health.

Please do post your favorite inexpensive healthy recipe ideas or favorite cheap health food in the comments for all to enjoy or share this article with someone that can use it!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen table,

~Dr. Nicole