Healthy Meals on a Budget

High gas and food prices are probably here to stay — and they're high enough to change our eating habits: Restaurant revenues are down, and AdAge reports that sales of Maruchan ramen noodles and other packaged foods are brisk! But packaged foods are a notoriously unhealthy food choice. You can eat well and prepare healthy meals on a budget, and even enjoy some snacks — it just takes a little planning.

More meals at home

Cooking and eating more meals at home may sound like a lot more work to those who have full-time jobs and just want to pick something up on the way home, but the benefits of cooking your own food go beyond just saving money. Homemade meals generally have far less salt, trans fats, calories and preservatives than fast-food meals.

To enjoy the health and savings of home cooking without a lot of extra work, try these tips:

• Buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery on the way home and make your own side dishes and salads to go with it.
• Make simple, easy-to-prepare meals such as sandwiches and pasta by using inexpensive ingredients you always have on hand.
• Keep food costs down even further by making your own salad dressing with ingredients such as olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and garlic.

The art of menu planning

A little menu planning goes a long way toward making healthy homemade meals that stick to a budget as well as stick to your ribs:

• Plan your meals for the week — a mix of simple dinners and maybe one or two more involved meals to keep things interesting.
• Check the ingredients for each meal and make a list of what you need.
• Consider the value — nutritional and financial — of each meal. For example, using beans as an inexpensive source of quality protein is financially sound, and a slow cooker full of black bean soup is a nutritious meal that's nice to come home to. Add corn bread and a salad and you're set!
• When shopping for canned beans, look for unsalted — you'll get the same nutritional value without the extra sodium.

Smart shopping, smart snacking

Once you have your list of ingredients for the week's meals, expand the list to include snacks:

• For a less costly snack that has no trans fats or preservatives, make your own popcorn the old-fashioned way — in a pan or hot-air popper. If you do buy pre-packaged popcorn, check the ingredients.
• Buy more fruits and vegetables as snacks, but remember that a bag of apples is a better deal than buying loose apples, which cost more per pound.

Eating healthy snacks adds fiber to your diet and helps regulate your calorie intake throughout the day.

Ready to hit the supermarket?

A few more tips to remember:

• Try to shop only once a week — and stick to your list.
• Learn the normal price range of produce so you'll know a good deal when you see one.
• Buy generics and supermarket brands of canned and frozen vegetables to save money.

If you are interested in learning more about Professional Health Services' health screening programs for compliance or wellness, please contact us at 1-800-833-3005 or solutions@phsmobile.com.