How to Eat a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet on a Budget
Quick quiz: Which basket of groceries is going to be cheaper?
A. The one filled with organic fruit and vegetables, or
B. The one loaded with boxes of processed foods?
Did you answer B? On the surface, you’d be right. Generally speaking, certain health foods are costlier than their less nutritious counterparts.
However, following a whole food plant-based diet can be surprisingly affordable if you know how to do it.
I’m not going to lie: When I first switched to a healthier diet, my grocery bills were higher – a lot higher.
But I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve now, and I’m going to tell you how you can whip up healthy meals on a budget.
10 Budget-Friendly Healthy Eating Tips
Let’s start by looking at some simple healthy lifestyle tips that will help to keep your grocery bill low and your nutrient intake high.
1. Save time and money with meal planning.
How many times have you found yourself waiting in a long line at lunch with an overpriced sandwich in your hand?
How often do you end up taking your kids through the fast food drive-through after work because you forgot to thaw the chicken for dinner?
These are expensive mistakes for your wallet as well as your health, and meal planning can help you avoid them.
Did you know that a profitable restaurant usually runs a food cost of somewhere between 28% and 35%? This means that if you made the same sandwich yourself, it would cost you a quarter to a third of what you pay at the restaurant.
It’s not just money you can save with meal planning, by the way. Planning your meals for the next three or four days can save you a lot of time – and who couldn’t use more time?
Planning also gives you the chance to spot opportunities for batch cooking, which I’ll talk about more as you read on.
Don’t worry – I’m not going to tell you that you should eat the same meal three days in a row. However, there is no need to cook rice every time you want to add it to a dish, and the same goes for many other foods.
Life is too short to spend it sweating away in the kitchen.
2. Write up your grocery list.
How many times have you unloaded your groceries only to find that you did, in fact, already have an unopened box of brown rice lurking in the back of your cabinet?
This is why you should always, always write your grocery list down (whether it’s on paper or in an app) and then take it into your kitchen and make sure nothing on it is already in your fridge or pantry.
Don’t go from memory, or you could well end up buying something you didn’t need after all – and possibly letting it expire before you have a chance to use it.
You can also avoid food waste by taking note of anything you have that’s about to expire and planning your meals accordingly.
For example, if you’ve got broccoli that’s about to turn yellow in your fridge, you might want to make a broccoli soup in the next few days rather than buying the vegetables for a different type of soup.
3. Get used to meal prepping.
Food prep will help you to minimize waste and avoid grab-and-go temptations. Spending some time over the weekend preparing your meals for the week ahead will pay off quite handsomely.
Prep and chop your vegetables all at once to save time later. Make sure that a bag of chopped carrots is just as easy to grab when you’re in a hurry as a bag of potato chips.
Plan to batch cook or meal prep shortly after your trip to the grocery store, particularly when your meals contain produce that has a short lifespan.
I tend to go to the store on Thursdays and cook several meals over the weekend. By choosing my shopping day to coincide with the days I have time for cooking, food rarely goes bad before I can use it.
4. Freeze extra meal portions and prepped produce.
If you’re making a stew, soup, or other freezer-friendly meal, make double and freeze the rest for another day. That’s one day in the future that you won’t have to cook!
You can also freeze certain produce that hasn’t made its way into meal form yet. If you’ve determined you won’t be able to finish all of your fresh vegetables, chop up the excess and toss it in the freezer to use for cooking later.
Keep in mind that some vegetables, like carrots, broccoli, and squash, need to be blanched before you freeze them to preserve their nutrients.
However, when you cook greens and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, you deactivate the enzyme that creates sulforaphane, a powerful anti-cancer agent.
In that case, consider using ground mustard when you do prepare these vegetables as studies show it can significantly increase the presence of sulforaphane.
You’ll notice in my recipes that I often add a bit of mustard powder when cooking these foods – and now you know why! Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of mustard – even just 1/8 of a teaspoon is enough. Read more about this in my article 6 Plant-Based Ingredient Must-Haves for Healthier and Tastier Meals.
5. Buy dry rather than canned.
Dried beans and lentils are much more cost-effective in the long run than their canned competitors – and they’re often at least half the price!
One comparison found that a half-cup serving of dry pinto beans costs $0.15 USD, whereas the canned version costs $0.34 USD or more for the same portion size, depending on the brand.
It does take longer to prepare dry beans, and if this will prevent you from using these nutrient-dense foods in meals, you should go for the canned product. Ensure that there are no preservatives, added sugar, or sodium in the ingredient list, and seek out cans with a BPA-free lining.
If you’re interested in making dried beans, you can save some time by cooking a large batch and freezing them in portions for later use.
6. Learn when to choose “fresh frozen” over “fresh.”
In some cases, fresh frozen produce might be your best bet. How can something be fresh and frozen?
Fresh frozen refers to produce that was frozen shortly after harvest while it was still in its freshest state. This early freezing helps to preserve most of its nutrients.
Research has compared the effects of early freezing on various fruits and vegetables, and one study found that freshly harvested frozen raspberries contained nearly the same levels of antioxidants and other nutrients as the fresh, unfrozen variety.
Fresh frozen produce lasts so much longer than the fresh equivalent, offering a zero waste alternative to produce consumption. These foods keep well, and you can pull them out whenever you need them.
Just keep in mind that sometimes the cost of frozen foods can be higher than the fresh alternative. In-season produce, for example, can be a lot cheaper in some cases, especially if you’re sure you’ll use all of it before it spoils.
Just remember to factor in the longer life of frozen produce and how quickly you’ll use it when calculating which is the better value.
7. Don’t shop hungry.
We hear this all the time – and for good reason! We make our best food decisions when we feel sated. One study found that even after a short spell of not eating, people bought fewer nutrient-rich foods like whole foods and more nutrient-devoid food products, such as sugar-laden processed foods.
When your stomach is grumbling, processed food seems a lot more appealing than a head of lettuce – and it often costs more, too. Make sure you’ve eaten before heading to the store; even a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit should do the trick.
8. Buy in bulk.
When it comes to food with a long shelf life such as dried beans, lentils, and grains, buying in bulk can save you a lot of money.
Larger packages have a lower cost per serving, so if it’s a staple item in your household, go for the five-pound bag rather than the eight-ounce package.
I buy dried legumes, nuts, and various whole grains by weight at a few local stores. This has been the cheapest option for me by far.
Best of all, it’s environmentally-friendly as I can dispense the ingredients into my own containers rather than buying foods packaged in plastic.
9. Choose foods with the best nutritional return.
Get the most bang for your buck by opting for plant-based foods and proteins. Consumer spending on whole foods such as nuts, beans, and whole grains is associated with greater health than the purchase of processed meats, red meats, and dairy products.
In fact, one study concluded: “The purchase of plant-based foods may offer the best investment for dietary health.”
Plant-based proteins are also far more affordable than animal protein, which is part of the reason a whole food plant-based diet is more affordable than you might think.
You’ll also get a better return on your investment as vegetables have been found to provide us with six times more nutrients per dollar spent than processed foods can offer.
10. Ditch highly processed foods and junk foods.
Believe it or not, your taste buds will develop a real love for whole foods. It may take some time – I know it did for me – but you’ll get there eventually. Get the process started by curbing your spending on highly processed foods.
That doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself occasionally. As long as your typical everyday diet is made up of whole food plant-based recipes, there’s room for the occasional splurge. No one expects you to give up your favorite junk food entirely.
In fact, there are so many foods I could never give up that I like to try making them myself at home so I can control the ingredients. Sometimes a few clever substitutions are all you need to turn your favorite junk food into something nutritious that really hits the spot.
When we buy processed foods, we are essentially paying a large corporation to make us sick and unhealthy. Ditch the junk, and remember that it’s what you do most of the time that really counts.
Grocery Shopping
I hope you’ve found my tips for sticking to a whole food plant-based diet on a budget useful.
Now you might be wondering what food you should be buying to ensure both cost efficiency and nutritional benefits.
Here’s a list to help guide you through the aisles as you start to solidify new healthy eating habits.
Grocery List Template
This is an example of what I buy in a given week. Keep in mind this is just for me, although it allows for some extra frozen meals that I can keep on hand for the future. Just multiply these quantities by the number of people in your household, and you’ll be set!
I should also mention that this varies depending on what I’m making from week to week, but this will provide you with a sense of what sort of plant-based foods I usually go for. Use this as a template, adding your favorite whole foods and removing those you don’t enjoy.
Veggies
2.2 kilograms / 5 pounds white potatoes
500 grams / 17 ounces mushrooms, brown
6 large carrots
8 onions
2 heads of garlic
6 tomatoes, large
3 zucchinis, medium
3 sweet potatoes, medium
300 grams / 10 ounces baby spinach, fresh
Basil and parsley, fresh
2 lemons
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
Fruit
6 bananas
250 grams / 9 ounces blackberries or blueberries
3 avocados
100 grams / 3.5 ounces dried fruit (typically goji berries)
1 cantaloupe (depending on what’s in season)
A few bunches of grapes
Other
Non-dairy milk (either oat, coconut almond, or almond is what I typically get, but stick to those with natural ingredients and no fillers)
Hummus or lentil chips, for snacks
Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds, depending on what I have in my pantry)
Whole grain bread, sliced
Whole grain pasta
Not included on this list are a variety of dried legumes, grains, spices, herbs and other pantry items that I purchase in bulk every now and then to stock up.
Again, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it should give you an idea of what your grocery lists will look like once you get fully on board with this healthy way of eating.
Eating Healthy on a Budget
Whoever said that healthy eating is expensive has clearly never fully explored the wonder of whole plants. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be fancy; in fact, it brings us back to the basics of prepping, cooking, and eating – and to the inherent power and simplicity of whole, natural foods.
An organic peach might cost more than a pack of Oreos, but when you know how to plan, shop, prep and cook, you can save money even if the foods you eat are technically more expensive – and get a lot more nutrition for every dollar you spend!
Do you have any tips for saving money on healthy foods? Have you found a genius way to curb food waste? Share in the comments below!
Reference:
Greger, M. and Stone, G. “Isn’t It Expensive to Eat Healthfully?” How Note to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease.