Clean Eating Meal Ideas for a Tight Budget

Clean Eating Meal Ideas for a Tight Budget – Angie Cruise Blog

Clean Eating Meal Ideas for a Tight Budget

On a budget but don’t want to sacrifice your health? Check out this list of clean eating meal ideas to try when money is tight!

I hear all the time that eating healthy is more expensive than eating junk. And, while I understand where that idea comes from, it’s not always my own personal experience.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a

of healthy food that can really add to your grocery budget and make clean eating hard for some families. But, at it’s core,

I do believe eating clean can be done on any budget.

Why do I think this? Because my family managed to make this switch when we made less than $20k a year. During a time when I walked to the grocery store pushing a stroller so I wouldn’t have to cut into my food budget by buying gas, I was able to clean up my family’s diet and focus on whole, nutrient dense foods to fuel our bodies.

If I could do it then, I

you can do it too!

In this blog post, I’m going to share some clean eating meal ideas and tips that can work for you, even if you’re on a tight budget. This isn’t a full meal plan, but more of a list of recipes and meals I’ve used in the past when money is tight.

Of course, the cost of groceries varies wildly across the US, so I won’t make any price claims. Just know that each of these meal ideas is comprised of cheap staples that can be stretched to feed a family without costing a lot of money.

Ready to get started? Let’s go!

How Can I Save Money and Eat Healthy?

If I’m being totally honest, I actually started making my family’s food to

money. Yes, I wanted to be healthier, but the logical part of me realized that the same money I was spending on one meal at a drive through or from a box could be spent on ingredients to make 2-3 meals.

Things like flour, yeast, eggs, seeds, noodles, beans, and rice are all

cheap. You can use these to stretch other ingredients so they go farther.

Here are some simple tips to help you save money grocery shopping:

Avoid “trendy” health foods that cost more

: While things like collagen and kombucha and cassava flour are fun to experiment with when you’ve got the money, they aren’t 100% necessary in order to stay healthy.

Stick with the basics

: This goes hand in hand with the first tip. Stick with simple, affordable ingredients and keep your meals basic. (You shouldn’t need to follow a recipe every single night to eat well).

Make a grocery list (and stick to it)

: Possibly the biggest offender to my grocery budget is when I shop on a whim. It

costs more, and results in more waste.

: Make a plan that ensures you use up every last bit of what you buy. If you buy a bag of dry beans, plan a couple of meals to incorporate them. If you buy a whole chicken, plan a couple of meals to use that up! You get the idea. (I’ve got clean eating meal ideas below that will help!)

Buy cheaper cuts of meat

: Shop sales and find the cheaper cuts to help stretch your budget!

Make things at home (like bread)

: Typically, ingredients are cheaper than actual food, so if you’ve got the time, consider making your own things at home. Plus, you’ll know exactly what’s in them!

Shop for seasonal produce

: Every fruit and veggie has a season, and you can save a ton of money if you make sure you’re buying seasonally. Broccoli purchased in the heat of summer is going to cost more than broccoli grown when it flourishes. Think seasonally when you shop!

Buy frozen fruits and veggies

: This is a great way to make sure you’re getting plenty of fruits and veggies for cheap. Just make sure to check the ingredients, because some brands will add extra salt or sugar. All you want to see is the fruit/veggie you’re buying, and possibly water.

Buy in bulk whenever possible

: This doesn’t apply to

(don’t overbuy something that will go bad), but buying some things in bulk will be more cost effective than buying in smaller quantities. I like buying bulk for my frozen foods and meat, because I can portion them off at home and save a lot of money.

. You can use things like carrot and celery tops, broccoli stems, and chicken bones to make broth. Left overs can be repurposed or frozen to serve again another night. Get creative with what’s left over!

Cook extra and save left overs

: Making a big pot of soup or a casserole? It costs pennies to bulk it up and make more servings, so consider doing that and saving the left overs. You can freeze them to have on hand later, or eat them a couple of nights in a row.

t really elaborates on how to shop and what to keep on hand, if you want more info!

Clean Eating Staples to Keep on Hand

dry beans (get an assortment)

frozen veggies and fruits

whole milk, cream, or milk alternative

chicken bone broth (made from bones of your whole chickens)

cheap cuts of meat

Budget Friendly Clean Eating Meal Ideas

Here’s where we really get into the beef of is post (

yep, I went there)

. What do you cook to make your groceries stretch as far as they possibly can?!

Here are some of my family’s favorite simple meals for when we need to make the grocery budget stretch. They’re not really recipes, in the traditional sense. Think of this more as us chatting as friends, and me telling you how I make some of my favorites. Please, don’t expect exact measurements and instructions here. Rather, take these ideas and run with them to feed your family simple, nourishing meals.

What I especially love about this list of clean eating meal ideas is that each one should make plenty for left overs. You can either eat the same thing a second night, repurpose your left-overs into a new meal, or freeze the extras. Like I said, if you buy the right ingredients, you can really make your groceries stretch further!

This one’s pretty simple, and I think the stereotypical “cheap” meal, but let’s be honest. It doesn’t get much heartier and filling than a tasty bowl of beans and rice.