Tips To Cut Costs Without Cutting Nutrition

Need to know how to cut costs without cutting nutrition? You're not alone. A frequent excuse for unhealthy eating is that it's "cheaper" because organic, healthy food more expensive. Good news for you, this simply is not true, you just have to look in the write places (instead of breezing past the produce section!). Here are a few simple tips that will help you to successfully cut costs without cutting nutrition.

1. Salad, salad, salad. Oh, and did I mention salad? This is where restaurants make a huge profit. Think about it.  A box of mixed greens costs $2.98 at Walmart, an excellent place to shop if you want to cut costs without cutting nutrition. This is a great choice because there is a variety of colors and tastes, but you can also go an even cheaper route with standard lettuce. You can fix any salad to your taste by testing out different dressings and mix-ins, but always try to go for low fat dressing.  Fat-free dressing is not a good option, because many of the good-for-you vitamins in lettuce and vegetables are fat-soluble, meaning that you need to have some fat with your meal to be able to retain and digest these vitamins, instead of just passing them through your system. 
2. Olive oil is the WD40 of your kitchen. It literally has hundreds of uses, especially as a butter substitute in prepping pans for non-stick cooking. This definitely justifies the price, and kicks up any meal in a delicious way. This is your new go-to for sauteing and roasting veggies. It will add delicious flavor, as well as bringing out the wonderful natural flavors of the food. However, use in moderation as it is high in fat. However, not the bad fats. the Unsaturated fats found in olive oil is actually good for you, just don't go overboard and you will successfully cut cost without cutting nutrition.
3.  Water, anyone? Tap water is free, and not much different from bottled water. You can significantly cut down how much you eat, and subsequently how much food you buy, by simply drinking more water. This will help you cut costs without cutting nutrition. Many time when you perceive yourself as being hungry, it is a matter of dehydration. Before you grab your next snack, chug about eight ounces of water before grabbing a snack. You'll be surprised how often that does the trick.
4. Don't buy into snack packs. But what about the 100 calorie snack packs? Aren't those healthy? Well, yes, but not when you eat five of them, and it certainly doesn't help your wallet to spend so much money for so little food. In this case, you aren't spending money on the food, you're paying for the packaging. That is why it is always cheaper to buy in bulk. One packaging cost, less material used in the process, and more money in your wallet. This is a great way to cut cost without cutting nutrition. If you still feel the danger of overeating, bag individual snacks yourself that are a healthy serving, and save them for later.

Even following one of these simple rules will yield results. More money, less calories- if that's not a win-win situation, what is?