• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Lealou Cooks

Easy Meal Plans for Busy Families

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Contact Me
  • Work With Me
  • Free Guide: Make Cooking at Home Easier
  • Cooking Classes + Events
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Cart

How to Eat Well On a Budget

by Stephanie

How to Eat Well On a Budget

When it comes to eating real food, it’s can be difficult to justify the cost of eating well. There’s no doubt that food can be more expensive, but there are a few things we can do to eat well on a regular basis and maintain your budget.

First figure out your budget.

So what is your budget?

Some people I talk to about this issue say they can’t eat well within their budget and then when I ask if they have an actual budget for their groceries they say no.

Establishing a budget is key to staying on track with eating well.

Now you might find this a bit of a pain, but the best way to establish your budget is to go back and track your food spending for the past two or three months.

Alternatively you can track your next two or three months, but the key is to really hone in on how much you’ve been spending on food on a weekly and monthly basis.

If you haven’t been tracking your food spending in the past you might be in for a surprise when you start… I know I was when I did this exercise.

It was a real eye opener for me and it will help you move forward with figuring out how much you and/or your family needs to spend on food in a given month.

Shop Your Kitchen First.

This weekend I challenged people on my facebook page to shop their kitchen before they went to the store.

“Shop my kitchen?”

Yes! If you’re anything like me, you have a cupboard full of things you haven’t used in a while like rice, beans, lentils, flours etc. and you always forget to use them.

Have a look at what you have in the cupboard and start to build a couple of meals around those items.

For example. Last week I had a butternut squash and a leek so I made butternut squash leek soup.

I also had some bone broth I made from roasting my chicken from the week before so I used it—it’s not necessary though as this can be an added expense for some people. Plain old water will do with any spices you have in your cupboard.

I added a tablespoon of curry powder, but you could also use dried basil, oregano, and thyme or smoked paprika and cumin. Either of those options is going to yield a fantastic soup.

This soup cost me about $10 to make. You could make your soup go a bit further by adding red lentils which will increase the protein and nutrient density and which also means you won’t need to eat as much of it (you will be full quicker!), and you will have more leftovers.

A 900-gram bag of red lentils is about $3.29, you’d need about 1/2 a cup of red lentils per pot of soup which adds about .60 cents to the cost of your soup.

And because you bought a big bag means you get to use those red lentils for another meal at another time (red lentil dal – yum!). Win-win.

This might seem like a lot of money to spend on a simple soup, but I’m going to state my case for this one:

  • You know every ingredient in your soup because you put it there.
  • You made your soup with love (I hope!).
  • This soup yields enough for 5 or 6 servings or more versus one can of soup (around 1.5 servings) from the store and more than an expensive container of soup from the specialty section.

Now back to those ingredients.

I went to Loblaws and found a container of Butternut Squash Maple Soup from the specialty section and it’s full of ingredients you wouldn’t likely consider putting in your homemade soup at home:

WATER, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, APPLE SAUCE (APPLES, ASCORBIC ACID), MAPLE SYRUP, ONIONS, CANOLA OIL, CREAM (MILK, CREAM, SODIUM CITRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CARRAGEENAN, DEXTROSE), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOUR, SPICES.

This is why making real food at home is so important to me. We can do better with simpler ingredients and stay within our budget.

Meal plan!

Yes this topic is close to my heart, but it just makes so much sense to me. Meal planning your meals makes it easier to control what you’re buying and how much you’re buying.

You could even stretch your meals over the course of the week so for example if you’re roasting a chicken (yes buy the whole chicken – it’s cheaper!) for one meal, use the leftovers for tacos, cook the bones to make bone broth or a delicious soup for another meal.

When thinking of meals, think of nutrient-dense food first.

I talked about this a bit already, our bodies work best with nutrient-dense foods and when we eat nutrient-dense food we actually don’t have to eat as much of it, which means you don’t have to buy as much of it!

What is nutrient-dense food? That’s real food, my friend! I talk about my definition of real food here.

Shop in season and sales.

One of the best ways to save money is to shop in season and shop sales.

In the summer, take advantage of your farmers’ market because those prices tend to be lower. Now, this depends on where you go to the farmers’ market. It might be more expensive in a fancy neighbourhood so take that into consideration.

In terms of sales, always be on the lookout for sales in the store flyers. Many times there are bananas that are close to spoiling – get those and freeze them for the next time you want to make banana bread.

One woman I heard from mentioned that she gets her staples like canned tomatoes, pasta, and rice from No Frills which tends to be cheaper than Loblaws for example.

If you start paying attention to the individual prices of items you’ll know right away if something is too expensive or is a good deal. 

If you don’t think you’re going to eat it, freeze it.

You may not realize that you can freeze a lot of food!

If you have some spinach that is going to go soon, put it into a smoothie or make a pesto with it then freeze it in small batches for the next time your make fish, pizza or pasta. This is a great post about what can be frozen.

Freeze your leftovers too! If you don’t think you’re going to eat your leftovers for lunch, freeze them so you have food for another meal down the road.

Start making meatless meals.

High-quality meat can be expensive so why not implement several meatless meals throughout the week?

Items like dried lentils, chickpeas, and other beans and legumes are extremely cost-efficient, especially if you buy them dry in bulk, cook them in big batches and freeze them for later use. I like to use the slow cooker for this.

Keep Meals Simple.

Remember that meals don’t have to be complicated.

Not everything (or anything for that matter!) has to look like a Pinterest picture. Keep meals simple.

There is nothing wrong with having an egg on toast for dinner one night. My kids love ‘eggs and toast night’. Simple is best when you’re trying to save money.

To recap, here are my tips on eating well on a budget. The takeaways are:

  • Create a budget.
  • Shop your kitchen so you’re using what you have first.
  • Meal plan so you don’t overbuy food.
  • Make nutrient-dense food so you don’t have to eat as much of it (it keeps you full for longer!).
  • Shop in season and take advantage of sales.
  • Freeze food you don’t think you’ll eat.
  • Make meatless meals a few times a week.

Do you have any other ideas? I’d love to hear them.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash


Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Follow Me
RSS

Filed Under: Lifestyle

Before Footer

Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

So many people say that groceries are expensive. ⁠
⁠
Ok yes, right now they're a bit over the top. ⁠
⁠
But many times the expense can come from not using up what you have in the cupboards and fridge.⁠
⁠
My tip today is to use up the food you have *before* you make a brand new list for the week.⁠
⁠
Go through your fridge - what do you need to eat up? ⁠
⁠
The sub-tip to this is that you don't have to have a recipe for everything. Many foods might seem random, but they go well together on the plate.⁠
⁠
Are there a bunch of random veggies you can roast together to eat with a protein or put into a salad or soup?⁠
⁠
Do you have cans of beans or salmon in the cupboard you could eat up? ⁠
⁠
Always check what you have and then make a list and head to the store to buy food to fill in the gaps.⁠
⁠
If you really need help DM me to see how we can work together.
Meal prepping can be fun I promise! Especially whe Meal prepping can be fun I promise! Especially when you’re prepping fun and delicious food.

1. Oats don’t have to be boring! Use whole oats and top them with prepped seasonal fruits. Figs are AMAZING on oats, btw! 

2. Hearty greens like romaine lettuce and kale can be prepped into a salad that will last about 3 days in the fridge. Only add tomatoes if they’re whole so they don’t get mushy. Homemade salad dressing is your friend! Make a big batch and it will last at least 2 weeks in the fridge.

3. Yogurt parfaits are delish, can be made in advance, and taste amazing with regular greek yogurt or coconut yogurt. Raspberries at the bottom turn into scrumptious jam as it sits overnight and nuts and seeds add a necessary crunch! They’ll last about 3-4 days in the fridge.

4. If you’re feeling peckish prepping a hearty snack will help you get to the next meal without a crash. Pumpkin bites with sesame are delish and satisfying! They’ll last about 4 days in the fridge or you can freeze them for a month.

5. Lastly veggies and dip! Prepping veggies to snack on with a hearty dip will help to keep you satisfied all day. Prep once, and eat all week!

If you’re looking for meal plan and prep help I’m accepting new clients at One Heath Services. We’ll work together to set up a plan that’s just for you so every week can be a breeze when it comes to meals. DM me for more info.
***EDIT: These are RAMPS! Oops. But you can still ***EDIT: These are RAMPS! Oops. But you can still read about all the benefits of garlic and green garlic below. Also, you can use ramps in the recipe I gave you!***

--

This week I got my first batch of green garlic in the veggie box!⁠
⁠
Green garlic, or spring garlic, is a younger version of the garlic we know well and use in our cooking. It’s milder and can be used in many recipes. You can eat the white and green parts.⁠
⁠
It has a white base like a green onion although it’s a bit bigger and its green stems are more flat than rounded. ⁠
⁠
The younger version of this garlic has the same amazing health benefits as its older version making it an excellent addition to your recipes.⁠
⁠
Not to mention it’s local and can basically be grown anywhere which is fantastic news for our environment.⁠
⁠
Health Benefits of Garlic:⁠
⁠
⚡️Helps to reduce cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure⁠
Garlic’s sulfur-containing compounds can be beneficial to the upper digestive tract.⁠
⚡️We need to eat garlic in our meals at least 2-3 times a week in order to see these health benefits.⁠
⚡️Use it raw and cooked. Raw garlic retains its health benefits more so than when it is cooked.⁠
⚡️Dried garlic doesn’t have the same effect as raw or cooked. Tastes good though!⁠
⁠
⚡️A Quick Recipe: Quinoa (or rice or millet) with Green Garlic⚡️⁠
⁠
Slice the ends off of the green garlic and thinly slice the entire vegetable including the green parts.⁠
⁠
Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan and sauté the green garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add quinoa (about 1-2 cups) and stir. Add a bit of salt and pepper and voila! You have a flavourful side dish. ⁠
⁠
--⁠
#recipe #springrecipes #simplerecipes
My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of o My brother-in-law Steve spent a large portion of our Christmas dinner sharpening my knives. I was so grateful, but also hesitant that I would cut myself.⁠
⁠
When I started cooking with my newly-sharpened knives, I was in awe.⁠
⁠
Sharp knives make all the difference when it comes to enjoying cooking. It's also safer if you can believe it.⁠
⁠
With a sharp knife, you're less likely to push down harder on the knife trying to get it through an onion, for example.⁠
⁠
It just slices through with little pressure. ⁠
⁠
Dull knives leave room for error and slicing fingers (listen, I've cut a few fingers over the years...).⁠
⁠
If you're having trouble enjoying cooking at home, I encourage you to either get a new knife (it doesn't have to be expensive), or get someone to sharpen your knives for you (call a Steve in your area!).⁠
⁠
Take care of them with a little holder and treat them kindly. Having a sharp knife will bring you one step closer to love cooking at home.⁠
⁠
xo⁠
Steph⁠
⁠
--⁠
#kitchenskills #cookingtips #easycooking #enjoycooking #inthekitchen

Footer

About Stephanie

Photo of a white woman with brown hair

Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

Popular Posts

  • 5 Benefits of Getting a Custom Meal Plan
  • 8 Easy Tips for Making Soup
  • Kids Not Eating Dinner? Try this!
  • Eat what you love.
  • The Best Pots and Pans to Use for Healthy Cooking

etsy kitchen utensils and linen napkins

Copyright © 2023 · Wellness Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Before you go...

You might be interested in these posts:

Olive oil in a jar
Lifestyle

4 Healthy Food Swaps to Make Right Now

Lifestyle

Where We Ate in San Francisco

tea cup, tea, green tea to support your immunity
Lifestyle

4 Ways to Support Your Immunity