Healthy Meals on a Budget: Lose Weight and Save Money!

Written by: Dr. Anthony Balduzzi,

Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

Written by: Dr. Anthony Balduzzi,

Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

healthy meals on a budget

Struggling to find or prepare healthy meals on a budget? You just need to find the right foods at the right time — and we'll show you how!

Losing weight is a mental and physical challenge.

But when you tack on how expensive it can be to lose weight with the price of many healthy foods, your goal can seem completely unrealistic!

How are people doing it? Do they just have unlimited grocery budgets?

The truth is they know which foods give you the most bang for your buck and how to navigate the grocery store with weight loss in mind.

Here's the secret to buying healthy meals on a budget, along with recipes for our favorite healthy family meals that are less than $10 to make!

Want to get the kids involved in meal prep? Check out these 12 simple and healthy ideas!

You're Not Crazy — These Prices Are

First of all, you're not the crazy one.

There really is a trend of “health foods” being sold at higher prices than non-healthy foods.

In fact, a Harvard study found that, on average, eating a healthy diet daily costs about $1.50 more than if you ate unhealthy foods.

From the day-to-day, this doesn't sound like such a large amount.

But annually, that would be $2,200 per year!

Not to mention, buying organic food can run you 10-30% more on your grocery tab as well.

While it may seem impossible to beat this system, we have tips for you.

How to Find Cheaper Healthy Foods

Healthy food does command a premium.

However, it's up to you to choose which healthy foods you choose to buy!

There are healthy proteins, vegetables, fruits, and starches that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

  • Canned tuna: Average $1.39 per can
  • Canned beans: Average $ per pound
  • Frozen edamame: Average $2 for a 16-ounce bag
  • Broccoli: Average $1.64 per head
  • Bagged spinach: Average $2 per ounce
  • Russet potatoes: Average $.56 per pound
  • Brown rice: Average $1.75 per pound
  • Old fashioned oats: Average $.13 per serving
  • Bananas: Average $.60 per pound
  • Oranges: Average $1 per pound
  • Frozen berries: Average $3.50 per pound

Keep in mind that anytime you can find produce that's in season, it will be cheaper.

We recommend keeping a cheat sheet of when produce is in season on your fridge as a reminder before you grocery shop for the week!

Healthy Meals on a Budget

It's a little too easy to list out cheap produce.

The challenge really comes in when you're cooking for your family!

You've got everyone's opinions and allergies to account for — and your own health goals.

Below, we've listed out our favorite healthy family meals that are less than $10 to make.

Chicken and Vegetable Roast

This roast is delicious but simple.

Purchase chicken, russet potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion and bake together on a baking sheet.

All told, this meal comes out to $2.72 per serving.

Pork Chops and Salad

Bake pork chops breaded with panko crumbs while you prepare a salad of cabbage and apples.

Mustard and sour cream round out this meal.

This meal is $2.67 per serving.

Mini Meatballs, Green Beans, and Potatoes

This is a hearty meal!

Cook the meatballs, green beans, and potatoes all on one foil-lined baking sheet for easy cleanup.

Enjoy at $2.29 per serving.

Tilapia and Corn

Have a Friday fish night with this zesty tilapia dish!

Cooked tilapia with a chili-lime glaze is complemented by corn saute.

This meal is $2.80 per serving.

Lentil Patties

For any vegetarians, this meatless burger is a delicious and budget-friendly alternative.

Walnuts, lentils, and mushrooms give these burgers a dense and delicious taste.

Eat dinner for $1.56 per serving.

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Healthy on Your Terms

Without these tips, it can seem impossible to prepare healthy meals on a budget.

But now that you know it can be done, there's nothing standing in your way!

If you're looking to branch out into other realms of fitness such as diet and exercise, we can also help you there.

Our free Fit Mom Jumpstart gives you all the tools you need to start dropping pounds.

From email fitness coaching to detailed diet plans, you'll be on the road to your goal weight.

Then, you can move onto FM30X, which we designed with moms like you in mind — no restrictive diets, time-consuming workouts, or pressure to be “perfect”

Just real results, and lots of help along the way!

Dr. Anthony Balduzzi
Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

After watching his own Dad lose his health and pass away at the young age of 42, Dr. Balduzzi founded The Fit Mother Project and Fit Father Project to help busy moms and dads get and stay healthy for their families.

Dr. Anthony Balduzzi holds dual degrees in Psychology & Nutrition from the University of Pennsylvania, a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, and is also a former national champion bodybuilder. He’s is most proud of the fact that he’s helped over 40,000 families in over 100 countries lose weight and get healthy for life.

If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight, get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good, this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…

Fit Mother Project is the answer you’ve been looking for. Inside the program, you’ll receive:

  • The simple & delicious Fit Mother Meal Plan with easy recipes for you and your family.
  • The metabolism-boosting Fit Mother Project workouts to kickstart your metabolism for fast fat burning.
  • VIP email coaching where we’ll personally walk you through the program.
GET STARTED TODAY FOR FREE

If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight, get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good, this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…

Our Fit Mother 30X Program (FM30X) is the answer you’ve been looking for. Inside FM30X, you’ll receive:

  • The simple & delicious Fit Mother Meal Plan with easy recipes for you and your family.
  • The metabolism-boosting Fit Mother 30X Workout (under 90 min/week) to kickstart your metabolism for fast fat burning.
  • VIP email coaching where we’ll personally walk you through the program.
Learn More About FM30X

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on healthy meals on a budget.

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Fit Mother Project Fact-Checking Standards

Our Fit Mother Project Team’s deepest commitment is to helping you live healthier for both yourself and your family. And when it comes to online content, integrity and trust is everything. That’s why our Fit Mother Project staff-writers are all trained professionals in the field of health and wellness (registered dieticians, licensed personal trainers, and licensed physicians) – see the full team here. We rigorously run all of our articles through a rigorous editorial process to ensure the accuracy, simplicity, and utility of the information. And we aren’t just a team of “academics” sitting in an ivory tower. We are real people – with jobs, responsibilities, and families – working hard in the trenches and testing our tips & methods out to make sure you can stay healthy for family.

Here is what you can expect from us on our Fit Mother Blog and YouTube channel:

  1. All of our content is written and reviewed by licensed health professionals (dieticians, personal trainers, doctors).
  2. In nearly all of our articles, we link to published research studies from the most respected peer-reviewed medical & health journals.
  3. We include research-based videos to accompany our articles to make it easier for you to consume our content, put it into action, and see results.
  4. Inside our articles & videos, we do promote our free meal plans, workouts, and/or paid programs, because we know they have the potential to change your life.
  5. We openly take feedback here on our contact page. We welcome your content suggestions… and even feedback on grammar (we’d like to thing that we’re pretty OK at spelling and “stuff”).
  6. Above all, we are a community of likeminded men and women committed to living healthier. We do not advocate any health advice that we wouldn’t personally implement with our families. Because as far as we’re concerned, you’re our family too.

Thanks for checking out the blog. We can’t wait to support you toward greater health, energy, and vitality.

– The Fit Mother Project Team

 

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