Often times people think eating healthy is expensive, although in the long run a cheap diet of junk food will cost you in health and enjoyment of life. Regardless of the cost, here are 5 ways to save when you’re looking to eat healthy, yet stay on a budget.

1. Buy in bulk
Probably my favorite way to save =) Not only do you avoid extra trips to the grocery store you save from the bulk discount rates. The large containers of rolled oats are my favorite. Much cheaper than buying the small round containers.

2. Avoid buying ‘diet foods’
While it may seem like a good idea to buy the healthy diet foods, often they are just over priced and even sometimes less than healthy options. Instead of buying the protein fortified candy bars, make your own at home. Ditch the 100 calorie snack-packs and have some celery.

3. Stick to the basics
While having 37 different breakfast options provides variety you end up wasting or not using a bunch of what you buy. Stick you what you eat often and a lot of. Come up with different staple meals and stick with them. Which brings me to the next tip.

4. Plan your meals and only buy what you need
Do you often end up throwing food away because it’s gone off before you’ve had a chance to use it? Knowing what you will eat ahead of time will save on headache, wasting and unhealthy eating. So before you go shopping, plan ahead of what you know you’ll need for the week ahead. Next point…

5. Shop from a list
I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly enjoy shopping. I’m not one to just peruse the grocery store aisles with a hint of curiosity. Whenever I go into a store I already know what I want. I run to that item then run to the checkout. There is no ’shopping experience’. So the point being, know what you want ahead of time, make a list, and stick to it. No matter how much you’ll save on that 2 for 1 donut special, you know you don’t need it.

I just happened upon this picture the other day (by chance my brother sent it to me from his archives, yeah for me). I just love it.

It’s of when I was in my first years of college. I was trying to gain weight at the time.

Any guesses of what is on the big green plate?

I’ll give you one guess, okay never mind no guesses. It’s an egg product. Mised with sliced ham, salsa, green peppers, chopped onions, and a few other secret ingredients, so secret that I don’t even remember what they were.

Anyway, take a look and enjoy, and if you want email me for specific cooking instructions.

I just came by a study this week talking about how people make better food choices when they have the calorie content in front of them. That’s great!

But, here’s the best part. The focus was calorie counts at restaurants, so the difference was between something like ordering a double whopper with cheese and maybe just the single whopper without cheese.

Now, I’m pretty sure, both of those options are “less than optimal”. Just like at the store, every packaged item has the food label on it. But I still see plenty of people eating the junk.

So coming from the title of this. Should you have the chocolate or glazed donut, while the glazed probably has a few less calories, the point is you shouldn’t have either.

Most of the better options in the store don’t even have a label. Fruits, vegetables, some meats, etc. With a few exceptions like frozen chicken, canned beans, some dairy, etc.

They’re everywhere. Often containing a healthy does of calories in one small pouch, or ready to drink can.

Can these tasty (at least now days) options be part of an overall healthy eating plan.

Yes. Now, we’re not talking slim fast here (which is more sugar than anything else).

We’re talking more healthful options that contain whey and cassein protein concentrate or isolate and a healthy blend of carbohydrates from oats and others sources.

Be sure and check the nutrition facts of your meal replacement to make sure you’re getting one of the healthy typs.

Not only are they convenient, they’re also cheap (compared to eating out), and are a very quick replacement for 1-2 meals in a day.

The following foods are considered healthy or clean foods by most, but in the amounts they are eaten by most, they’re a little high on the calorie-meter.

Nuts - Whether it’s almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, or any other nut variety, these nuggets of health are often consumed by the handful. Serving size is typically 1 ounce or 10-20 individual nuts and about 175 calories per serving.

Trail Mix / Party Mix – Made up of nuts, dried fruit, seeds, granola and other goodies (no chocolate pieces though). The calories in this nutritious snack can add up fast when you start digging into a large bag. 1 servings is 1 ounce and about 150 calories.

Peanut Butter – Another form of a nut. This highly condensed as well as nutritious paste is full of fat and calorie. It’s a healthy and tasty treat, yet with a serving size of 2 tablespoons, there’s not much to go around. A single servings packs a 200 calorie wallop. Double or triple that amount on your toast or waffles and your having one rich meal.

Oats – Yep, even the gold standard of healthy food can be over consumed. A serving size is ½ cup. While that sounds reasonable, when you put that amount in a large bowl, in looks puny. You can easily pile on 1 or 2 cups of the yummy stuff which is up to 600 calories.

Dried fruit – Raisins and other forms contain all of the calories of fruit, in 1/10th the volume. So, having a bowl full of raisins is not necessarily a good idea. 1 serving is half an ounce or about 25 raisins.

Canned foods - Look at the servings sizes. That 1 small can of beans or chili you had is actually 2, 3 or even 4 servings, and up to 600-700 calories. Read the nutrition facts panel to know how many servings each can is.

Salad dressings – Add great taste in small amounts, but with the ½ cup+ most people use they’re liable as a full day of calories. A serving is 2 tablespoons which can be up to 200 calories depending on the flavor.

High-fat meat - Beef, pork and their various forms are laden with gelatin calorie containers. When dealing with these high-fat meats go for leaner cuts and the right portion sizes, usually 3 ounces, not a full plateful.