
“Healthy eating and living is way too expensive.”
Well… that depends. If you’re going to a grocery store or a health food store and buying organic, specialty foods and small packets of nuts and seeds, yes it will get expensive. Healthy eating the ‘old fashioned’ way – focusing on simple, whole foods, buying in bulk, growing food in your garden, and cooking from scratch – is much less expensive. Yes, it takes time and thought and planning and sometimes it’s hard work, but it’s worth the effort if you want to save money while eating well!
A while ago I had an email from a mother of four young children, voicing the frustration and overwhelm of trying to live a healthy lifestyle on a tight budget. She shared her concern that a lot of the advice given in the health world is expensive and out of reach for everyday families, and living this way often puts a strain not only on the budget, but also on relationships in the home. She felt that “healthy food, blood testing, naturopaths, Integrative GP’s, water filters, and chemical free products and lifestyles all come with HUGE costs!”
Struggling mamas (and papas!), I hear you. I’ve been there too. When we began our healing journey, we had four young children and one income (on the lower end of the scale), and we had to live on a very tight budget for many years. So… can I give you a bit of encouragement, and some tips to help you along the way?

Don’t try to do it all at once.
- A healing journey doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t compare where you’re at with where we are at – everyone is at different stages of the journey, and no two paths will look alike.
- Start with the basics (like eating whole foods, buying in bulk, cooking from scratch, time in nature) before worrying about anything that is going to cost you lots of money (like testing, integrative GPs, top of the range water filters and organic food)…
- You can really start improving your health just by focusing on basic whole foods rather than packet foods, spending more time outdoors in nature, slowing down the crazy pace of your life, nurturing healthy relationships, and keeping life simple.
Rethink the way you shop.
- Before you go grocery shopping, have a good look through your fridge, freezer and pantry so you know what you have, then plan your meals to use what you have, rather than just choosing recipes then buying all those ingredients. This really helps to reduce food waste and unnecessary purchases!
- Buy in-season produce at your local farmers market, through Community Supported Agriculture schemes (CSA), and directly from local producers, rather than buying everything at the grocery store or health food shop.
- Learn to preserve, ferment, dehydrate, bulk cook and freeze produce to save money.
- Build up your pantry ingredients little by little, buying in bulk as much as possible. Buy raw honey from a local beekeeper. Buy grass-fed meat and wild-caught seafood in bulk from local butchers and fishmongers, splitting your order with a couple of friends to make it affordable.
- If you can, start a veggie garden (or at least plant a few herbs, leafy greens, spring onions, etc) and plant some fruit trees to save money. Get some chooks for eggs if you have room.
- It will take time to change your shopping habits, just work on changing one thing at a time.
- Need some help learning these skills, or finding producers and bulk-buying options in your area? Ask in my chat group!


Make it at home, with whole-food ingredients.
- In general, the more you make at home from whole-food ingredients and the less you buy pre-made, the more you’ll save. Plus, you’ll be eating a lot healthier!
- Avoid buying snacks and drinks regularly – those daily take-away coffees, smoothies or juices really add up. For example, a smoothie at a cafe can cost between $10-15 for one serve, whereas the same smoothie will cost less than $5 per serve to make at home, with high quality ingredients! Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water each day, and keep bought drinks to a minimum.
- Save money by baking your own cakes, biscuits, muffins, and even breads, pizza bases, and muesli bars at home. (I also try to save sweet baking for weekends so it’s not an everyday expectation.)
- Make your own yoghurt, sour cream, custards, and ghee.
- Homemade sauerkraut, fermented veggies and milk kefir are very cheap, easy to make, and a big bonus for your health. Instead of buying expensive probiotics, make a new fermented food each week!
Make healthy eating easier, make junk food harder.
- If there’s something you find hard to resist and you know it’s no good for you, don’t have it in the house!
- Stock up on healthy, basic foods; always have things like nuts/seeds, eggs, cheese, fruit, and plain yoghurt (dairy or coconut) on hand for a quick snack; have frozen fruit in the freezer for smoothies and fruit ‘ice creams ’; have some healthy (homemade or bought) nut/seed crackers in the pantry and homemade dips/pate in the fridge/freezer.
- Bake some whole-food treats and make bliss balls or chocolate to and keep in the freezer.


Buy and cook in bulk wherever possible.
- Bulk out meat dishes, soups, casseroles and stews with beans or lentils and lots of veggies to save money on meat.
- Make 2 or 3 times the recipe when cooking favourite, freezable meals (or when baking), and freeze portions for busy days.
- Chop extra veggies when cooking meals instead of just enough for one meal – they’ll keep in bags in the fridge for a few days.
- Do a bulk cook up with a friend and split the ingredient costs and the meals.
Don’t stress if you can’t afford all organic.
- Do what you can, where you are, with what you’ve got. You will still get plenty of nutrition from meat and veggies that are not organic – just get the best options you can afford and don’t stress if it’s not all organic.
- Tip: Visit farmer’s markets early on market days and buy from the pesticide-free produce stalls – but be quick as they always sell out early!


Meal plan.
- Plan your weekly meals using what you have on hand. Check your list of what’s in your pantry and freezer so nothing is wasted and you don’t double up on ingredients when shopping.
- Keep a list of your family’s favourite recipes on a piece of paper stuck on the fridge, or on your phone notepad, and build up a ‘repertoire’ of meals to choose from so you can quickly get a plan together each week.
- Check your calendar. Meal prep needs to fit in with the time you have available, so think about what’s on each day before deciding on meals. On busy days, plan meals you’ve prepped ahead or slow-cooker meals, or keep it really simple and have a “steak & salad” kind of meal. Keep the new, untried recipes for days when you have a bit more time.
- When you’re thinking about what you’ll have time to cook, always factor in a time buffer as interruptions will happen – especially if you have kids!
Sample meal plan…
Here’s a simple meal plan for 5 days of budget meals, which could easily last for more than a week if you bulk prep some of the recipes (make a double batch) and freeze some! The chilli, gypsy stew, braised steak and hearty beef stew all freeze well. Click on the image to download the meal plan with recipe and cookbook links.
Want more meal plan ideas? Click on the button below to subscribe to my newsletter as I often share meal plans there, and you’ll also be sent blank meal plan templates so you can make your own!
A few more ways to improve your health without spending lots of money…
- Reduce your stress levels. Slow down and pull back on the craziness (this could mean cutting down on the extra activities – eg. lots of after school activities for the kids that are weekly expenses and keep you constantly running kids around everywhere – at least until the family’s health is back on track).
- Get plenty of rest (early nights, naps if needed, and days off on the weekend where you go swim in the ocean or lake and just relax and chill).
- Reset your circadian rhythm by getting outside early in the morning, eating meals in natural light, spending time outdoors in nature as much as possible, and viewing the sunset. Keep lights low at night and avoid screens before bed. Use blue-blocker glasses at night if you have bright lights or screens on.
- Start a veggie garden and you’ll save money on food AND be more relaxed!
- Drink filtered water first thing in the morning, adding in a pinch of sea salt for minerals so that your body can absorb it properly.
- If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, sit outside with a cuppa and watch the leaves sway in the trees or the waves at the beach or watch the kids play in the backyard. Take some time out for prayer and meditation and alone time. Go for a walk. Declutter your home and get rid of things that you don’t love or don’t need to create a more peaceful space. Talk to those you love and spend time together enjoying each other’s company.
What other tips can you think of that don’t cost a lot but have made a difference to your health? Share them in the comments below!
Reminder:
Don’t put unrealistic expectations on yourself. Perfectionism just brings more stress.
Do what you can, where you are, with what you’ve got!!