Diabetes and Healthy Eating on a Budget

Healthy eating on a budget is possible

It's a sad fact that much of the cheapest food in supermarkets can often be the worst for our health. When it comes to food shopping, it's probably fair to say that as a general rule of thumb, you get what you pay for but we provide some hints to help buck this trend a little.

Avoid the very cheapest food

Whilst this may come across as very strange advice for a page of this name, a good start is to avoid some of the cheaper foods on offer such as white bread, ready meals, pizzas and cheap puddings. It's also worthwhile to note that Diabetes UK advise against Diabetic Food labelling.

Often, the cheaper these options, the least healthy they are. Cheap ready meals, pizzas, puddings and even bread are very often over processed and contain poor nutrition such as added sugars, added fats and added salt to make them palatable.

Don’t go shopping on a hungry stomach

When you’re hungry you’ll be more likely to shop impulsively which could add extra pounds to your shopping bill.

Know what you need - don’t overspend on food you may not eat

One of the best ways to waste money is to waste food. If you find yourself having to throw away fresh fruit and vegetables at the end of the week, consider buying less of it at your next shopping trip.

Buy in bulk and store or freeze it as appropriate

If you spot an attractive saving, it can make sense to buy in bulk and freeze or store it for use later. Make sure you have enough storage space though in your freezer or larder to do this. Meat can be one of the most expensive items on your shopping list so if your freezer can cope, stock up if any multi-buy or special offer savings appear.

Consider buying own brand

Sometimes a little bit of in store research can help to keep costs down as well as providing healthier choices. Check the nutrition and ingredients to see which foods may be best for your diet and don’t let the maker’s name influence you too much.

Avoiding foods with added sugars and a high level of salt will help to rule out foods bad for your health. If the ingredients list reads more like something from a chemistry lesson, leave it on the shelf. In this regard, sometimes you may find that own brand products are just as nutritional, and sometimes more so, than branded products.

Look beyond eye level goods

If you owned a supermarket and wanted to maximise profit, it would make a lot of sense to place the most profitable items in the most noticeable and easy to reach places. It shouldn’t be a surprise then to learn that this is what supermarkets actually do. A check of the harder to reach and see shelves could mean savings you wouldn’t usually notice.

Visit the greengrocer, butcher and market seller

A little research may be needed first but the greengrocer, butcher and market can be a great source of potential savings. What’s more, the food is likelier to be fresher than at the supermarket. Give it a try – note down how much half a set weight of food, such as 500g of beef mince or a medium sized cauliflower, is at your supermarket and compare with how much it costs at the market, greengrocer or butcher.

Check the bargain shelf

The bargain shelves can be a good way to knock a bit of money off your bill. However, there are a few things to bear in mind when going for this option.

If the food is close to its use by date, be sure you will eat or drink enough of the product to justify the saving. Beware also of being tempted into buying bad produce.

6 doughnuts for 15p may sound like a great deal but they’ll probably taste past their best and are clearly not a healthy choice.

Cut down on alcohol

Thanks partly to the extra duty we all pay on alcohol, beer, wine and spirits can lead to the biggest holes in our wallet. Not only is cutting down a little on alcohol healthier for our liver, it’s a healthy choice for our outgoings.

Make use of your leftovers

They may not look so appetising after you’ve finished your meal but leftovers are attractive to your wallet. Unless we’re talking about leftover pizza, stick some cling film over your leftovers and find a way to reuse them the following day.