When you wander down supermarket aisles, it no doubt frustrates you to find that the healthy food options are always so much more expensive than the unhealthy ones. So, let’s take a look at what it takes to eat healthier, even if you are on a tight budget. Brown rice is a good few bucks costlier than white rice, and organic products are always marked up a good $5 to $10. Why is this? How much costlier is it, exactly, to eat healthier? And is the payoff worth the price?

The Cost To Eat Healthier: $1.50 Per Day

The Harvard School of Public Health has published research in the British Medical Journal on the cost of healthy eating vs. unhealthy eating. They have done the math, and it turns out that it will cost you about $1.50 per day to eat healthier food. That doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? However, add that up, and at the end of the year you’ve spent about $550 more on eating healthy. For a single person, that may not sound like much, but that’s well over $3,000 for a family of six. That can be quite a strain on the finances of a low-income family, and this higher cost is one of the reasons that so many poorer families eat lower quality food.

Is it Worth It?

So, is it really worth that $1.50 a day to eat healthier food? The truth: absolutely, 100% YES! Have you ever seen documentaries or read news articles on some of the stuff that goes into our food? You’ve got chemical additives (e.g., nitrites, nitrates, high fructose corn syrup), “meat products” that are literally called “pink slime”, processed sugar, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) food, pesticides, a massive overdose of high blood pressure causing sodium and salt, and so much more. Even just a little bit of research into the dangers of artificial food will help you realize that $1.50 per day is a small price to pay. An extra $550 per year to eat healthy is far less than you’d spend on medications to treat health problems related to eating poor quality food loaded with artificial ingredients. With all of the disorders that can set in as a result of this food, $550 per year per person seems like a bargain.

Eat Healthy Without Paying the Price

Now, here’s the tricky part: trying to find ways to eat healthy without adding to your shopping budget. Good news: it’s possible, but it’s going to take some work.

• Visit Farmer’s Markets — Farmer’s markets are often populated by products that don’t qualify as organic food on technicalities. They fail to meet one or two of the myriad regulations required for the “organic” certification. However, most times they are just as healthy as organic foods, and they’re a lot cheaper. You’ll find that these farmer’s markets are a great place to shop for natural, healthy foods on a budget.
• Choose Cheaper Options — Yes, a New York Strip steak is definitely the most delicious, but it’s not the cheapest. You can find healthy options that will be much cheaper, so it’s time to start pinching pennies for the sake of your health and your wallet. Find the healthy proteins that are affordable, such as chicken breast, tip steak, and canned tuna. You can also add healthy supplements like our whey protein to your meal for additional cheap and substantial nutrients.
• Find High-Value Foods -­- There are some foods that cost more, but they offer more nutritional value. For example, oats are a good source of carbs and protein, and avocados are loaded with healthy fats as well as fiber and carbs. Berries are definitely worth the higher price, and olive oil is a definite must for your kitchen. These foods cost more, but they improve the quality of your meals dramatically.

It may cost more to eat healthy, but you don’t have to break the bank just to improve the quality of your diet.