by Julie Dancer

Created on: September 25, 2008   Last Updated: August 27, 2010

Money is tighter than it ever was before, and food prices are rising. With most of the world in the grip of the credit crunch, saving money on day-to-day expenses has become a top priority of many people. Sadly, cutting costs often comes at the expense of our health. How can we eat healthily, but still save money? The answer is surprisingly simple, but it can be difficult to hold onto when you're in the supermarket surrounded by offers and advertisements.

If you plan your meals in advance, you will be able to control both how much you spend and what you eat. Learning how to cook simple meals from scratch is the easiest way to stay healthy without spending a fortune. A healthy diet contains a number of things, all of which can be either bought in bulk or found fairly cheaply. Let me begin:

Their are a number of very cheap, very healthy and very tasty foods. These can form a good place to start your meal plan from. These foods include:

Oatmeal

Lentils, pulses, and legumes

Brown rice

Potatoes (baked or boiled, not fried)

Wholemeal pasta

Seeds (sunflower seeds especially)

All of these items are available at low prices, and all contain plenty of fibre and nutrients. Best of all, they are filling and a small amount goes a long way.

However, we also need a large amount of fruit and vegetables in our diets. There a number of fruits that are fairly cheap, including bananas, apples, pears and oranges. Equally, with vegetables, carrots, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes are all fairly common and fairly cheap. Look for food that is in season, as it is usually cheaper. Avoid exotic fruits such as pineapples, which are often expensive.

There is a very easy way to get extremely fresh fruits and vegetables for free - grow your own! A tomato plant takes up very little space and can be grown in a pot. Herbs can be grown easily on windowsills, and some, such as mint, can even become a large part of a salad. A window box can easily grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

The benefits of growing your own fruit and vegetables are numerous - they are completely fresh, and have not had pesticides or dye sprayed onto them. They are free, apart from the initial investment for the seeds, and they are wonderfully satisfying to eat, when you know you grew them yourself!

If you are planning to eat a certain fruit or vegetables on the same day as purchase, look for reduced prices. Many supermarkets reduce squashed, bruised or old fruit and veg, and it is still perfectly fine to eat.

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