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There is a growing awareness that if you want to stay healthy, you must eat healthy. However, for many people the food budget is a major one, especially considering that it reoccurs. Making this even more of a problem is the increase in food prices.

There are great ways to eat healthy on a budget, though. It doesn't need to break the bank, and can actually save money. Let's look at a few of those ways.

Eating packaged mixed or pre-made foods are almost always more expensive than making your own. Yes, it can take a little more time, but when you are trying to save money, time becomes a little less important.

Let's say that you want a rice dish. Rice-a-Roni only costs around a dollar for a box. Cheap, huh? But is it? A four-pound bag of uncooked rice often costs less than $4, which makes it far less expensive, and it isn't nearly as processed. This means that making the dish from scratch is not only less expensive; it is a lot better for you.

This is true of nearly all boxed foods. When you make the same thing from scratch, you not only save money, you control what goes into the meal. This is major if you are cooking for a diabetic or someone on a sodium-restricted diet.

A healthy diet doesn't mean cutting out all meat, fish, carbohydrates, etc, it means eating a balanced meal, and eating it wisely. Fat must be kept low. It is needed, but shouldn't make up too much of a diet. Still, you can't afford the lean cuts of meat. Rather than resigning yourself to the fact that your diet will be unhealthy, take steps to make the less healthy types of meat healthier for you.

Trimming the fat off a steak, assuming you can afford steak, is a step in the right direction. In ground beef, the fat is ground in. Still, you can cook it, drain off the fat, and thus reduce the fat consumption by a lot, without spending a penny more on the ground meat. Wild meats also tend to be a lot lower in fat than those specifically grown for slaughter

What about fruits and vegetables? These are usually most expensive when they are bought out of season, or when they are frozen and packaged.

The idea is to buy the produce when it is in season and while it is cheap. It's worthwhile to learn how to can the products, if possible, because that ultimately saves money. A canning kettle, jars, and lids do cost money, but the jars can be reused, and this much healthier form of food can save a lot of money even by the end of a year. For example, you spend $5 on a case of pears that in turn yields 20 quarts. Throughout

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