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If you shop in large supermarkets you will usually find that the low fat, organic and healthy option of processed food is usually more expensive. If you are trying to shop healthily but cheaply consider a few alternatives.

Look out for the 'scoop and weigh' type of shops where you can buy pulses, rice and oats in bulk. It is relatively quick and easy to make home-made soup which has no additives and processed junk. You can use ingredients bought at a 'scoop and weigh' store or perhaps from a health shop. Our local health store sells packets of soup mix which are cheap and go a long way. The pack includes lentils, pearl barley and pulses. The soup will not be so instantaneous as a tinned or packet soup, as you will have to soak the ingredients before hand, but the result will be nutritious, tasty and cheap.

Buy items such as kidney beans as an alternative to baked beans. These too have no nasty additives, nor too much sugar and salt, and are good for you and cheap. If you cannot be bothered with the preparation it is possible to buy tinned versions which are still half the price of baked beans.

Visit your local market for the best price on fresh fruit and vegetables and free range eggs.If there is a glut of, say tomatoes, and they are especially cheap, look at bottling some and, or, making sauces or chutney. Consider growing some vegetables yourself. You will not necessarily need a huge area of space outdoors. These vegetables will be fairly cheap, taste fabulous and you will know that they are not drenched in pesticides. Even in a small flat it is possible to have tomatoes and a selection of herbs growing on your kitchen window-sill, or even in the spare bedroom. You could even consider keeping a couple of chickens and a cock bird, in order to have true free range eggs, but of course you would need some outdoor space for this. In England it is possible to rent an allotment, which is a small green area where you can grow all the vegetables and plants that you need, and possibly keep chickens also.

Low fat healthy margarines and milk often cost more. Check out Soya or Rice milk for a healthy change or just consider swapping brands. Some brands of margarine which are healthier are more expensive, so check out the alternatives.

Making pasta and rice dishes more often will be healthy and can be done quite cheaply. None' brand named' rice for example is always cheaper. Brown rice has more fibre and as it is less processed is healthier. Usually this rice is slightly cheaper as it is not so popular with western taste buds.

If your quest to eat healthier leads you to something which is unnecessarily expensive look for an alternative. Often we are blinkered when grocery shopping. We tend to always buy from a few standard items when there are a million and one things out there for us to try. Research the Internet and your local library for good recipes which create cheap yet healthy meals and you will be surprised at the amount of alternatives you will find.

Note: My dogs love an occasional dish of cooked rice, either brown or white , which has crushed garlic in it.If they are ill with an upset tummy this always helps them on the road to recovery and the garlic prevents ticks and fleas biting them, so it could save you money also on expensive, harmful drugs which have the same effect.

Learn more about this author, Ethel Smith.
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