Healthy eating doesn’t necessarily cost more
The University of Guelph Food Institutes 2016 Food Price Reports the average Canadian household will spend up to $345 more on food overall in 2016 regardless of what you are eating.
But does it cost more to eat healthy? In a 2013 review article in the British Medical Journal, although diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts did cost more than diets high in processed foods, meats and refined (white) grains, the difference was only about $1.50 more per day.
Perhaps the more important thing to remember is eating out and heavy reliance on prepared meals is a bigger contributor to a hefty grocery bill than learning efficient ways to cook from scratch. Cooking healthy meals at home also offers a clear health benefit, improves family connectedness and teaches your kids essential cooking skills important for their future wellness.
Take advantage of online apps such as Flipp or RedFlagDeals to compare grocery store sales and flyers. Plan more “meatless Monday” options and vegetarian meals using legumes. Adjust and swap ingredients in recipes to use seasonal items. For example, if you are making a spinach salad recipe that calls for feta cheese and strawberries which were overpriced this week, adjust your recipe by keeping the spinach and vinaigrette but instead use sale items such as sliced oranges and sunflower seeds.