Eating healthy, Healthy foods on a tight budget!

Image via Wikipedia You have to get a variety of foods that include proteins, carbohydrates, beneficial fats, vitamins and don't forget the water! It is essential too.

1. You can get your protein from animal sources - (lean meats like chicken), vegetable sources - (beans, legumes, soy.) or you can get it from fish too.

2. Everyone needs Omega 3 essential fatty acids which you can get from fish like salmon, or you can buy ground flax seed (it has a nutty flavor) for less than $3 and spinkle it on cereal, salads or anything you like.

Here are some great, low cost meals to try:

• soup (you can make enough for a few days) - you can start with vegetable stock and add leftover meats and veggies.

• chili (you can make a big batch and freeze for later) - buy dried small red beans and soak overnight and put in some carrots and tomato paste and any other veggies you have. It's great and can be made with or without meat. You can even add tofu (cheap and very healthy.

• fruit and vegetable salads -you can make a great meal with chili and salad and soup and salad.Try to get your fruits and vegetables from a local farmer's market - you can get some good prices and you will also be eating seasonally which will give you variety. You don't have to buy organic - just be aware that some fruits and vegetables in the supermarket have more pesticides than others, i.e, apples, green and red peppers, peaches, etc.High nutrient vegetables like sweet potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes and carrots can all be used in recipes that can be frozen.
  

Keep the trimmings from your salads and cook up with water to make a great vegetable stock for using in soups and gravies.
Casseroles also work well and can be frozen.

For carbohydrates try:

• Whole grain bread, Starchy vegetables like potatoes and carrots

• Cereals (oatmeal is great and you can add half a banana and berries or any fruit that suits your taste buds.)

Always remember that the more processed the food the more expensive it usually is. Don't forget to use coupons from the paper and you can print some from the internet. Being healthy doesn't mean you have to spend a lot.