Healthy diet hacks to keep you on a budget

Healthy diet hacks to keep you on a budget (Photo: iStock)

A healthy diet has always been the best recipe for a long and happy life. It is something that should be part of your everyday life, rather than a short-term fix for the sake of your overall wellbeing.

But let's not lie to ourselves. Dieting can be very boring at times and nobody wants to be miserable. Family dinners and buffets are not easy when every sweet, juicy and fatty food is on offer.

Food is meant to be enjoyed, and believe it or not, you can actually combine good food and healthy eating, even if you are on a budget.

These tips will show you how to enjoy nutritious food without breaking the bank. Here is how:

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Take a look around social media and you will see that food is one of the main areas of interest. There is an unspoken competition to see who has the best Insta-worthy picture of their meal, including the diet sites. This can be very discouraging, especially when you are trying to learn how to eat healthy and cannot afford all those fancy ingredients.

To stay on track, you can let go of all the superficial pressure and focus on your goals for healthy living.

Enjoy simple meals like ugali and traditional vitamin-packed vegetables, delicious vegetable stews with matoke and other creative meal combinations that will keep you energetic and healthy.

BUY DISCOUNTED ITEMS

Many of us are guilty of snubbing discounted items because we automatically think they are unfit for consumption. We assume they have expired and ignore them because they might not look as good as the items that are not on sale. If this is you, you are missing out on some of the best deals by walking past these items. Yes, some of them may not look as pretty, but that does not mean they do not have nutritional value. You might even be able to get some of those fancy ingredients you wanted now that they are on sale.

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR SNACKS

One of the biggest challenges of dieting is having a variety of snacks to choose from. I know it can be tempting to go for a huge slice of cake or a whole bar of chocolate when you want something sweet for dessert. But the good thing about being on a 'budget diet' is that you can get creative, like learning how to make healthy homemade ice cream, along with other low-sugar, low-calorie treats that you love. Take the time to research the thousands of recipes you can experiment with and choose the ones that work best for you and meet your dietary needs.

MAKE THE MOST OF LEFTOVERS

Think of new ways to use your leftovers. This gives you more ingredients to work with when preparing future meals, prevents waste and can save you a lot of money by reducing the temptation to order comfort food when you already have something to eat at home. The first thing to remember, however, is to always store your leftovers properly to maintain freshness. If it is something that should be chilled or frozen, make sure you store it well and on time so that it does not go bad and possibly cause a stomach upset. You should also avoid eating leftovers that have been stored for too long.