In Durango it is easy to find good healthy food. However, it isn’t always easy to buy all the health food you need to feed your family without spend quite a bit.

So here are 5 simple ways to cut down on your grocery bill each week while still eating good healthy food.

1) Plan in Advance

One of the easiest ways to bring down your costs for eating healthy is to plan out your weeks’ worth of meals in advance and to look at what you already have so you can get just what you need in one trip. Then most Importantly Stick To Your List!!!

If you want a weeks’ worth of health and cost-effective meals I have already put together a week’s list here

This is the one step that can save you the most in eating healthily so make sure you give this step a fair amount of time to save you the most money and hassle.

2) Don’t shop while you’re hungry

I know that this seems like a bit of a funny suggestion, but it is absolutely true.

We tend to buy more things and stick to our grocery lists a lot less when we go shopping when we are hungry. This makes the price of our grocery shopping trip go up as we buy things to snack on and things that just look good versus the items that we know we will use and need on our grocery list.

So next time before you walk into the store to do your grocery run snack on an apple before you get to the store or the farmers market.

3) Get More Fruits and Vegetables

On average we actually eat a bit too much meat and not nearly enough fruits and vegetables. Which is funny because certain fruits and vegetables are super cost effective while still being super healthy for you.

Vegetables like kale, spinach, cabbage and broccoli are super healthy for you and aren’t too bad on the price either. For fruits it is the melons and bananas that are the best for you while not being too costly.

4) Eat and Drink More to Be less hungry and lose Weight

So, I know it sounds like a bit of an oxymoron to eat more to be les hungry and to lose more weight but that is exactly why I’m writing this as a tip here.

Most people think that eating less, by not eating breakfast for example, will help keep their costs and weight down but it in fact does the opposite. By eating and drinking in regular portions your food costs actually go down.

As for drinking, we as humans have a peculiar habit of not being able to tell when we are hungry and when we are just in need of a drink. (Preferably water or fruit juice) Try it. Next time you get hungry drink a glass of water before you start eating and see if your appetite decreases.

5) Buy Whole Foods

No not from the company 😀

What I mean is that it is more expensive to buy things like sliced or shredded cheese than it is to buy a block of cheese from Nature’s Oasis or James ranch.

Eating Whole foods are also healthier for you to eat anyways as processing foods tend to have added extras that aren’t as healthy for you and drive up the costs.