It can be hard to eat healthy. Fast food is cheap and convenient, taking only a few minutes to cook up – you can pick up dinner on your way home from work. Making your own food can be expensive, especially if your kitchen is not well-stocked. It also takes time, which comes at a premium in a modern-day schedule. For all these reasons and more, many Americans would rather order takeout or heat up a frozen pizza than cook their own dinner.

But eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. If you plan correctly, it can fit into any schedule. And most importantly, it will keep your body and mind in good health.

Stock Up

If you don’t have many ingredients at home, going to the grocery store can get pretty expensive. You try to make one meal and end up spending thirty dollars – for that money, you could have someone cooking for you!

The trick to making eating at home affordable is to stock up. Once your kitchen has the basics, you will be surprised by how many meals you can make just from staple foods in your home.

Some good foods to have on hand might be: Rice, pasta, flour, lentils, and canned vegetables such as tomatoes or beans. These are all very versatile foods that will bulk up a simple meal.

When you see a sale or have a coupon for something you might need eventually, take advantage of it to buy several. This is especially good for fairly expensive but always-necessary items like butter.

Prep Ahead

One of the biggest concerns with cooking food is time – when you get home on a weeknight after a long day at work, you don’t want to be stuck over the stove.

Prepare bulk food on the weekends to help you get through the week. It is good to choose something versatile that can be used in a number of ways so that you won’t get tired of it.

Here’s an example of how that might work – on Sunday, roast a chicken (whole chicken is much cheaper than cuts) and cook a pot of rice. Serve some green vegetables on the side. The next day, you have a chicken sandwich for lunch. Finish the chicken off by cutting up some carrots and onions for a delicious chicken soup with rice.

Making bulk soup and freezing individual portions will give you a ton of meals that are cheap, healthy, and easy to prepare.

Affordable, Fun, Healthy

It can take some time to get confident in your skills as a chef, but once you understand the basics, cooking is a fun and rewarding way to spend your time. You will be able to impress people with your delicious dishes, and the best part is, you get to see exactly what goes into each meal. This is great for people who have allergies or are trying to cut out certain food groups.

There are many websites devoted to helping you plan affordable, delicious meals. Good luck!