7 Tips for getting healthy eating on a budget by Dietitian Eleni Georgiou

14 August 2025

1. Plan well.
Planning is the key to nailing nutritious eating, and especially when you’re on a budget. Meal planning doesn’t have to take too long. Deciding on a 7 or 14-day meal rotation is a great idea, sticking to recipes that are healthy and budget-friendly that you plan out and shop for ahead of time. 

2. Buy what’s in season.
Seasonal fruit and veg is usually much cheaper, and better quality too, because it hasn’t travelled miles to get to you. 

3. Create staple shopping lists.
Having a ‘go-to’ shopping list of healthy items helps you avoid being tempted by those specials at the supermarket. Find out what’s healthy and reasonably priced, and use the list regularly to create a pattern of healthy eating you can fall back on time and again.

4. Shop around for the best deals.
Investigate places where you can find what you need for the best price. 

5. Sensible swaps.
Consider swapping out fresh fruit and vegetables for frozen to save money and wastage. Produce is usually snap-frozen on picking, so it can often retain more nutrition. Frozen is a great option when buying out of season, because you can use what you need, and keep the rest frozen for another time. 

6. Make meals go further.
Consider adding legumes like lentils, chickpeas or beans to your favourite dishes. These foods are higher in protein and fibre. Likewise, adding extra budget-friendly vegetables like seasonal vegetables, frozen broccoli, frozen mixed vegetables, or green beans to your meat dishes boosts the nutritional value. This approach helps stretch out the meal, and increase the number of portions you can serve. It may also give you leftovers for work the next day!

7. Use what you have.
We often waste a lot of food, and this doesn’t make good budget sense. Try to use ingredients across multiple dishes during the week to help use up what you’ve bought rather than throwing excess away. If you find you have a pantry, fridge, or freezer full of items that don’t make a meal, why not try to create a week of recipes to use them up? This can be a lot of fun, and you may find you get a few new favourite recipes out of the exercise.

A dietitian can help you get your nutrition right whatever your budget.