I'm a pretty big believer in buying healthy food but even I admit that it can be difficult. With fast food costing sometimes as little as $1, there are times when it can be very difficult to stay healthy while on a tight budget. A few months ago, I asked two of my favorite bloggers to share their best tips for eating your favorite Latin foods on a budget.
Today it's even easier to do it, though, thanks to the Environmental Working Group combining forces with anti-hunger group Share Our Strength to create a great healthy shopping guide for low-income households. And, luckily for us, quite a few of our foods made it onto their "Good Food on a Tight Budget" list. Check it out, below, to find out how to buy healthy Latin food while staying cost-conscious.
Read more ¿Que Mas? 5 best tips for eating your favorite Latino foods on a budget
How do you stay healthy and feed your family on a tight budget? Share with us in the comments below!
Fruits
The best healthy Latin fruit to buy even when you're on a budget include avocado, banana, grapefruit, papaya, starfruit, watermelon and dried apricots or mango.
However, don't overdo it on the dried fruit! They tend to have LOTS of sugar, so stick to no more than 1 serving (1/4 cup).
Vegetables
Some healthy Latin favorites that are also cheap include calabaza, sweet potato and tomatoes (low sodium, canned).You can also have frozen corn, green onions, regular onions and chayote.
You can also have sweet red and green peppers, but they may have more pesticides than other vegetables. Make sure to check prices for organic.
And don't forget: a variety of vegetables (including the dark green variety) is best!
Grains
For grains, your best options are oatmeal (I like to make a slow cooker coconut-banana oatmeal overnight) and brown rice.
I know that most of us didn't grow up eating brown rice, but it's MUCH better for you and you can begin by substituting just 1/2 brown and 1/2 white rice working your way up to eating mostly brown rice.
Protein
For healthy Latin protein choices, seafood like tilapia, squid and canned light tuna are always a great choice.You can also buy chicken and both light and dark meat turkey, juts don't forget to remove the skin! Surprisingly, goat ALSO makes the list.
Don't forget about eggs as well as nuts and seeds (peanuts, almonst, walnuts and sunflower seeds). Plus, think about all of the delicious beans you can have and still be healthy on a budget: black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lima beans, pink beans, eggs, lentils, pinto beans, red kidney beans and white beans.
Dairy
If your family enjoys milk, it's best to stick to 1 percent or fat-free milk, low-fat dry milk or soy milk. Stay away from fatty foods like cream cheese, sour cream, cream and butter. My FAVORITE tip is to replace sour cream with fat-free plain yogurt, which DOES make the healthy food on a budget list (but skip "light" yogurts, which tend to pile on the sugar).
Don't forget to add a little bit of queso blanco and queso fresco, though, since those are great healthy cheeses that are also budget-friendly!
Oils for Cooking
The best healthy and budget-conscious oils include canola, corn, and olive oil. However, if you want to avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms), then check prices for organic versions of canola and corn oil.
Spices & Staples
Healthy staples that you should always have on hand and feel free to use often: honey or brown sugar, peanut butter and vinegar. Yum! Add to that list some of our favorite Latin spices: salt and pepper (obviously), onions, garlic, lemon juice, cinnamon and cayenne pepper for that added heat.
Plus, there's some spices that are cost-effective and always good to have on hand, such as bay leaves, vanilla extract, chili powder, ginger, lime juice and dried oregano. Let the cooking begin!
