Dishing Up Nutrition · Nutritional Weight & Wellness, Inc.

The Cheapest Healthy Foods (and What to Skip!) - Ask a Nutritionist

·12 min·1 clip

Amy Crum explains how meal planning cuts two major money drains: impulse buys and food waste.

Amy Crum opens by addressing the widespread assumption that healthy eating is expensive, arguing it is a planning and strategy problem rather than a cost problem. The episode is structured as a practical protocol rather than a philosophical discussion. Planning is the foundational step: taking inventory before shopping, writing a weekly menu, building a shopping list from that menu, and sticking to it — with grocery pickup or online ordering as a tool to avoid impulse purchases. Shopping hungry, Crum notes, undermines budget discipline by amplifying cravings. Seasonal produce is consistently cheaper and more nutritious, and community-supported agriculture (CSA) boxes from local farms offer a cost-effective way to get variety while supporting regional growers. Frozen produce is presented as equally nutritious to fresh and often more affordable and accessible year-round, with frozen berries, stir-fry mixes, broccoli, and green beans as specific staples. Protein strategy receives significant attention. Eggs are identified as one of the cheapest complete protein sources. Ground meat and canned fish (tuna, wild-caught salmon) offer high protein per dollar. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are cheaper than boneless skinless breast and work well in slow cookers. Rotisserie chicken provides a convenient option if additive content is checked. Bulk sections of grocery stores allow affordable purchasing of quinoa, wild rice, nuts, seeds, and alternative flours. Canned goods — tomatoes, coconut milk, tuna, beans — are among the most economical shelf-stable options. The episode includes tips on label reading, including using the per-unit cost displayed on shelf tags to compare brands and sizes, and notes that store-brand versions of nut butters, frozen vegetables, and canned goods are often identical to name brands. For waste reduction, Crum recommends storing leftovers in clear containers, prepping produce immediately after shopping, freezing individual portions of cooked soups and grains, repurposing roast chicken into salads or broth, and freezing vegetable scraps for homemade stock. A sample budget day of eating includes cottage cheese with frozen berries and nuts for breakfast, tuna salad over greens for lunch, hard-boiled eggs with apple and nuts for a snack, and a stir-fry with frozen vegetables, brown rice, and rotisserie chicken for dinner. Crum argues that ultra-processed foods appear cheap up front but create costs through poor satiety, energy crashes, and increased cravings.

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