How To Feed Your Family Healthy Meals on a Tight Budget

Stretch your milk dollars by diluting a can of evaporated milk or some powdered milk with water to create whole milk.

Stock up on frozen vegetables when they go on sale. Unless your produce was just picked, it’s just as healthy — or even more so — to eat the frozen stuff, which locks in the nutrients.

Limit your fruit purchases to whatever is in season, the exception being bananas and apples. The former are relatively inexpensive year-round, and the latter are low in calories, high in fiber, and may reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer.

Enjoy healthy snacks without spending a fortune by air popping corn kernels and buying nutritious nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts. Buy in bulk.

Only eat meat two or three times a week, and make cheap meats as tender and tasty as pricier cuts by marinating them overnight or slow-cooking them in a Crock-Pot.

Make the most of alternative sources of protein, like peanut butter, eggs, chunk light tuna (which is not only the cheapest kind of tuna, but also contains the least mercury), and beans.

Eat brown rice. It’s a bit pricier than white, but much better for you and still a nutritional bargain.

Indulge in desserts by making them from scratch using nutritious ingredients that you have on hand. Bake your own oatmeal and peanut butter cookies; mash and freeze overripe bananas for “ice cream”; bake bruised apples with a little honey.