Eating healthy on a budget

What does eating healthy mean? Some people wrongly link this idea to eating little and losing weight, but that's not the case! We can see healthy eating as the most important form of prevention, without giving up the pleasure of food, taste and the genuineness of the products.

It takes very little, then, to eat in a healthy way without spending a lot and, above all, without giving up the quality of the food: all with an eye on your diet. There is in fact a wide variety of inexpensive foods with high nutritional value. Here are a few simple tips, based on the Mediterranean Diet, for a grocery shop that is rich in nutrition but not in cost:

 

• Eat at least three meals a day, never neglecting breakfast.
• At lunch and dinner, choose mainly plant-based products such as seasonal fruit and vegetables, legumes and cereals, even better if locally produced.
• Try to always get at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Always include, at lunch or dinner, at least one serving of cereals and cereal products such as bread, pasta, rice, other whole grains (spelt, barley, etc.) and potatoes. Also add a good portion of vegetables, cooked or raw.
• Classic pasta with tomato sauce, super quick to prepare, is a complete and inexpensive dish.
• Ban ready-made meals and high-calorie snacks, and make sure legumes appear in your diet at least twice a week. So make room for chickpeas, beans, lentils, fava beans and peas. Also don't forget that with cereals you can make plenty of tasty one-dish meals, such as pasta and beans, easy to prepare, healthy and definitely low cost.
• Don't overdo meat; eating it once or twice a week is enough. The same goes for fish.
• Eggs are inexpensive protein. They can be cooked in so many ways, served with a side of vegetables, for example as a frittata or hard-boiled in a fresh salad.
• Prefer extra virgin olive oil both for cooking and as a raw dressing. Also plan your weekly menu by writing a shopping list: you'll arrive at the store with a list in mind of the things you really need and avoid being lured by the various promotions on offer, which are not a bargain if the food you buy then sits in the fridge.
• Finally, how could we not remind you that healthy eating habits should always go hand in hand with a bit of physical activity, preferably outdoors.

 

The foods available to us are countless, and there are many ways to build a healthy diet within an equally healthy lifestyle. Everyone therefore has plenty of choice, just as proposed by Eathlon, the only made-in-Italy method, based on the Mediterranean Diet.

 

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN

Breakfast: 60 g of toasted bread dressed with oil and tomato; 1 serving of fresh seasonal fruit (150-200 g edible portion)

Lunch: Mixed salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and fennel), 200 g of baked potatoes, 180 g of fish fillet pan-cooked and then dressed with oil and lemon, 200 g of strawberries

Dinner: Fennel, 60 g of spelt or rice with 180 g (= cooked weight) of lentils; chicory sautéed in a pan

If needed, you can have 2 snacks with fresh fruit and nuts; for example 3-4 walnuts and 150 g/1 orange