Tempting Healthy Eats Under $20

Eating delicious food that's healthy too doesn't have to break the bank. When you cook it fresh yourself, it's easy to eat well and stay within a budget even when you have a family to feed. There are a couple grocery shopping rules that I always stick to, in three easy tips:

Tip 1: Save the receipt and save big time. The biggest money suck in my household is groceries since everything I do for work revolves around food! It's really important to me to find the best deals without running all over town, so I took receipts from three different grocery stores where I shop the most and compared. It was a shocker when I noticed that one big chain was almost double the price on fresh produce, dairy and meat compared to the other for the same travel and quality. That ten minute investment saves me hundreds of dollars a month.

Tip 2: Stock your fridge with inexpensive healthy ingredients that you can use in all the recipes I've listed below. No matter where you shop, these ingredients tend to be a lot cheaper but are versatile enough to make many of your favorite meals. My healthy cooking staples that won't lighten your wallet include ground turkey, carrots, onions, celery, romaine lettuce, garlic, ginger, flat leaf parsley, canned tomatoes, canned beans, whole grain pastas, brown rice, soft whole wheat tortillas.

Tip 3: Don't be a "one cook" wonder", the more you cook the more you save. Making a big grocery trip and only cooking once a week can lead to wasted cash. Every home cooked meal after the initial grocery shop becomes cheaper as you use up that bag of carrots, pastas and rice, and flavor them with items you've already purchased for your pantry like spices, vinegars, and oils.

Get the Skinny Chef's Mac and Cheese with Chicken Recipe.

Nutritional stats per serving (1 ½ cup):
560 calories, 41 g protein, 64 g carbohydrates, 14 g fat (6g saturated), 64 mg cholesterol, 8 g fiber, 538 mg sodium

Other Meals Under $20:
Turkey Burgers
Pasta Bolognese
Tacos