Healthy Eating on a Shoestring

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The true cost of unhealthy eating

Which to choose?

As well as being more expensive, unhealthy eating comes at a high price for your body.

Many processed foods, such as pre-made meals and eat-at-home takeaway-style foods, contain high levels of fat, sodium, preservatives and additives - all designed to make the food last longer on the shelf, look better, or be cheaper to produce. Unfortunately these extras are often added at the expense of the vitamins, minerals and fibre that your body really needs to be healthy.

When you're trying to control your weight, eating foods that are nutritionally dense is important for keeping your calorie intake down and helping you feel fuller for longer. If you're skipping fresh fruits and vegetables for frozen pizzas and biscuits, your waistline is not going to be happy and you'll also increase your risk of serious diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

So,what you can do about this? Take a look at our suggestions and see the dollars you can save and the health benefits to be had by making a few different choices next time you're at the supermarket.

Unhealthy purchase	Healthy alternative	Cost saving	Health benefit
Frozen chips (1 kg): $3	Potatoes baked in jacket (1 kg): $1.50	$1.50	More: fibre, vitamin C Less: fat
Flavoured chips, multi-pack (300g): $5	Sultanas, handy-packs (6 x 37g): $2.50	$2.50	More: fibre, B vitamins Less: fat, sodium
Chocolate biscuits (1 packet): $3	Punnet of strawberries (250g): $2	$1	More: fibre, vitamin C Less: fat
Soft drink, 10 cans (3.75 L): $10	Bottled water (3.75 L): $2.50	$7.50 (an even bigger saving for tap-water drinkers!)	More: energy, better digestion, appetite suppression Less: fluid retention, sugar, artificial sweeteners
Crumbed chicken nuggets (500g): $6	Fresh chicken drumsticks (500g): $3	$3	More: protein Less: preservatives, fat
Coco Pops cereal (785g): $7	Weet-bix (750g): $4	$2.50	More: fibre Less: sugar
Frozen potato wedges (750g): $3	Frozen mixed vegetables (500g): $2	$1	More: fibre, vitamins, antioxidants Less: fat, additives, sodium
Frozen roast chicken dinner (one serve): $6	Homemade chicken and vegetable stir-fry (one serve): $3	$3	More: vitamins, antioxidants, fibre Less: fat, preservatives
Ice cream bar: $2	Reduced-fat yoghurt (200g): $1.50	$0.50	More: calcium Less: fat, sugar
Packet meal base: $1.60	Dried herbs: $0.75	$0.85	More: natural flavour Less: sodium, preservatives
Cream-filled lamingtons (6 pack): $4.50	Crumpets (6 pack): $2.50	$2	More: satisfaction Less: fat, sugar
Macaroni and cheese (200g): $2.50	Baked beans (220g): $1	$1.50	More: fibre, protein Less: fat, preservatives
Chocolate (250g): $4	Tinned peaches in natural juice (410g): $2	$2	More: fibre, vitamin C Less: fat
Spaghetti Bolognese with 750g mince: $11.50	Spaghetti Bolognese with 400g mince, plus tinned beans: $9	$2.50	More: fibre Less: saturated fat

Just by swapping a few unhealthy foods for more nutritious options you can save over $30 a week on your groceries. Then comes the best bit - if you don't need to save it, you can spend it on something else! A massage, new bath products, a CD, a book, new clothes, a magazine, a trip to the movies... whatever takes your fancy!

Of course, the real rewards will be the improvements you see in your health, energy levels and your weight!