Tips to make your family shop cheaper and healthier

With the rising costs of living, many families are feeling the pinch. The question is, is it possible to make your weekly family shop more affordable without compromising on health? Yes! A healthy shopping basket can help your family save both money and your health for the future to come, according to the Healthylife Living Healthy Report 2024⁽¹⁾.

By making a simple switch to budget-friendly vegetables and fruits, families can save money and improve their health. According to the Living Healthy Report⁽¹⁾:

a serving of vegetables costs on average around $0.65 per serve, compared to $0.78 for discretionary or ‘sometimes’ foods.

an average Australian household* would save $17.58 on groceries per week per week if they matched their shop with the Dietary Guidelines⁽²⁾. That’s $914.16 a year!

families could save even more by choosing seasonal produce, lower-cost items or brands from the same food group, or by replacing some meat with more legumes.

Here are our top 3 tips to boost your health and help you save money.

Eat more vegetables and legumes

Legumes like chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils and baked beans are affordable and nutritious options for families to enjoy⁽³⁾. These can cost just $0.50 per serve and are a cheap and filling protein source⁽¹⁾. Here are quick and easy ways to incorporate legumes into your family meals:

Throw in a can of lentils to lasagna or bolognese

Add kidney beans in tacos and burritos

Enrich your soup with the dried Soup Mix

Toss a can of chickpeas on a salad or in a curry

Mix lentils into hamburger mince

Power up lunchbox snacks with roasted chickpeas or edamame beans.

Tip: Rinse and drain canned or dried legumes before cooking to reduce salt and improve digestion. Look for ‘no added salt’ or ‘salt-reduced’ canned varieties where possible.

Use a mix of canned, frozen and fresh

More than a third of Australia’s food waste⁽⁴⁾ is generated at home. This means there’s an opportunity to make considered purchases to reduce waste, while also saving on the grocery bill. Frozen and canned produce lasts longer and is often cheaper, while still having great nutritional value. Some ways to integrate frozen and canned fruits and vegetables in your families’ week are:

Use frozen mixed vegetables in soups, casseroles and pasta sauces

Use frozen berries when fresh are out of season and more expensive

Try canned apples or peaches on your breakfast cereal

Baked beans make a perfect breakfast, lunch or snack

Canned or frozen corn makes a great side, or addition to a salad or frittata.

Swap ‘sometimes foods’ for alternatives

Swapping out discretionary foods or ‘sometimes foods’ for healthier alternatives means your diet will be more nutritious, while also saving money and improving health. With these types of foods averaging $0.78 per serve⁽¹⁾, many healthier foods from the 5 food groups (Australian Dietary Guidelines) are cheaper. For example, swap out your biscuits or chips for:

Seasonal fruits, like watermelon in summer or oranges in winter

Wholegrain toast or crackers with cheese or nut butter

A glass of milk

A mug of soup

A bowl of wholegrain breakfast cereal

Yoghurt

Plain popcorn

Carrot sticks and hummus.

By prioritising vegetables, legumes and cost-effective choices like canned and frozen produce, families can save money while enjoying the health benefits. For healthy meal ideas, check out our recipes.

* Household based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (2023) average household composition of 1.8 adults, 0.7 children (0.9 each of 19–50 male, 19–50 female, 0.7 of 9–11 male).

Sources

Living Healthy Report 2024, Healthylife, https://www.healthylife.com.au/health-report

Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_austral ian_dietary_guidelines_summary_book.pdf

Consumer Understanding and Culinary Use of Legumes in Australia, Figueira N, Curtain F, Beck E, Grafenauer S, Nutrients. 2019 Jul 12;11(7):1575. doi: 10.3390/nu11071575. PMID: 31336897; PMCID: PMC6682881. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6682881/#:~:text=The%20use%20o f%20legumes%20as,as%20well%20as%20being%20affordable.