Enjoy Skin Health With A Budget-Friendly, Yet Healthy, Plant-Based Diet

Guest blog by Dylan Foster, HealthWellWise.com

Adding more plants to your diet is an excellent way to prevent chronic disease and do your part for the environment. According to Healthline, diets centered around whole ingredients are the best for our overall mental and physical health — and they’re super sustainable too!

A plant-based diet can also support your skin. The abundant vitamins and minerals in plants are great at reducing chronic inflammation, a process that causes damage to a protein in your skin called collagen. Vitamins E, B, and C keep your skin strong and wrinkle-free. On top of this, cutting out saturated fats and adding healthy fats to your diet can reduce acne while keeping your skin moisturized. These same nutrients can also help protect you from skin cancer!

Unfortunately, many people think that plant-based diets are expensive. While it’s true that trendy meat substitutes and processed vegan foods can be pricey, whole foods are very affordable. All it takes is a little thoughtful planning to adopt a plant-based diet without breaking your budget.

Comparison Shop for Discounts

One of the best ways to reduce your grocery bill is to shop for discounts and sales. Try buying your fruits and vegetables from a big box store. Major retailers, like Target, have plenty of great whole foods to choose from and offer organic options as well. Before shopping, be sure to grab a Target coupon today so you can stretch your budget a little further.

When you come across a good deal, stock up and freeze produce for later. You can freeze almost any fruit or vegetable. If you’re freezing vegetables, blanch them in boiling water to preserve their color and texture. Freeze your blanched veggies in containers and add them to soups, stews, or other dishes for a quick nutritional boost!

Steer Clear of Processed Foods

As you shop for your plant-based diet, try to avoid ready-made meals and mock meats. While convenient, these items can be very expensive. Also, processed foods often contain excess sugar, salt, preservatives, saturated fats, and flavoring agents that are bad for our health.

Aaptiv recommends sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store and avoiding the center aisles. Ideally, you should be able to look down at your cart and see colorful fruits and vegetables instead of plastic packaging and cardboard boxes. When you do buy prepackaged foods, read the labels so you can avoid sneaky preservatives and other additives.

Buy Produce Seasonally

Produce that’s in season is significantly more affordable than produce that’s been grown in carefully controlled greenhouses. If possible, shop for produce that is grown locally. Local produce tastes fresher and has higher nutritional content since it’s been picked recently. Plus, it’s better for the planet because it hasn’t flown halfway across the world to get to you!

Local or not, organic produce can be expensive. To avoid pesticides while sticking to your budget, shop fruits and vegetables that generally contain low concentrations of pesticides, such as avocados, pineapples, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.

Buy in Bulk

Another great way to save money on your plant-based diet is to buy your pantry staples in bulk. Dry foods like rice, beans, quinoa, lentils, and nuts have a long shelf life, so you can buy them in large quantities. You can also buy spices, coconut oil, and olive oil in bulk. This will cost you more upfront, but you’ll save money over the next few months of grocery shopping. Loading up on these entire pantry staples will also ensure you always have the healthy snacks and seasonings you need to keep your plant-based diet enjoyable.

Whatever your reason for adopting a plant-based diet, don’t be discouraged by expensive health foods. A diet high in whole, natural foods can be very affordable. You may even save money by switching to plant-based proteins! As you build up your pantry with healthy staples and learn where to find the best deals on produce, plant-based eating will become easier.