I meant to publish this this morning—oops! Instead, I went to my first hot yoga class since March (the last time I’d been regularly was in February 2014, before I found out I was pregnant with Baby M!). It felt great, but I’m sure I won’t be saying that tomorrow!

Anyway, since Baby M was born, I feel like our healthy eating has gone off track and our grocery budgeting has gotten a bit out of control.

We’ve gotten better the last few weeks, but for a while, we were depending on take-out fairly often and skimping on the veggies.

Blame it on a lack of time, less money for groceries, or waning creativity in the kitchen, but this needed to be rectified. With Luca moving past purees and into the world of solids, I want to introduce him to a variety of nutritious foods—and I can’t do that if we’re not eating them, too.

I’ve decided to employ a few tricks for eating healthy on a budget.

1. Coupons

I am in awe of people who clip dozens of coupons and save tons of money, but I just don’t have time for that sort of thing. I did, however, sign up for an account at Publix where I “clip” digital coupons and apply them by keying in my phone # at checkout.

2. Eating more seasonally and according to sales

Common sense tells us corn is cheaper in the summer than Brussels sprouts, but sometimes we plan our meals around our cravings instead. I’m going to buy more seasonal produce. Same goes for whatever items are on sale at the grocery; if pork tenderloin sounds good but turkey breast is on sale, then we’ll go with the latter.

3. Buying in bulk

Since we’ve been cooking for just 2 people for the longest time, we didn’t buy much in bulk. Our poultry, meat, etc. was always bought fresh, but with less time to shop and one other mouth to feed, I think we can sacrifice a little for the convenience of buying bags of frozen fish, chicken breasts, vegetables, etc. I’m not saying we have to eat junk, but there are some higher-quality frozen foods if we look for them.

4. Planning meals around our pantry/freezer first, then adding to the list

Our pantry is full of grains, dried beans, cereal, and condiments that we haven’t looked at since we purchased them—and it’s a shame! We need to use up the groceries we have before we buy even more.

5. Repurposing leftovers

We do pretty well when it comes to leftovers. If we make a big pot of soup, pasta, or beans, we take the leftovers in our lunches. But we still throw out far too much food! I’m going to work extra hard at coming up with creative ways to use leftovers and items that are at their peak.

6. Crockpot meals

This may or may not save money—but I think if we plan simple meals we can toss in the slow cooker and forget about, then we won’t stress over meal planning, which leads to unnecessary purchases.

7. Weekend meal prep

This is a big one for us, I think. Again, it may not save us money directly, but if we prepare a giant pan of roasted veggies, a large pot of grains and/or beans, and other items for the week, then we will be less likely to order takeout or pickup some prepared foods for a quick dinner. We just have to remember they’re in the fridge!

Eating healthy doesn't have to be $$$. Check out these tips to eat good food on a budget. #sweatpink Share on X

• Do you have a grocery budget or do you spend freely in that area?
• What’s your best tip to save money without sacrificing quality?
• Do you have any good slow-cooker or freezer meals to share?