Saving money and time while eating healthy food, is it possible?

This post is devoted to sharing ways to eat healthier, how to save money when buying healthy foods and time saver food tips for busy parents.

You can use our online meal planner tool to create healthy balanced meals for your children, find easy ways to save money on healthy foods for your family, and check out some time saver tips and resources for eating healthy.  Sometimes there is just not enough time in the day to juggle everything, plus preparing for and eating healthy meals. Here are some of our favorite ideas to make it easier to eat healthier!

Want to know what your child should be eating? Use this easy meal planning calculator to see what foods your child needs and how much.

You can create a meal plan based on the recommendations or you can see how your child’s current eating habits measure against the recommended food plan.

Our calculator is based on the USDA 2005 food guidelines. Our goal is to help give you the information you need to guide your child to eat a healthy balanced diet. By providing your child with the food they need from each of the food groups, your child will be getting all the vitamins and minerals necessary to help them grow and develop in a healthy way.

There are three ways that you can use the Child’s Healthy Meal Calculator:

1. You can find out what your child needs to have a balanced diet
2. You can create a personalized meal using the recommendations listed as your guide. The meal planner will guide you in determining what foods make up a serving and how much food does it take to meet the calorie needs of your child. You might be surprised at how those calories add up when providing foods from all the food groups. The body does not really need very much of the “Other Foods” (These are the foods that have very little nutritional value. They are mostly made of sugar and/or fat.)
3. You can compare your child’s current diet to the recommendations to see if your child is getting a balanced diet. One way to do this is to use the meal planner and create a meal plan that shows what your child is currently eating and then compare it to the recommendations.

Remember, a balanced diet means your child is getting all the vitamins and minerals their body needs. Here is a printable food chart with the food groups and servings per day for children 2-8 years old based on 1400 calories a day to use a guideline. You can also take it with you to your next pediatrician appointment to get their feedback on your child's daily nutrition and exercise needs.

Money and time saving tips for eating healthy food

Most all of us are busy juggling work and family time and our budgets! Here are some easy money and time saving tips to save time and money and eat healthier.

Plan ahead for meals and food shopping, you can use our printable grocery shopping list to make it easy the list is divided up by the food groups.

Look for sale items and coupons - combine them for even greater savings.

Find your local grocery store weekly sales flyer here

For coupons- check your newspaper, join a coupon sharing online forum or find healthy coupons by searching on Google  the name of your favorite 'healthy food company' and the word 'coupon' they often offer printable coupons right on their websites.

Make sure to try to eat a healthy snack before heading out to the grocery store- it will help to reduce impulse food purchases.

Plan meals ahead of time- try to prepare or cook ahead of time. For example, you can store your fruit salad in a air tight container for a quick healthy snack, or cook meals and freeze them for later in the week.

Family cooking night- a fun way to spend time together and get some meals prepared. Kids can be enthusiastic helpers and it's great to get them involved in creating healthy food.

Buying healthy food on a budget - 50 healthy foods for under $1 a pound- wow!

Frugal healthy meals for the week- great sample weekly meal plan from a frugal mom

Grow some vegetables at home- it will save you money and it's not too late to start planting this year.

Find your local farmer market or join community supported agriculture find a local CSA to join and get discounted food at group prices.

Meal Swaps how to get started- Save time and stress by starting a local cooking co-op.

Please share some ways you have discovered to save money and time while eating healthy. Post your ideas or a link to your blog- we appreciate your great ideas!