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Kid friendly meal prep is a fantastic way to have fun with your kids while teaching them about nutrition and making lunch. Preparing food with your kids ingrains healthy habits and teaches how to cook much better than health classes at school. Picking the right ingredients and recipes is important. Also be sure to make it easy enough for the kids while still fun and a little challenging.

Get Your Kids Involved

Meal prepping for your kids can be a lot more and educational if you actually involve them in the process. This creates a stronger bond with food and the kids are more likely to appreciate what they eat. Depending on their age, chopping may not be an option but washing fruits and veggies, portioning, and assembling are great ways to involve kids of any age.

Add fun twists to the recipes like theming. Connect the meal back to their favorite tv show or book or incorporate the season. Not only does it keep the food new and interesting but you may find it expanding your recipe choices as well. Add a bit of music while you cook and provide a sensory experience.

Kid Friendly Meal Prep Ingredients

Kid friendly ingredients make it far more likely that your little ones will enjoy the food meaning they’ll actually eat it. You may not be able to get them to eat every vegetable but try to make most of the meal something they like or are accustomed to. Also remember to include a dessert. As much as you want it to be healthy, a dessert prepared the right way can keep kids from eating extremely unhealthy desserts. Plus kids can run off sugar pretty quickly.

Proteins:

Chicken: Grilled, baked, or shredded chicken works great in wraps, salads, quesadillas, or served with a dipping sauce.
Turkey: Lean ground turkey can be used for meatballs, tacos, or burgers.
Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, or egg muffins provide a protein-rich option.
Beans and Legumes: Black beans, chickpeas, or lentils can be added to wraps, salads, or served with rice.
Cheese: String cheese, cheese cubes, or shredded cheese work as a snack or a topping for many dishes.

Vegetables:

Carrot sticks: Sweet and crunchy, they’re easy to eat and pair well with hummus or ranch dip
Cucumber slices: Fresh and hydrating, cucumbers are a good finger food for kids.
Bell peppers: Colorful and mild, great for dipping or adding to wraps and stir-fries.
Broccoli or Cauliflower: Steamed or roasted, they’re delicious with a little cheese or seasoning.
Cherry tomatoes: Bite-sized and easy to add to salads or eat on their own.

Fruits:

Berries: Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are sweet and full of vitamins.
Apple slices: Serve with peanut butter or on their own as a crunchy, healthy snack.
Grapes: Easy to prep and perfect for snacking.
Bananas: Great for breakfast, smoothies, or as a quick snack.
Oranges or clementines: Easy to peel and packed with Vitamin C.

Whole Grains:

Brown rice or quinoa: Use as a base for bowls, stir-fries, or salads.
Whole-wheat pasta: Pair with a simple tomato sauce, or turn it into a cold pasta salad.
Whole-grain bread or tortillas: Use for sandwiches, wraps, or quesadillas.
Oats: Great for breakfast in the form of oatmeal or overnight oats.
Whole-grain crackers: Perfect for snack plates or lunchbox bento boxes.

Healthy Fats:

Avocado: Can be mashed on toast, added to wraps, or served in slices.
Nuts and seeds: If your kids are old enough (and allergy-free), almonds, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds are great for snacks.
Nut butters: Peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower butter can be used in sandwiches, as a dip, or in smoothies.

Balanced Kid Friendly Meal Prep

The central theme behind any healthy routine is balancing everything. The growth and development of children is directly related to the nutrition they receive. Change up your usual ingredients from time to time. Don’t just serve the same fruits or proteins. Variety is key. Use the list of kid friendly ingredients and choose one from each category to go on the plate. Your child’s own particular dietary needs may differ though and you should consider their unique needs but this is a good place to start.

Make it Visually Stunning

Everyone eats with their eyes first but that’s especially the case for children. When introducing new foods, kids will decide if they love it or hate it before even tasting it. Style counts and it can be more fun than throwing a handful of chopped veggies haphazardly into a bowl. Make a rainbow out of the plate. Display different colors using the different food groups. Cut foods into recognizable shapes. Even as an adult you can have fun with it. Take your time with the meal prep rather than rushing through it and it’ll make a difference.

Batch Prep Kid Friendly Meals

Take your time with the process but you can still leverage meal prepping short cuts. Batch cooking is going to be your friend, especially if you’re cooking for multiple kids. Five days a week can add up fast. Choose recipes that can be bulk made, anything baked is a good place to start. Another option is creating an assembly line with your kids and knocking out multi-step recipes as a team. Perfect for sandwiches and quesadillas. Don’t over prepare though. Kids’ tastes can change quickly and they probably won’t want to eat the same thing five days in a row.

Options
Mini Frittatas
Chicken or Turkey Meatballs
Pasta Salad
Quesadillas
& More

Lunchbox Style

Lunchbox style meals have been the popular style in America for decades for a reason. They work really well and are fun and easy to eat. This refers to small portions of each type of food to create a balanced meal. It’s easily eaten with your hands and provides nutrition and variety. This is a great option for kid friendly meal prep both for eating and for preparing since it’s mostly assembling.

Meal Prep Tips

1. Keep Portions Small: Even individual bites should be small. This makes it fun and easy for them plus you can avoid food waste. Use separate containers or a good meal prep container with sections.  

2. Cookie Cutters: this is a quick and easy way to make fun shapes in bread or fruit. Just be aware you’ll end up with a lot of scraps that don’t make the cut. You can use these for your own snacks or meals.

3. Use Dips and Sauces: Sauces like hummus provide a great experience for the kids and provide them with an activity while they eat. Just make sure you have good leak proof containers.

Kid Friendly Meal Prep Recipes

Cheeseburger Quesadillas

If you’re searching for a tasty meal prep recipe that’s as delicious as your favorite takeout but healthier and more wholesome, you’ve hit the jackpot. Get ready to dance a salsa in your taste buds because we’re diving into the world of Cheeseburger Quesadillas paired with homemade guacamole and all your burger condiment dreams –…

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Peanut Butter and Apple Quesadillas

Whip up a quick and nutritious delight with our Peanut Butter and Apple Quesadilla! Tangy green apples, creamy peanut butter, crunchy chopped pecans,and a sprinkle of cinnamon powder are folded into tortillas, creating a satisfying breakfast that’s perfect for meal prep. Whether you’re diving into a busy workday or need a nutritious breakfast on the…

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Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Tenders

I’m excited to share with you a fabulous recipe that will surely add a crispy twist to your meal prep routine: Oven-Baked Crispy Panko Chicken Tenderloins! Not only are these tenderloins deliciously crunchy and satisfying, but they also offer numerous health benefits and cost advantages. Get ready to tantalize your taste buds and keep your…

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These essential kitchen tools for meal prep will make your life so much easier and cooking more fun. Expand the recipes that you can cook and the meals you can prepare with our favorite kitchen tools. These are our favorite tools for the value that you get for your money. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get good tools. This post contains affiliate links.

Chef’s Knife

A good knife is the most essential kitchen tool you can have and if you can only spend money on one kitchen item, make it here. A good knife can maintain an edge better and a sharp knife cuts smoothly. This means you can predictably control your cuts rather than hacking at your food. Precise cuts improve efficiency and lower fatigue making meal prep more of a breeze.

Top Kitchen Knives on Amazon

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Mercer Culinary 8-Inch

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WÜSTHOF Classic 8″

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Cutting Board

If you have a good kitchen knife, then you need a good cutting board as well. You don’t have to go crazy expensive to get a good cutting board but get a decent one that fits your kitchen size and meal prep size. 

What does it mean to fit your kitchen size and meal prep size? Bigger is often considered better but if it can’t fit on your counter, it’s too heavy for you to move around the kitchen, or too big to fit in your sink then you are less likely to use it. Alternatively, if it’s too small and you find yourself constantly running out of space when chopping vegetables or proteins, you’ll get annoyed as well. There are a lot of options but these types should help you decide.

Wood: Wood cutting boards are popular because they are gentle on knives and have a natural self-healing surface that minimizes knife marks. High-quality wooden boards can also inhibit bacterial growth because wood absorbs moisture, which dries out bacteria. 

Plastic: Plastic boards, usually made from polyethylene, are affordable, lightweight, and dishwasher-safe, making them easy to sanitize. 

Bamboo: Bamboo is a sustainable and eco-friendly material that’s harder than most woods. It’s more resistant to moisture than wood and requires less maintenance, but it can be slightly tougher on knives due to its hardness.

Composite: Composite boards, made from compressed wood fibers, offer a balance between wood and plastic. They are durable, knife-friendly, and often dishwasher-safe. 

Best Sellers in Cutting Boards on amazon

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Farberware Large Cutting Board

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Bamboo Cutting Board

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Food Processor

A food processor can speed up a wide variety of tasks around the kitchen. Chopping, slicing, shredding, and pureeing are all done with ease with one machine. If you’re prepping large amounts of food then this is an essential kitchen tool for meal prep. 

• Chopping vegetables, herbs, or nuts
• Shredding cheese, cabbage, or carrots
• Slicing vegetables like cucumbers, potatoes, or zucchini
• Pureeing ingredients for soups, sauces, or baby food
• Mixing and kneading dough for breads, pizzas, or pastries Its versatility makes it a go-to tool for many meal prep tasks, reducing the need for multiple kitchen gadgets.

Preparing homemade sauces, dips, and dressings is effortless with a food processor. From smooth hummus to chunky salsa, the machine can blend or chop ingredients into the perfect consistency in seconds, allowing you to create flavorful additions to your meals without extra effort.

Some foods take a lot of effort to prepare by hand, like pie dough, nut butters, or certain types of pastry. A food processor can mix dough or grind nuts in seconds, eliminating the need for multiple steps and making the process much simpler.

Best Selling Food Processors on Amazon

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Hamilton Beach Food ProcessorSubtitle for This Block

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Mandoline Slicer

A mandolin slicer is a board with a fixed blade in it that allows for the user to move the food over the board making quick and consistent cuts. This is one of the best kitchen tools for meal prep. It speeds up cuts and makes it much more efficient. As long as you’re careful when you use it as the blade is sharp and users tend to go faster and faster. Keep your fingers out of the way though and you’ll find this to be one of the most fun tools to use as well.

Best Selling Mandolins on Amazon

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Gramercy Adjustable Mandoline

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Benriner Japanese Vegetable Slice

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Storage Containers

We’ve already written a couple of articles on our favorite meal prep storage containers. There are a lot of great options out there but if you’re interested in some of the best containers across a range of price points check out our articles here:

Best Meal Prep Containers – Gift Edition

This is a perfect time to update, upgrade, or replace your meal prep containers with more of the Best Meal Prep Containers – Gift Edition. Whether you’re treating yourself or the meal prepper in your life, this list will provide you plenty of options from cheap to expensive, full meal to portions, and silicone to…

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Best Meal Prepping Containers

Containers are one of the most important parts of meal prepping. They are what allow for food to be portioned out, stored and reheated later. There are a ton of options out there for storing food and everyone can have different needs so we put together a short list of some of the best meal…

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Blender (or Immersion Blender)

Blenders and immersion blenders open up a whole new set of opportunities. From soups to smoothies and dips to nut butters. Smoothies are a great option for quick meals that can be chocked full of nutrients. Using an immersion blender to process fresh ingredients for your soup can elevate the flavors way beyond a basic soup. Making your own dips or butters seems like a little much but it’s actually really easy and fresh dips are delicious.

Best Selling Immersion Blenders on Amazon

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KitchenAid Hand Blender

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Best Selling Blenders on Amazon

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BLACK+DECKER Blender

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Measuring Cups or Spoons

These might be some of the most essential kitchen tools. Measuring cups and spoons are necessary in most recipes and guessing at amounts is really tough. A good set of measuring spoons don’t need to be expensive and can last you a lifetime. One good measuring cup can carry you. You don’t necessarily need a whole set unless you don’t want to have to rinse it when you need it multiple times on a recipe.

Best Selling Measuring Cups on Amazon

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Pyrex 4-Cup Glass Measuring Cup

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Farberware Plastic Measuring Cups

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Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

For bulk meal prep or soups, these are essential kitchen tools. Instant pots and slow cookers can cook a lot of food, require little effort, and blend flavors amazingly. They also don’t require much experience to use. Anyone can pour all of the ingredients into a pot, put the lid on and check back a few hours later for a meal. Consider marinated chicken or pork, tortilla soup and chilis. This is one of our favorite kitchen tools and the one we use the most after a knife and cutting board.

Best Selling Slow Cookeres on Aamzon

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Instant Pot Rio

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Crock-Pot 7 Quart

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Sheet Pans

Sheet pans are a hard tool to do without. When you need a sheet pan, not much else will do. From baking to roasting, sheet pans get incorporated into a lot of meal prep recipes. Sheet pan meals are a great way to make an entire meal prep in one go. Good sheet pans don’t have to cost a lot and if you take care of them, can last a while. And who doesn’t like cookies?

Best Selling Sheet Pans on Amazon

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Goodcook Baking Sheet

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Kitchen Scale

This final tool may be a little less essential than the rest of the tools unless you’re meal prepping to lose weight or build muscle. A food scale is necessary for precisely portioning out food and making sure you get the nutrients that you need each day within your calorie goal. Don’t need to go expensive on this tool either. Around $10 can get you a decent food scale.

Best Selling Food Scles on Amazon

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Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale

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Grocery shopping and meal prep go hand-in-hand. Knowing how to grocery shop for one and save on groceries can make a big difference on your bank account and incentivize better habits. We’ll cover tips on shopping as well as the type of products to buy so you can save money while eating deliciously.

Discounts, Sales, & Coupons

Coupon clipping is an old method of saving money on grocery shopping but there are new ways to do it. Most grocery stores offer coupons online through their website or app. Do a bit of grocery shopping online before you even start your list to see what coupons are available at which store. Save the links or take a screenshot on your phone to avoid having to look them up again later. Another great option is the flyers at the entrance to the store often feature great coupons on seasonal items.

Many grocery stores also offer a membership that is free and provides a discount on different products. This is a fantastic way to save a few bucks every trip without having to do anything more than scan your keychain membership card.

Use Cash-Back or Grocery Savings App

Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, and Rakuten offer rebates and cash back on some products. It’s an extra step but if you do it as you put the groceries away it can be a great way to make a few bucks back.

Limit Meat Purchases

Meat tends to be the center of our meals, partially because it is the most expensive. If you can find ways to replace meat in your meals or use a cheaper cut you can save significantly. Try switching to ground turkey to save a little or switch to beans or eggs instead of red meat. Buying less butchered meats can also save money.

Avoid Pre-Packaged or Convenience Foods

Pre-packaged foods are quick and convenient but they cost a premium. The more work you do yourself the cheaper it’ll be to buy. Pre-assembled meals or snacks are also the most popular options across the board so the demand increases the cost. Stick to simple snacks that either require no preparation or preparation you’re comfortable with. Nuts, peanut butter, sandwiches, crackers, fruits, and veggies all make for great snacks.

Shop at Different Grocery Stores

Different stores offer different discounts or specialize in different products. Sometimes it comes down to the partnerships they have negotiated as well. This means with a little extra effort and a bit more planning ahead of time, you can save a bit by breaking up your grocery shopping across stores. This is common to do with going to bulk stores for shelf stable products while buying more perishable goods at a traditional grocer. Discount grocery stores can also be a great way to get more for less. Just be sure to check volume pricing.

Grocery Shop for One

Buying in bulk is an age-old method of saving money on groceries but if you’re only feeding a single person this week, don’t buy food in bulk unless it’s shelf stable. Rice, canned beans, and more can be find to buy in bulk but ultimately buy what you know you’ll use. In terms of saving money, it’s easier to come back to the store and buy more than it is to throw food out and lose the money entirely. Buy what you need.

Buy foods that have a variety of uses. Pivoting during the week to suit your tastes that day is a realistic way of thinking about your eating habits. Buy foods that will be flexible with you. If you want a specific meal or a specific ingredient buy what you need the day you’re going to use it. It’s too easy to get side tracked by life and never find the time to cook it and now expensive ingredients are going to waste.

Buy Shelf Stable Foods

When meal prepping for one you have to recognize that many foods will not be eaten in time by a single person. Make sure your shelf stable foods are set and well stocked. A good variety of canned veggies, frozen fruits and veggies, frozen meat, rice and more are great ways to keep food in the house without nearly as much pressure to cook them. Remember, this food still goes bad and you need to label when things are opened or frozen. Also follow the rules for storing the particular food.

Grocery Shopping for One Recommendations

These low cost, nutritional, and delicious groceries are a great foundation to a grocery trip.

1. Rice, Pasta, Potatoes

A versatile base for many dishes like stir-fries, soups, casseroles, or as a side.
How to Buy: Buy in bulk. 

2. Canned Beans

Perfect quick meals or as a side to a meal. There is a huge variety of canned beans and having a few different options on hand is a good idea.
How to Buy: Don’t overdo it but have 2-3 cans on hand at any given time and just replace as you use them. 

3. Oats

Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Make oatmeal, bake with them, or make savory dishes like oatmeal risotto. Oats act as a base for flavors to be layered on top of.
How to buy: buy in bulk but probably less so than rice or pasta. A little bit of oats goes a long way.

4. Eggs

Eggs are one of the most versatile, delicious, and nutritious foods you can buy.
How to buy: don’t complicate it, buy the dozen.

5. Frozen Vegetables

Frozen veggies last a long time and maintain nutritional value.
How to buy: buy what you know you’ll use. Stick to veggies you like and be sure to use veggies as you buy them. Try to plan meals before buying.

6. Carrots, Cabbage, Onions

Frozen veggies are great but sometimes you need fresh veggies and carrots, cabbage and onions will last a little longer and are incredibly versatile.
How to buy: buy them in the rawest form you can and you’ll save money and they’ll last longer. You can buy pre cut if you want but the convenience will cost you.

7. Peanut Butter

High in protein, delicious, and easy to make a snack out of. Works on a sandwich or as a dip for other foods.
How to buy: avoid peanut butter that lists too many ingredients. Natural peanut butter should only list peanuts. Additional salt or sugar is unhealthy.

8. Canned Tuna or Other Canned Fish

High in protein and lasts a long time. Canned fish is also a nice change of flavors from chicken or beef and is a convenient snack with crackers.
How to buy: Look for containers with the MSC or dolphin safe label. These are sustainably sourced fish. Also look for tuna that is packed in water or olive oil for a healthier option.

9. Whole Chicken

Not the most convenient but if you know how to use all of the parts you can get a lot of value for only a little more money. Besides the breasts there are the legs and wings as well as the carcass can be used to make a delicious and healthier broth for soups.
How to buy: Speak to the butcher if your store has one available. Keep an eye out for the labels: natural, organic, free-range, cage-free, hormone-free. A lot goes into raising chickens but the fewer chemicals the better.

View our recipes and use Instacart for convenient grocery shopping near you.

Grocery prices are higher than ever and dollar store food shopping has gained a lot of popularity because of it. Not to mention the vast number of dollar store locations popping up around the US. These have become the convenient stores replacing gas stations and pharmacies for small to medium purchases.

Dollar Store Food Quality

Dollar stores have a stigma of being low quality however many of the foods are just as good as what you would get at any other store. Dollar stores may not have top-of-line steaks, chickens, and other expensive food options but really we’re focused on the bargains anyways. This doesn’t mean that the dollar store is always the more affordable option though. 

Look at the cost per ounce when buying anything as quite often the dollar store may have lower prices but the price per volume is worse. Which is fine if you only need a little while bulk buying may be better done at a bix box store.

When shopping for dollar store food keep an eye out for packages with holes in them, canned food with dents, and seals that seem weak or have been opened before. All of these are signs of spoilage and it’s not worth risking food poisoning. You should also keep an eye out for the expiration date of the foods. Many foods may be nearing the end of their shelf life and may go bad shortly. You don’t want to waste money on food you won’t be able to use. Better to go with shelf stable foods when trying to save money.

Shelf Stable Foods

An important component of affordable grocery shopping is stocking up on shelf stable foods. These foods last longer and avoid losing money on wasted foods. They also tend to fill out a meal more affordably in terms of volume. Pasta and canned foods are great examples of this. Both of these can add calories to your meal on the cheap. Frozen veggies are a great way to get nutritious greens into your meal without worrying about spoilage. The texture may be a little different but the nutrition is as good as the fresh greens. You may want to cook them differently to adjust for the frozen state.

• Canned food
• Frozen veggies
• Oatmeal
• Canned tuna
• Rice
• Dried pasta

Dollar Store Spices

Spices are a great way to improve on a meal especially if you’re working what’s available rather than what you want. Dollar stores tend to have the basic spices and this can be a good place to get them rather than big grocery stores, if you can find them cheaper. Even if the cost per volume is worse, for spices this could be a good trade for a lower price for now. Spices tend to sit on your shelf for months or years so there is no reason to bulk buy spices right now. Spices can get really expensive quickly so if you’re meal prepping on a budget, choose recipes that require spices that you already have or recipes with fewer spices. 

Dollar Store Food Nutrition

The nutrition of dollar store food is essentially the same as any grocery store. If you pick unhealthy, highly processed, high sodium or sugar foods then no, it won’t be healthy. If you focus on non-processed foods with low sodium and require a bit of cooking on your end, you’ll do alright. With a few exceptions, fresh tends to be healthier. Anything pre-made tends to be less healthy. 

Not sure where to start, start reading food labels. Every person is different but a safe bet is that you should be around or under 2000 calories a day. When you read the food label and single serving calorie count is in the hundreds for a small snack item, you should probably stay away. Also low calorie doesn’t mean it’s healthy just as much as high calorie doesn’t mean that it is unhealthy. We’ll cover a more nuanced food label reading guide in the future. For now, avoid processed foods and try this information from Heart.org.

1 – Start with the serving information.
2 – Check total calories per serving and container.
3 – Limit certain nutrients.
4 – Get enough of the beneficial nutrients.
5 – Understand % Daily Value.

Multiple Grocery Stores

People often stick to a single store to pick everything up for convenience. Especially when a dollar store is the closed store to you by far. This can make it tough to shop at different store but if you’re committed to saving money while eating better, shop at multiple grocery stores. We all love our local grocery store the most. We know where everything is and we can run and run out quickly. Diversifying your shopping across multiple grocery stores and convenience stores not only opens up your available food options but it can save you tons. Some stores specialize in specific foods or have better deals. Mix and match your stores for the best deals and hit the stores through the week. Run by a store on your way home from work, do another grocery store on the weekend when you’re off. It can be a lot of work but the variety is fun and savings make it worth it.