Mediterranean Diet on a Budget – 9 Money Saving Tips

Sharing 9 Money Saving Tips for Following a Mediterranean Diet on a Budget – no gourmet olives or fancy ingredients needed.

Is The Mediterranean Diet Expensive?

One of the biggest obstacles people often face when trying to incorporate a Mediterranean Diet into their life is that they think it will be too expensive.

I think people envision having to purchase tons of organic vegetables, expensive cuts of lamb, lots of fresh seafood, pricey gourmet olives, etc. In actuality, that isn’t the case of all.

The Mediterranean Diet can be quite affordable and actually save you money at the store, depending on your prior “normal” style of eating.

The Domestic Dietitian

The History of the Mediterranean Diet

If you think about the origin of The Mediterranean Diet, it’s based upon the traditional style of eating for the countries surrounding the Mediterranean sea back in the 1960’s. This meant entire populations (young, old, poor, families, etc) using local, seasonal food and ingredients to create flavorful and filling, healthy meals. No fancy or expensive, high-end ingredients required.

Budget Friendly Tips

As a family of four that live off a single income, I can attest to the fact that the Mediterranean diet doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank at the supermarket.

Here are a few tips to help make the Mediterranean Diet more affordable –

Shopping the Bulk Bins

I never even realized in the past that my local grocery store had bulk bins for dried items like nuts, lentils, beans, etc. I passed them every time I went in to the store and never even gave them a second glance.

Now they are one of the first places I stop when shopping. They are often a better price per pound than purchasing their prepackaged counterparts. I also like that you can get just the amount you need instead of being forced to buy a pound of pine nuts when all you need is 1/4 cup.

I always use the bulk bins when making this Homemade Basil Pesto to avoid spending $9 on pine nuts alone.

More Veggies, Less Red Meat

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steak but part of The Mediterranean Diet means trying to create more plant based meals and leave red meat as an occasional enjoyment.

You can check out more of The Mediterranean Diet Guidelines here.

Incorporating more plant based meals can not only cut back on your grocery bills, but help you add more vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes into your meals. Good for the heart and bank account at the same time.

If you are looking for some amazing vegetarian meals, check out this collection of 59 Meatless Meals & Recipes.

Seasonal and Local Produce

Speaking of adding more veggies to your meals…let’s talk produce.

One of the most common complains I hear from people is that purchasing fruits and vegetables is expensive. While it is true that produce can be pricey, but it doesn’t have to be.

Some tips for keeping the cost manageable when purchasing produce –

• buy what’s in season, it’s often less expensive and tastes better too
• buy local whenever possible, the majority of the time the less distance a food has to travel, the less is should cost. Check local farmers markets for some of the best deals and to support your local farmers
• if you can’t afford organic, don’t buy organic. Regular produce is better than no produce at all
• when fruit and veggies aren’t in season, frozen options make excellent choices, especially for having on hand for last minute meal ideas.

If a recipe calls for asparagus but it’s the middle of winter, don’t pay $5.99 for asparagus. Choose a seasonal vegetable instead to save $$ at the store.

The Domestic Dietitian

Add Canned Goods to Your Shopping List

The canned goods aisle at your local store is home to so many healthy ingredients.

When fresh produce isn’t available, canned vegetables are excellent choices. There are also economical when it comes to price. Try to look for canned vegetables without added salt.

In addition to veggies, canned beans and tomatoes are Mediterranean diet pantry staples that fit into almost any budget. Be sure to read ingredient labels though and select the versions with the least amount of ingredients. Ideally they should simply contain just “beans” or “tomatoes”.

Check out this collection of 80 Recipes Using Canned Beans for healthy meal inspiration that are also budget friendly.

Cook at Home

Trying to cook at home a little bit more is a great way to not only save money but also know exactly what you are putting into your meals.

When you cook a meal yourself, you get to choose if you cook with olive oil over butter, how much salt goes into the dish and how much you want to prepare.

It’s also important to note that “cooking at home” means something different for everyone. Maybe to you that just means eating out one meal less each week. Or perhaps it simply means chopping your own veggies instead of buying pre-cut ones to save a few bucks at the store. It could also be as simple as bringing your lunch to work instead of going out on your lunch break.

Regardless of what it means to you personally, it can be a big way to save money while following a Mediterranean diet.

Living that Leftover Life

I used to refuse to eat leftovers. Then I became responsible for feeding 4 people multiple meals on a daily basis and that all changed. Leftovers became (and still are) one of my favorite things ever!

Utilizing leftovers is a great way to spread out the grocery budget and save yourself time in the kitchen. When I’m cooking a meal I really like, I’ll often make a double batch to have some leftover for lunch the following day.

The leftovers don’t have to be exact repeats of the original meal either. For example, if you have a serving of leftover roasted veggies, you can use them the next day with an egg on top for a filling breakfast. Leftover roasted chicken can be used for sandwiches, on top of a salad or even to make a delicious chicken salad. You don’t have to eat the leftovers in the exact same way.

Breakfast for Dinner

When we are at the end of our weekly groceries or if money is tight, I always plan a breakfast for dinner night. Ours typically consists of pancakes and frozen fruit smoothies (the majority of the time I already have all the ingredients for these on hand), scrambled eggs or omelets with a leafy green salad on the side.

Breakfast ingredients are pretty budget friendly and often a family favorite. Omelets are a great way to also use up any leftover veggies you might have hanging around. One of my favorites is spinach, tomato and avocado. So filling without breaking the bank.

Canned Seafood

Aiming to eat fish and seafood twice a week is recommended by the American Heart Association, as well as a goal of The Mediterranean Diet.

However, fresh fish can be expensive at times. That’s when canned seafood like tuna or salmon comes to the rescue. I’m a huge fan of the Wild Planet Foods brand, so much so that I’m also one of the RD Ambassadors, which means I often work with them to share their message about sustainable seafood choices and sometimes get free product (#transparency).

These Kid Friendly Tuna Melts are one of my favorite lunch recipes that use canned tuna.

Meal Plan

Meal planning can be overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be time consuming or a long process.

For me, I like to try and loosely plan out what we are having for lunch and dinner during the week. I sit with two pieces of paper – one for the menu for the week and the other a list for the grocery store. As I write down a menu item or look up a recipe, I immediately write down the ingredients I need for it at the store.

Meal planning doesn’t also mean that you have to set aside hours at a time. Check out this post – Meal Prep Ideas Based on Time. We give some meal prep ideas based on if you have 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 60 minutes to spare.

Meal planning is helpful in saving money at the store by –

• helping you purchase only the items you need at the store rather than impulse items
• can help reduce food waste
• lets you view your menu as a whole and utilize extra servings of an ingredient. For example, if you need 1/2 bag of spinach for one dinner then you can plan on using the second half a different night

You can read more about my menu planning tips here.

Making the Mediterranean Diet Work for You

Most importantly, I think it’s important that you make this lifestyle work for you. I hope the above tips help show that the Mediterranean Diet can fit into your current grocery budget.

If you have any more tips to share, please comment below.

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