10 Tips to Budget-Wise, Plant-Powered Eating

Many people who are on a budget believe that eating healthy is next to impossible. With the escalating cost of fruits and vegetables, they opt for processed foods such as boxed macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, or white rice and canned meat. Eating out usually means fast food such as burgers, fries, tacos, or fried chicken.

These are the types of foods most strongly linked with overweight, obesity, and other chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and even some cancers. Processed foods and fast foods concentrate potentially harmful dietary components such as damaging fats, refined carbohydrates (both starches and sugars), salt, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Such foods are often produced unsustainably and tend to be overpackaged.

So how do we assist food-insecure consumers in making the shift to a plant-strong diet? How can we help individuals and families design diets that maximize health-protective components such as fiber