Superfoods on a budget

If you look around blogs, Instagram and Facebook of health food bloggers you can get overwhelmed but the number of “superfoods” that people use.  And lots of superfoods add up to super dollars!!

And if you’re on a budget, buying all of these is just out of your reach. Fret not though, while lots of foods get their own hype, there are plenty of “superfoods” that you can include in your diet on a budget.  Remember though, just adding a few superfoods in your diet doesn’t make it healthy – in reality the best thing to aim for is a “super diet” packed full of  nutrient dense foods.

 

Chia Seeds vs Linseeds

A bag of chia seeds costs around $12 for a 250g bag, whereas it’s just $5 for a 400g bag of ground linseeds. You can buy them whole too which is even cheaper, but to get the best nutrition from linseeds, you need to grind them up otherwise they’ll pass straight through your digestive system with their goodness unabsorbed.

Chia seeds are awesome as they swell to form a gel which is great for thickening smoothies and making yummy chia puddings, but linseeds (also known as flaxseeds) are also a great source of nutrition.

You can add linseeds to your smoothies and stir through your oats as you would chia seeds.

Here’s how linseeds and chia seeds stack up nutritionally.

Canned salmon vs fresh salmon

So fresh salmon is totally delicious and does taste quite different from canned salmon. But if you’re wanting to include more oily fish in your diet and can’t always afford the $36 per kg price tag, then canned salmon can be a great alternative.  If you get the canned salmon with the bones in it (don’t be grossed out just mash it up!) you’re also getting a boost of calcium as well as your omega 3 fats.   100g of Sealord pink Canadian salmon contains 600mg of omega 3 fats. To reduce the risk of heart disease, the Australian Heart Foundation recommends that adults consume about 500 milligrams of omega 3 (marine source) every day, so including canned salmon in your diet provides a significant source.

Green tea

If you’re wanting to build up your antioxidant intake, then green tea is a great low cost way to do it.  Drink it hot, or use it cold. Cold green tea can be used in smoothies instead of coconut water and will give your smoothie a big antioxidant boost.

Bonus is you can buy a box of tea bags for under $4.

Nut butters

Almond butter, cashew butter – they’re both totally delicious and packed full of heart healthy fats but they’re quite a bit more pricey than your humble peanut butter.  Peanut butter has had a bit of a bad wrap when it comes to nutrition, but it’s packed with protein, fibre and B vitamins. Almond butter is higher in calcium and Vitamin E than peanut butter, but you don’t need to feel guilty choosing peanut butter – it still packs it’s own nutritional punch.

Feel free to use peanut butter as an alternative to other nut butters – just choose a peanut butter that contains 100% peanuts.