The cost of the weekly grocery shop is going up, and research reported in media this week has shown how that’s affecting the price of healthy foods.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the University of Queensland showed the price of healthy food rose at double the rate of junk food, and the price difference between healthy and unhealthy food is at its highest since 2019.

Last year – through our Spark Change national survey – Diabetes Australia asked about the main issues affecting people living with diabetes. We heard that cost of living is a big problem.

Healthy eating is an essential part of managing diabetes and we know that cost is a real concern for people.

Some tips to help you eat healthily on a budget include:

• Buying fruit and vegetables in season as it is always cheaper and better quality. Find out what is in season here.
• Shopping to a list so you don’t make impulse buys.
• Considering frozen or even tinned (no added salt) vegetables and fruit. Fresh is always best nutritionally but frozen is very good.
• Shop around the various supermarket chains for the best offers – don’t be loyal to one chain only.
• Check out your local farmers’ market for good buys – you could check prices online at your supermarket for key items you plan to buy just to make sure you are making a saving. You can find a list of registered farmer’s markets in Australia here, although there may be some local markets which aren’t registered, so also check with your local council.
• Grow some of your own produce and swap excess with neighbours and friends. Quick wins include loose leaf lettuce, Asian greens, cherry tomatoes, carrots, chillies, herbs such as parsley and basil, and passionfruit. You could join your local community garden if you don’t have the knowledge or space, although even a few planter boxes can supplement what you buy.
• Choose home brand products – check the label to ensure they don’t have lots of added fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars but are high fibre. For most products look for less than 10g of total fat/100g, less than 3g of saturated fat/100g, more than 5g of fibre/100g and less than 400mg of sodium/100g. For milk look for less than 2g of total fat/100mL and for cheese look for less than 20g total fat and less than 800mg of sodium/100g. When it comes to sugar check how many sugars are added in the ingredients list – the natural sugars already in milk, yoghurt and fruit are okay.
• Buy meat, fish and chicken on special and freeze – bulk buys are often cheaper, so portion them out to what you would normally cook for a meal. Make sure you write on the package what the cut is and the date you froze it. The Food Safety Information Council recommend keeping frozen foods for a maximum of six weeks in a freezer/fridge combination or up to three months for a chest freezer.
• Replace all or half the meat, fish or chicken in recipes with legumes – I like to match the colour of the legume with the meat, such as butter beans with chicken and fish, or red kidney beans and brown lentils with red meat; however, you might like a contrast in colour!
• Buy skim milk powder and make it up in a clean milk bottle or jug.
• Make your own dressings, sauces, healthy muffins, pre-prepared frozen meals – whatever you normally buy ready-made. Check out your local library or diabetesshop.com for recipe books if you don’t have any handy, or search our recipe selection for inspiration.