Eat This, Not That! to Save Money on Produce

Sure, it's a great source of muscle-building iron, but spinach is pricey. In fact, it costs over 200 percent more than iceberg lettuce! While word on the street is that iceberg is a nutritionally-bankrupt salad green, that's not the case. In fact, it serves up a hefty dose of alpha-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant, and carries a fair share of iron, too. Not a fan of the oft-overlooked veggie? Opt for romaine lettuce instead. At $1.84 per pound it's more budget-friendly than spinach and is loaded with folic acid, immune-boosting vitamin A and iron.

There's no denying that orange spuds are healthy: They're great sources of fiber and even satiety-boosting protein. But so are white potatoes. Yes, that's right! Although these spuds have a bad rap, just one small white tater packs over 50 percent of the day's vitamin C, more protein than an orange spud and nearly four grams of hunger-crushing fiber—which is exactly how much is in a sweet potato of the same size. Ditch traditional high-cal potato toppings like sour cream and bacon bits, and enjoy your russets with olive oil, rosemary and fresh pepper instead.

Green beans and sweet corn are both nutritious summer farm stand staples. But when shopping on the budget, the winner is clear. Green beans are more than twice the cost—and no more wholesome—than more budget-friendly corn. Besides being a good source of carotenoids, a nutrient that helps keep eyes healthy, the golden-hued veggie also contains something called resistant starch, a type of carb that dodges digestion. In turn, the body isn't able to absorb as many of the corn's calories or glucose—a nutrient that's stored as fat if it's not burned off—which can aid weight loss efforts.

If you bring your lunch to work every day (or pack one for your kid), it's smart to throw an easy-to-eat fruit in with your sandwich to round out the meal. But which one's most worthy of your hard-earned cash? While an apple provides 14 percent of the day's vitamin C and four grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber, bananas offer more vitamin C and just one gram less of fiber at less than half the price per pound.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

While packing up your lunch, it's a good idea to throw in a healthy afternoon snack, too. One of our go-to favorite combos? Raw veggies with an ounce of nuts. The pairing provides energy-boosting nutrients like complex carbs and magnesium that can help you power through to the end of the day. If you're not careful, however, you could wind up spending more than you bargained for. Opt for nuts sold in bulk to save cash there, and pick baby carrots over celery sticks. The crunchy orange veggies provide more than 37 times the amount of vitamin A as their green counterpart—a nutrient essential for immune function and vision—and seven times the amount of satiating fiber.

It's a head-to-head battle in the melon aisle: While watermelon has more vitamin A, honeydew has more vitamin C. But if you're looking to save cash, watermelon is the clear winner. It's much cheaper than honeydew and still packs a refreshing, juicy flavor and a health-boosting nutritional punch.

In the summer there's nothing better than munching on a refreshing piece of citrus fruit. Besides saving you some of your hard-earned cash, munching on grapefruits instead of tangerines can help you shed unwanted pounds—especially if you eat it as an appetizer. The fruit contains compounds that stabilize blood sugar and help fry flab. In one study, those who ate half of a grapefruit before each meal lost an average of three and a half pounds over 12 weeks—without making any other changes to their diet. Sounds like a great reason to go for grapefruit to us!

Need a mental vacation? Munching on a tropical fruit salad can make you feel as though you're a million miles away on a secluded beach, almost instantly. If you're looking to pinch some pennies, nix the kiwis and just stick with the pineapple. Both fruits offer the same exotic flavor and a similar nutritional profile, but the yellow-hued option is a fraction of the cost.