Forget the fast food lines or the pre-packaged foods. There are ways to eat healthy while watching your wallet.

“If you plan, which is the bottom line to eating healthy and weight management planning, you can do it for cheap,” says registered dietitian, Elizabeth McCormick.

McCormick is a dietitian with The Lee Center for Weight Management and has a few suggestions. “One of the best ways to look at the store specials or the store circular and based on what their sales are, plan your menu for the week.”

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, frozen can sometimes be healthier than fresh and it’s cheaper. “When things are frozen, they are flash-frozen, so they preserve all of the nutrition very quickly,” she adds.

Think big when you are cutting costs. “Instead of getting a small container of yogurt, get the large, and pre-portion it yourself, that way you cut down on the costs of the individual packages.”

McCormick works one on one with people to help devise an eating plan that is both nutritious and within their budget. “Let me tell you, when you eat healthy food and you exercise, you feel great. You have so much more energy and you feel so much lighter.”

She can help you and your family find ways to eat healthy on a budget. For more information, contact The Lee Center for Weight Management at 239-573-5720.