Not only can a plant-based diet be good for your health, it can also be easy on your budget! Give your shopping cart a makeover, learn how to forgo expensive processed foods and get the most flavor out of delicious, high-quality basic ingredients. Ellen Jaffe Jones has scoured the shelves of popular supermarkets and big-box stores and calculated exactly how it costs to eat healthfully and deliciously for $4 per person per day ­less than an average meal at a fast food outlet. Each recipe is accompanied by the cost per serving. And from soups and salads to entrées and desserts, the flavors are as impressive as the savings.

Tips on financial planning for food shopping, a basic review of plant-based nutrition and cooking, and a look at the hidden food-industry politics behind grocery store pricing and product placement gives readers the tools they need for planning wholesome, inexpensive daily and weekly menus. And because these meals are healthful, there will be additional long term savings by reducing future medical expenses for treating diet-related diseases. Join Ellen in celebrating a positive relationship with food, putting joy back into cooking, and never worrying again about your food budget.

Listed below are Ellen’s top ten money-saving tips:

• Use your head, not your heart (or stomach) when you shop
• Check the unit prices
• Buy in bulk within reason
• Shop the circumference of the store
• Check the entire supermarket shelf-up, down, and all around
• Buy store brands when possible
• Pay with cash (guarantees that you won’t buy more than you can afford)
• Keep your receipts (sale prices may be applied retroactively)
• Track prices (to know if an “on sale” item is really a savings)