Sometimes, it seems as though the healthiest foods at the grocery store cost the most. This puts many shoppers in the awkward position of choosing whether to purchase healthy food or cheap food -- but if you know what to look for, you can enjoy both!

Cheap healthy meals start with ingredients like:

Grab a 10-pound bag of these potassium powerhouses and you can make a different side dish every day for a week -- and you'll still want to try more potato recipes! 

Whether you eat 'em scalloped, in soup, baked or you're a fan of mashed potatoes, you're getting great doses of fibre and potassium, which helps maintain healthy blood pressure.

Head to the root vegetable section and load up on hearty veggies for more cheap healthy meals. Besides potatoes, your body and your wallet will thank you if you stock up on:

Root vegetables fill you up with fibre and provide you with everything from vitamin C to beta-carotene. Plus, your heart will thank you if you pair any of your favourite vegetables with onions. Nutrition experts believe onions, like garlic, reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.

Whether you prefer canned or dried beans and legumes (like lentils), both are perfect ingredients for cheap healthy meals. Here's why you should love your legumes: they're great for your heart, are low in fat and have plenty of fibre.

A good hearty chili is a cheap healthy meal that will keep everyone full and satisfied. Looking for more? Try any of our easy bean recipes for an inexpensive homemade meal.

Have a bag of rice on hand? Perfect! We have rice recipes for every occasion.

Rice is the starting point for many cheap healthy meals -- you can pair it with almost anything. Choose brown rice or wild rice to make sure you're eating the healthiest grains possible.

Eggs offer easy and inexpensive ways to add protein to your diet. Pair them with whatever vegetables you have in your fridge for a cheap, healthy meal like a quiche or omelette.

Starving students may be on to something when they survive on mostly-pasta diets to get through school. You can build on their frugal menus by adding a few vegetables and some protein, like ground meat or tofu, to create cheap healthy meals with pasta and noodles.

Keep things interesting by using a variety of pasta shapes, trying vegetable noodles, or mixing whole wheat and white noodles in the same dish.