Shopping at deep-discount supermarkets, especially if they're far from home, is linked to higher body weight and more belly fat than buying groceries at neighborhood markets closer to home. The researchers say this is may be because people who trek to discount supermarkets tend to shop less frequently and buy more nonperishable, heavily processed foodstuff and less fresh produce.

Regardless of where you grocery shop, use these five budget-friendly strategies to buy healthy food every time:

1. Never shop hungry. It's not a myth. Hunger activates the part of your brain that responds like Pavlov's dog to tempting pictures and descriptions of food. That's why a stroll down the cookie aisle lands all those sweets in your cart when you shop just before dinner!

2. Pay with cash, not credit cards or debit cards. You'll make 30% fewer unhealthful, impulse buys at the grocery store.

3. Buy local and seasonal. You can save big-time bucks buying cherries in summer and butternut squash in winter (instead of vice versa), especially if you buy locally grown produce. Seasonal isn't possible everywhere, but get just-picked fruits and veggies whenever you can; they pack a big flavor bonus, so you're more likely to eat them.

4. Be choosy about organic food. Buying organic versions of these 12 fruits and veggies (the Environmental Working Group's famous "dirty dozen") is worth it because they practically inhale pesticides: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, nectarines, grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, blueberries, lettuce, and kale. But save your organic money on these, which aren't prone to pesticide residues: onions, sweet corn, pineapple, avocados, asparagus, peas, mangoes, eggplant, cantaloupe, kiwi, cabbage, and watermelons.

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5. Snap up bargain frozen foods. Save some change - and avoid dreaded fruit-and-veggie rot in the fridge - by buying frozen green beans, corn, peas, asparagus, raspberries, collard greens, squash, and more when they're on sale. Flash-frozen produce is more nutritious than wilted fresh, and it's usually more healthful than canned, which can be loaded with sodium (veggies and beans) or sugary syrup (fruit).