Dieting on a budget?

ChloeMaay96

Hey guys, my partner and I are a young couple with hardly any money and we're finding it hard to eat healthy on such a tight budget. Could you all share your cheap breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack secrets with us? It would be good to have cheap, easy, efficient foods we can eat. Doesn't matter whether it has meat in it or not.

libbydoodle11

You can shop the bulk sections of the grocery store. My store sells, pasta, pop corn, rice, beans, lentil, cereals, cookies, dried fruit, etc.

Veggies and fruit can be cheaper if you shop the frozen section and purchase the store brand.

Fresh produce isn't that bad if you purchase just what you will need that day so it won't go bad.

Potatoes and yams are filling and cheap.


Here are some websites to check out.



http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_budget_friendly_recipes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/packages/healthy-eating-on-a-budget.html

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/meal-planning/budget-friendly-foods.aspx

http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/budget-friendly-healthy-recipes

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/budget/sampletwoweekmenus.html

http://www.theppk.com

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes

jgnatca

Libbydoodle, those are such great suggestions. There was a bean thread yesterday but I can't find it today. I made a Weight Watchers stew last night with a few modifications. It was a big hit with fussy hubby so I thought I'd share.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/138794/provencal-beef-stew.html

brendafoley372

My Dollar tree has frozen fruit for yes just a $ .smoothies are so wonderful..Tablespoon of peanut butter for protein and bam.
Oatmeal is cost effective 2..

jgnatca

Cloe, I had very little money for a long time so I learned to economize. Staples I always had on hand included flour, powdered milk, and eggs. I never cheaped out on eggs, as they can lead to so many more recipes. Frozen vegetables are inexpensive and they last.

Invest in a slow cooker and prepare in bulk.

Beans and lentils are inexpensive sources of protein and often overlooked. Learn to prepare from the dry beans; they last forever.

Breakfast - oatmeal! Cook with a little powdered milk for added richness, protein. Pancakes!

Snacks - fresh fruit, raisins and peanuts, celery with cheez whiz, and popcorn! I have an old air popper that still goes strong.

Lunch - leftovers from the night before. Most dinner recipes are four servings. Hubby typically takes two and I take one. The third serving I pack up for lunch the following day.

Dinner - a slow cooker recipe or stir-fry. If I need crispy, I can put together a personal pan pizza on flatbread.

SolitudesMuse

I found this on Pinterest a while back. The OP says she spent $130 on food and supplies to make a total of 65 breakfasts/lunches and 35 dinners. The cost is obviously going to vary a bit depending on where you live.

I made most of these all at once and froze them like the OP. It's pretty cost effective and delicious. I absolutely love the BBQ Chicken Crock Pot meal.

I think the biggest thing to cost effective grocery shopping is planning. I recently made cream of mushroom soup and chicken in a white wine sauce. Both called for many of the same ingredients, and it's almost always cheaper (per serving) to buy the larger quantity of items.

I love making soups, too. They're easy to freeze and can be very versatile. I make a lot of basic cream of [insert veggie here] soups. I have some roasted tomato, red pepper and sweet potato soup in my freezer that I plan on thawing and adding some tortellini too for a meal.

CHAR1105

bump

buckinghnt

I put most of my focus on frozen foods and protein, and dairy. I try really hard to stay away from fillers like pasta's or rice/grains, but I know that a lot of diets include those to some degree.
I feel like they're fillers that leave me with calories that get stored and go directly to my weight GAIN.
I really just stick to veggies (frozen are great and tons cheaper) and frozen fruit and berries - they make great smoothies and if you make them with 2% milk and fat free yogurt (it only takes a few tablespoons) you can keep them low calorie and add protein with the milk & yogurt.. even add a tablespoon of peanut butter for some extra protein and flavor!
Canned tuna is pretty cheap, already portioned out and a great source of protein and can be used in a lot of different ways. Frozen fish can be pretty cheap and is very low in fat and a great source of protein and super versatile, as long as it isn't fried
@libbydoodle11 was right on when she said produce is cheap if you just purchase what you'll use for a day or two, and that way it doesn't go bad and you will save money by eating what you pay for.
One more thing I wanted to add, is that you can shop at the big wholesale clubs like Sam's or Costco and get a whole lot more food for a whole lot less, and if you have an ALDI in your area, I strongly suggest getting food from there as it is the same company as Trader Joe's and although the food may be off label brands, it's just as good for you and will save you a TON OF MONEY!
There are so many great suggestions from everyone - I wish the best for you on your weight loss journey! Feel free to add me as a friend - we're all here for each other.
For support, encouragement and to hear new ideas and suggestions in the hopes we can achieve our goals!

libbydoodle11

I just came across this thread in the recipe section.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10022306/ideas-for-big-one-pot-meals-i-can-make-at-weekend-and-eat-for-lunch-during-week-please#latest


If you do a search on MFP under "budget friendly" a bunch of other threads pop up.

DancingMoosie

Eggs are usually pretty cheap and I buy the store-brand instead of name brand for packaged food. Buying in bulk is a good idea and also buying the fruits and vegetables that are in season and on sale. Sometimes the stores will reduce the price on produce that is about to turn--that's when I buy it to make a big pot of vegetable soup:)

AliciaStinger

I recently posted this to another thread. As a regular main dish, pasta and instant rice aren't the healthiest foods out there - but if you really load the dish with protein and veggies, it's very filling, very cheap, and actually helps me eat more vegetables. As one of the other posters suggested, I use frozen store-brand veggies. Jewel and Kroger sell their brand of veggies for anywhere between $0.99 and $1.19 here. (Bonus: if you fall off the wagon, your vegetables won't go bad.) When you're eating a lot of seasonings or canned goods, just watch your salt intake. Good luck and enjoy!

Instant rice takes about five minutes to make. I make two cups of rice on Sunday night, get one bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables or mixed veggies (I love the corn/carrots/green beans/peas mix), one can of beans (whatever kind you like), some protein (chicken, turkey, beef, fish, pork or tofu), and seasonings (Sriracha, soy sauce, sweet and sour, cheese and/or sour cream, or whatever you like). From these ingredients, I can make a week's worth of meals in a fairly short period of time:

-Rice, ground beef or chicken (fry it [no oil needed] to cook the meat faster) with beans and cheese, sour cream, or tortillas for makeshift Mexican food. **(NOTE - this is a meal you may wish to pre-log on MFP because the calories and carbs add up super fast. I sometimes eat just beans, rice, and sour cream to cut down the calories.)**

-Rice, frozen stir fry veggies or mixed veggies with salmon (or tuna) and just a touch of Sriracha is healthy and has a lot of flavor. If you're not into spicy foods, swap out the Sriracha for another sauce, or skip the sauce; it's good plain, too.

-Rice, stir fry veggies, chicken or beef, and soy sauce or sweet and sour makes an excellent stir fry that can be made even by a beginner in 20 minutes total.

-Rice, steak/ground beef/ground turkey, onions, diced baked potato, some pepper or chili powder, and canned tomatoes/tomato sauce/maybe sloppy joe sauce would probably make an excellent chili-esque stew.

You can also make a boatload of recipes with pasta. Look at Noodles and Company's menu (or whatever restaurant you like) for some ideas. Like the rice recipes, you can fill it up with veggies and protein, but watch the carbs and calories if you're trying to maintain or continue losing weight. These are just some ideas for quicker meals.

erickirb

Eating less should cost less. You dont need any food in particular to lose weight, so eat 20% less than you did before save 15-20% on your grocery bill and lose weight

LifeInTheBikeLane

ChloeMaay96 wrote: »

Hey guys, my partner and I are a young couple with hardly any money and we're finding it hard to eat healthy on such a tight budget. Could you all share your cheap breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack secrets with us? It would be good to have cheap, easy, efficient foods we can eat. Doesn't matter whether it has meat in it or not.

Welcome to our life! We just HAD to have a two bedroom apartment with two bathrooms (I have a stomach problem and he really needed a room he could hang fifty guitars on the wall that wasn't our bedroom) so we run a little low on money once we add in all our bills, student loans and whatevers.

No matter what we always eat within our means and health budget. This is what we always buy and it all can go to making multiple meals of different types!

36 Eggs: 3 eggs per person. 6 meals. $5 (or less)
Frozen Spinach: Lasts us two weeks or more. $1-$2.
Frozen Broccoli: $2? Huge bags. Lasts us WEEKS
45 Calorie Bread: Lasts us a week or more. $2
Canned Tuna: 98 cents or LESS
Canned Chicken: $1
Flavored Rice Packets (Cheddar and Broccoli!): $1 each. Okay these aren't the "healthiest" when eaten alone but we use them as a whole meal. Cook one package, add frozen broccoli, canned tuna or canned chicken, eat as is. Or put that in a baking dish and sprinkle cheese on top of it and bake with some garlic mixed in. Heavenly and under 400 calories and FILLING.

From the eggs we eat a lot of egg bakes for dinner. Take two pieces of 45 calorie bread and tear it to medium sized chunks and set it around the bottom of a PAM sprayed pie pan. Place frozen spinach on top of this. Sprinkle with garlic or salt. Mix together 3-5 eggs (I've done this with only 3. We were running low D=) and pour mixture over the spinach/bread. Bake. Most amazing thing ever and very low in calories! There always enough leftover for him or I to take to lunch the next day.

Ever so often we splurge on a $5 raw chicken and cook it in the crock pot for dinner. There is always enough leftovers to last us a few days. Or be buy $2 turkey bacon and have egg sandwiches a few times a week.

Wheat pasta and low fat alfredo sauce last us about two meals (I eat according to servings, he drowns his in sauce). Canned chicken and frozen spinach turn it gourmet!

As for breakfast, a huge container of Quaker Oatmeal. $3, lasts weeks. I take it to work and put some salt on it. Mmm.

cwolfman13

eggs, beans (raw in the bulk section...dirt cheap) and other legumes, rice, pasta, etc.

Look for sales and meat and poultry...also, whole chickens and parts are cheaper than buying already boned and skinned breasts.

For beef, a top round is a go to for me...it's a tough cut if you don't prepare it right, but marinated properly and cooked medium rare to medium and sliced thinly against the grain it's delicious and lean...it can also feed a small army (aka my wife and I and my two kids with left-overs for lunch from one steak). Pork tenderloins are another go-to lean source of protein that is relatively cheap and I can easily feed my whole family dinner on one loin.

look for sales on frozen veggies...buy the store brand frozen veggies. For fresh veggies, stick to hardy things like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, etc...these things will keep in the fridge well. Red cabbage and onions is a staple in my household. I buy greens for salads only a bit at a time because they go bad so quickly.

Potatoes are awesome...

For fruits, we stick with staples like apples and bananas...in the summer when fruit is more plentiful and in season, we branch out a bit.

NK1112

It might be how you worded it, but I couldn't help thinking ... "you can't eat healthy on your tight budget, are you affording eating not-healthy? And if so, then what is the non-healthy food you are eating."

Sorry, don't mean to offend ... just wondering if you are like how I used to be ... find it perfectly acceptable to spend $10.00 on a take-out or fast-food meal but not want to spend that same amount of money on the ingredients to make chili because $4.00 a pound is too much for good burger. Nuts, right?

My tip for eating healthy on a budget is to make up a meal plan and only buy what you need to make those recipes and pantry items that have run out. Plan on left-overs. Don't buy pre-packaged, pre-made, processed. You can even make your own bread, tortillas, muffins, etc. for cents on the dollar of what it costs to buy.

snowflake954

I cook for a family of 5, and am always combing the grocery store ads for the sales of the week. I love to do that. I star what I'm interested in and then make a list. I go to different stores for the best deals. I buy alot of what I need on sale and then freeze stuff--especially meat. Everyone's saying buy the staples in bulk, and that can save alot. Don't buy fancy stuff and you will save alot of money. Good luck,and have fun!

MKEgal

Here's a blog post with a link to a PDF of a cheap eats cookbook, with a nice variety of things & pretty pictures.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-09-19-cheap-eats-cookbook-696460

999tigger

Soup
fruit and veg markets
porridge oats
cook for yourself.

corinneselene

I can second a ton of the suggestions already posted. I am in medical school currently, so time and money are generally slim. As stated above, crockpot-beans-precooked chickens. Beans are super cost effective and even better if you buy them dried versus canned. Try to cook out of a crockpot in bulk and freeze the leftovers (skinnytaste.com has great healthy crockpot recipes). Use those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens for basically anything and freeze whatever meat is leftover unless you want to eat chicken 5 times in 1 week! Take the chicken carcass and throw it in a large pot-add chopped carrot, celery, onion, herbs (you can use dry if you dont have fresh but I recommend a small window herb garden) like parsely, dill and a bay leaf- cover everything with water, add salt and pepper, and let the thing go! you can easily make 6 quarts of stock on basically scraps.

before i left for school, i froze 30 meals to take with me. some of my favorites are: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/indian-spiced-lentils-lamb
http://www.worthypause.com/2013/01/keema.html?m=1
http://www.slenderkitchen.com/frozen-breakfast-quesadillas/#
I made about 30 of those frozen quesadillas. I split a pack of ground lamb and made the other two dishes. I added 3 extra cups of water to the indian spiced lentil soup recipe. The keema is great served over potato or cauliflower.

Other easy low cost recipes I like to make using some of the broth from above:
Garlic, Broccoli, White beans, some of the Chicken from above, and broth- you can make a soup or put it with pasta
In a crockpot: chicken, broth, tons of beans, whatever seasoning you like!

Can of crushed tomato with garlic, olive oil, and throw in a few links of sausage or ground beef and serve over pasta or over zucchini noodles

Ellie Kreiger also has a ton of healthy recipes that can be made from common ingredients: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger/recipes.html
Sorry for the long post!

Sunitagt

We buy a lot more produce and protein, but we also buy a lot less pre-packaged foods and things. I know I spend less now than what I did before reformatting our grocery shopping/cooking habits.

I definitely recommend going to Costco or similar warehouse store and buying proteins like chicken, turkey, beef, fish in bulk and then freezing the portions you don't need for this week to use in the future. Meats are definitely cheaper this way.

We try to plan our meals so that if there's leftover produce from the week before we use it up in the next week's cooking. Otherwise, canned and frozen veggies are usually a great deal and work well in lots of recipes.