Healthy eating on very small budget?

EJBarner

Another Canadian here! Bulk Barn is great for inexpensive bulk items like beans, lentils (which are shockingly filling), oats, etc. Do you have a slow cooker? Some of my most inexpensive meals are made by throwing things in the slow cooker, leaving all day, and coming back to a delicious dinner and freezing the remainder. You can also easily reconstitute black beans and chickpeas in there, and make your own refried beans. I'm also going to be trying buying awhole chicken and cooking it in my slow cooker later this week, then divvying up the meat to add to other things.

BudgetBytes is agreat website for getting inspiration for inexpensive recipes. It's American so the prices won't always be accurate for us, but its focus on 'good eating on a shoestring' and using up leftover ingredients is great for saving.

I'm happy to chat about this more via PM as well!

Heather4448

You've gotten some great suggestions. The only thing I can add at this point is this; Reducing food waste GREATLY reduces your grocery bill. Use all of your leftovers. Whatever doesn't get used up in an appropriate time frame should be made into soup. Meat scraps and bits and bones should go right into the freezer to be used for said soup. You will be shocked at how much money this will save you.

grumpopuppo

Thanks everyone! This has been remarkable advice, I appreciate it!!

grinning_chick

Cheap protein besides eggs and dairy:

A good quality boneless/skinless (b/s) tin of sardines, especially water packed, tastes pretty much like tinned tuna. As long as you keep the sardines separate from the salad base of the sardine (tuna) salad until just before eating (can get a little fishier than tuna if mix and meld), anyways. There are, of course, other things you can make with sardines besides sandwiches, too. A lot, in fact.

Seasons brand b/s low salt water packed version that might be carried by the local Walmart should run you anywhere from $1.58-$3 USD (?-maybe cheaper in CA) a tin if they do and can make two regular/one huge sandwich meal(s) without the worry of mercury. Roland is another brand with a very mild b/s version in oil or water. The Bar Harbor brand b/s smoked water packed are good with a bit of maple syrup/glaze on them as a breakfast meat (skip their tinned in maple syrup, they're gross).

The Seasons brand have the new fangled foil top vs. full tin so won't last for decades like traditional tinned sardines, but they are shelf stable for several months-years.

Sunshine_And_Sand

Chili and stew recipes can be great for a small budget. They make several servings and the ingredients are usually really cheap. You can eat for 2-3 days off a a crockpot of chili. If you wanted to go meatless on some days, the beans in the chili are a good source for meatless protein. Also, most of the ingredients in these will be non perishables so that is also budget friendly.
Oatmeal is also healthy and cheap. No need to by organic or steal cut. Stick with the biggest and cheapest canister of 1-minute oats you can find. Melt in a few slices of the cheapest American cheese the store has (I know it sounds weird but tastes great) will help up the protein and add flavor and still come in under 300 calories.
Frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh veggies and keep a lot longer.