Eating healthy in a budget

shaumom

My family has a lot of allergies, and so many foods that are 'in bulk' aren't foods we can have. But if you CAN have them, and can afford them, buying in bulk can be a big price saver.

I'd also recommend checking out any 'ethnic' grocery stores near you. The Mexican grocery near us has pinto beans, rice, and corn masa at MUCH lower prices, in larger amounts, than any of the other stores around. The Asian market near us has rice, fish, and produce at much better prices than anyone else, not to mention having $2 bags of produce that are a few pounds worth of food, that will go off within a couple days so they are trying to sell quick. The Indian grocery stores often have large amounts of spices at very low prices, compared to the local supermarket. Like, a pound of something for the same price you'd get one teeny, tiny bottle of at the local market.

But as for normal items:
First, be prepared to cook a lot. It's pretty much cook a lot, or pay a lot, you know?

Second, corn masa and beans are a nutritious staple, honestly (masa, though, NOT corn meal - masa is nixtamalized, so more nutrients are available than in corn meal.). At the Mexican grocery, it's typically available cheaper than wheat is. Rice isn't as healthy, but it's filling. Brown rice is a bit better.

Third, if possible, I buy whatever is on the cheapest sale, in terms of dairy or meat or produce. And then I simply have recipes that are very versatile.

Like...
a meat and veggie stew - whatever meat or veggies are on sale go in it, and I just use herbs that I grow (or could get cheap from Indian grocery, originally) for seasoning.

Or fajitas - again, whatever meat or veggies are on sale is what we use, plus a few basic spices. Cheese if it's cheap, no cheese if it's not (tofu can sometimes make a cheese sub, if it's on sale)

Fruit plus a dip - whatever fruit is on sale plus whatever is cheap to go with it - cream cheese, peanut butter, some dip I make myself.

Stir fry with rice - whatever veggies or meats are on sale, plus soy sauce and garlic (or maybe a few other additions for a different sauce), and then serve over rice. Can make them together, or make individual dishes to eat separately.


It's not amazing recipes or anything, but with recipes that I can use with ANYTHING on sale, practically, they can be pretty affordable

natboosh69

The best strategy I've found is to plan your meals for the week and then only buy what you will need for those meals. You may need to go shopping more than once a week to ensure nothing fresh goes to waste, but I find it helps to manage a budget.

Edit - Just to add also, I've recently started buying whole chickens and fish and breaking them down myself, they can be frozen and it's much cheaper than buying pre-made portions.

callsitlikeiseeit

OldHobo wrote: »

Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.

Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.

Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.

what? thats just ridiculous. 1- coffee is for the safety of everyone around me AND has next to no calories. what about tea? canned tomatoes also have next to no calories. what about beans or grains/rice or legumes? peanut butter is a great source of protein, esp for vegetarians. what about flour or baking soda/powder or yeast? what about nuts and seeds? what about spices and seasonings? what about broths?

your logic is flawed.

best ways to save money. shop and cook the sales. Buy meats in bulk and separate and freeze portions when cost effective to do so. i have two turkeys in my freezer i got for $5 each before thanksgiving. Shop seasonal fruits and veggies or flash frozen. Make your weekly menu based on sales and what you have on hand. take leftovers for lunch. stay away from the junk food aisles (hard to eat crap food when its not in the house). make as much from scratch as possible (almost everything i eat/make regularly i have in the recipe builder). avoid prepackaged foods as much as possible (while it may seem cheaper, its really NOT). If you work during the week (as many of us do), prepping on the weekends or days off can be a lifesaver. I do a lot of crock pot meals i can freeze ahead of time, or make larger batches of meals and freeze for later use. in my freezer right now, i probably have 2 weeks worth of meals for myself and my son simply leftover from the holidays when i was cooking every day (soups, stews, BBQ, crock pot stuff, etc). i do breakfast for dinner once a month or so (eggs, bacon, toast). cheap and easy, especially on a day when ive forgotten to pull anything out of freezer lolol).

nhawduran

Generally speaking, cooking is what is going to save you money. I very rarely buy broth of any kind, since it's so easy to make chicken broth, even if you buy the chicken roasted at the store. Hummus is cheap if you make it yourself and soup and stews are almost always super inexpensive and tend to make the meat go a long way. We're trying to cut our grocery bill, right now, so no more Keurig coffee for us! Those things are ridiculous.

And yes, making lunches for work, eating leftovers...I heard somewhere that it's good to have an "eat me first" shelf in your fridge, so you remember to eat the leftovers and don't let them go bad. Going to try that too.

Slasher09

I spend about $75/wk for my family of 4 at aldi. I don't buy much in boxes (cereals, etc) and I buy fresh produce, eggs, dairy/almond milk, chicken, ground beef, roasts, pork chops, salmon, rice, beans, oats, etc.

OldHobo

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

OldHobo wrote: »

Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.

Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.

Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.

what? thats just ridiculous. 1- coffee is for the safety of everyone around me AND has next to no calories. what about tea? canned tomatoes also have next to no calories. what about beans or grains/rice or legumes? peanut butter is a great source of protein, esp for vegetarians. what about flour or baking soda/powder or yeast? what about nuts and seeds? what about spices and seasonings? what about broths?

your logic is flawed.

...

The logic of what you think I meant is not flawed, it is non-existent. I humbly apologize to the entire community for such an ill-conceived and poorly expressed post.

UltraVegAthlete

- Apples (pounds and pounds of apples...I’m from WA, soooo yeah)
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Spaghetti squash
- Lettuce
- Tomato Paste
- Beets
- Cauliflower
- CARROTS!!
- Mushrooms
- Sweet potatoes/yams
- Oatmeal

That’s about it. I usually eat the same thing everyday. Apples and steamed vegetables.

Tried30UserNames

Do you have a 99 Cent store nearby? I buy a lot of my fresh produce there, and they often have organics, too. Most vegetables cost 3-5 times as much at my other grocery stores.

Sugar snap peas
Cherry tomatoes
Onion
Celery
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Zucchini
Spaghetti and other squashes
Lettuce and spinach if they look good, but often they're a bit wilted and I haven't seen them organic there