Budget healthy...can it be done?
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Buy in bulk when possible (if storage is available), but always calculate the cost per ounce (or whatever other measurement is on the package), because sometimes the smaller package is the better value.0
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These people are your friends
Cooking on a bootstrap Jack Monroe herself was really poor with a young child when she started to cook healthy on next to nothing.
Budget bytes - These people even have an app (android)1 -
I'm in Canada too, and yes, food is expensive. I shop for 3 of us including a toddler who needs more expensive items and on 1.5 incomes right now as hubby's business is slow. Not to mention paying daycare which is astronomical, so i totally get the crunch. I know this seems counter intuitive to pay the $55 membership, but Costco is a good place to find cheap, healthy food.
-Organic baby spinach is only $3.50 for a big box there vs $7 at the grocery store.
-Cheese is like half price at Costco if you like cheese. I save enough on cheese alone to pay for the membership. -Frozen wild caught fish, shrimp, ground meat, even steak (though they mechanically tenderize their meat instead of aging).
-Eggs, a flat of 30 large eggs for $6! That's 2 weeks worth of eggs in our house and we eat lots of eggs! Egg white cartons are also super cheap, though i can't recall the actual price.
-Organic whole milk is only $8 a bag.
-Quinoa is also much cheaper at Costco, though the Canadian quinoa is actually quite bitter and goopy, so i opt for the Kirkland brand Peruvian one.
Because it's in bulk, you have to plan out your month. So instead of say $75 per week, think $150 at Costco for the month, and $35-40 per week at the regular store to shop sale and fresh items. Also get apps like PC Points, Checkout 51 and Flipp. The first two will pay you or give you points towards groceries and the 2nd to price match. Use Flipp to browse and circle flyers. Walmart, No Frills and Superstore all price match flyer items. You just select on the app and take it with you to the store. This saves on gas money and time going store to store. I'm sure there are other stores that price match too, but those are the only ones near me.
For meat, i usually just shop sales at regular stores due to space constraints. Meatless Mondays (or one or two vegetarian days a week) will also save tons in grocery bills as meat is expensive.
Re-use leftovers:
I keep vegetable and herb scraps in a freezer bag while i cook instead of throwing it out. Then i make a veggie stock out of it when the bag is full and have a lovely soup base. I save these in mason jars that I've accumulated over the years if i'm not using it right away.
I make stirfries/soups/fried rice/noodles with leftover meat from one dinner to make another dinner if they're not enough for a lunch the next day. I also have freezer weeks where i only by fresh fruit, veg and bread and use whatever is in my pantry/freezer. Cleans it out instead of just adding to the stock pile.
For quick meals for the toddler and husband, I make like 5 lbs of meatballs, bake them and freeze them when they're cooled off. This helps keep us from eating out most meals. We still eat out most often than I'd like, but we're actively working on that. I also make batches of shepherd's pie or lasagna. This is more for the family as I'm trying to eat more salads and be mindful. But this saves me having to cook 2 meals as i only have to make my own salads during the week.2 -
Oh, reducing food waste is another way to save tons of money. That cheese about to go off? Make mac & cheese (and freeze)! have leftover cooked beans? make a burrito bowl or rice and beans or add to a minestrone, or freeze it! I freeze hardy vegetables that freeze well when I don't have time to cook with it like broccoli and beans. I make egg-white frittatas for the week to save money and time on breakfast. Freeze bread/english muffins. Turn leftover toast or garlic bread into croutons for salads, veggie stock from frozen scraps as i mentioned earlier, etc. We were taking out our green bins every other day from all the food waste we had. Now we save on those compostable bags and our food bill.1
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I live in the UK and spend about £70-100 on food per month, including artisan breads for the weekend, and cooking nearly everything from scratch. I have a good selection of 20 minute recipes. For work I take slices of bread with something nice on them, fruit and veggies along. I could not even imagine spending 10 dollars for two in fastfood outlets: not the kind of food I like, and it's far too expensive, especially for every day.1
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The first thing I'd like to mention is that WW is actually a shiny version of counting calories. People who are more active get more points; if you go to the gym you have more calories to eat back. You have a daily points allowance, if you will, and everyone has a daily caloric allowance. You don't have to pay the WW program fees to get the benefits, but you will have to be slightly more resourceful on your own because you don't have a coach. However, you can be your own coach.
Second, I also live in Canada (South Western Ontario). In this region we have access to many farmer's markets and local produce in the summer and fall, so some things become incredibly cheap during that time. I haven't found that groceries overall are all that expensive here, though. I am single and eat for about $50 - $60/week (this is money I spend at the grocery store, so includes TP, cleaning products, etc). I don't eat red meat, and I don't necessarily eat chicken/fish/turkey every week either. I eat a mostly plant based diet.
Here are some things I eat consistently and I always have plenty to eat
- overnight oats (recipe includes quick rolled oats, chia seeds, protein powder of your choice, chocolate chips and PB . . . you can omit the chocolate chips if you'd like . . . and then add some water to the consistency you prefer; I make 6 or 7 servings at a time, it freezes really well.)
- home made protein bars (you can find the link on Pinterest by searching for "Homemade Workout Bars")
- eggs & a cheese slice on an English Muffin
- apple with PB
- home made ranch dip with veggies (take equal parts sour cream with plain greek yogurt and then mix in dry ranch seasoning . . . makes a lot more for less than store bought AND less calories)
- Cheese, Bean and Rice Casserole (if you google NutritionRX, it's under their recipe category - very cheap to make and makes 8 servings/batch; it also freezes well.)
- Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (with lentils instead of meat. There's quite a few recipes on Pinterest for this as well. Potatoes are usually very cheap to buy and work well with batch cooking.)
- Oatmeal muffins - again find recipes on Pinterest using quick rolled oats; these are super cheap to buy at bulk stores and go such a long way. You can substitute rolled oats if preferred, too.
- Tuna bowls - I have these metal molds I got years ago and you put a tortilla wrap in them and then cook in the oven and it makes like a burrito bowl . . . so I mix up tuna (with miracle whip) and green onions and use pieces of the bowl to dip into the tuna mix (one can + green onions = two bowls worth for me). This is really filling, high in protein and cheap to make.
- Burrito bowls - using the same idea as above for the bowls, I put a base of greens (but you don't have to) then I put black beans, chick peas, some cherry tomatoes (halved), rice, shredded cheese and then my own burrito sauce (which is sour cream + taco spice + lime juice) over top. Cheap to make, goes a long way and very filling.
- Anything using a Costco Rotisserie chicken . .. these things are $8 (compare to Superstore at like $10+) and they go sooooo far. I can get 7 meals (plus some for my dog) out of one chicken.
Someone - I believe - mentioned Costco above and I cannot second that enough! Some things, though, depending on if you're single (or have a family) are just not worth the savings. Things like produce you likely cannot eat fast enough to make it worth the $2 you'll save because you're throwing food out but there are some things that I won't buy anywhere else . .. for example . . .
- PB: at $7 for 2KG (and sometimes even cheaper) you can't go wrong there
- Protein Powder: they have vanilla or chocolate in the brand that I buy and it's $40 for 2KG . . . most health food stores are $30 for about 2LBS, so big difference. I buy this container twice a year and I make oatmeal almost every week with it, plus I make my own protein bars
- English Muffins: $4 for 3 (or 4?) x 6 packs . . . you just can't beat that
- Tortilla Wraps: $5 for 2 x 10 wraps . . . at a grocery store I think it's like $3 for 10? Maybe more.
- Eggs: $4.99 for 2 dozen, large Grade A eggs. Not organic, not free range.
- Coffee Cream: $1.95 for 1L (compared at $2.95 at the grocery store)
- Bananas: $1.69 for usually about 8 or 9 bananas
- Honey: $13.99 for 3 bottles (compare at about $5 or $6 for one bottle, and since I use it in my protein bars I go through a lot of it)
- Tide Pods: $28.99 for 3 x 40 pods - sounds not grocery related but this is an awesome steal when compared to grocery stores or even wal mart so I always buy pods here.
- Bread: I don't buy bread as I buy english muffins and wraps, but if you do buy bread you can get 2 or 3 loaves in a pack, and it's a lot cheaper than the grocery store.
I also meal plan/prep every week. I batch cook and freeze a lot of things too. This is because I am single, and many foods are packaged for multiple people. So I am making something with potatoes, I am not going to buy 2 or 3 potatoes at $1.47/lb when it's like $6 for a 10lb bag . . . I'm going to buy the bag, and batch cook the crap out of it. Make it all worth while.
If you ever have any questions or wanna chat please feel free to reach out
it's a process learning how to do this on a restricted budget sometimes, but once you're in it you won't even know you're doing it.
Hope this helps you
ETA: do you eat meat? I found that once I cut out the majority of meat I was consuming I had way more options for the money I had to spend. I read an article a while ago (I forget where) that most people have this unconscious notion that meat should be the feature item of your meal, but if you make it a side dish (or incorporate it, like in a casserole) you will find you can make it go further, and maybe even use less overall. Just something else to maybe think about if you find you eat a lot of meat.
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I like to think that I eat healthy. I like to cook from scratch and use healthy ingredients. My monthly food budget is for 2 adults and I spend considerably less per month than average.
Look at your weekly flyers and buy when things are on sale. If chicken breast is on sale, stock up and freeze it for later. Make recipes that can stretch your expensive items further.
Tonight I plan to make chicken and broccoli stirfry. The recipe uses mushrooms (which I don't have and aren't on sale), so i just adapt the recipe. I use 1 chicken breast cut up, and broccoli. I eliminate part of the flour (I don't coat the chicken) and seaseme oil, and I add things to bulk it up such as kidney beans, and waterchestnuts. I then serve it over brown rice.
This is for 2 people. I only need 1 chicken breast. This will feed us for dinner and I'll take it for lunch for a few days. Just adapt recipes to use what's on sale and put in other inexpensive ingredients to bulk it up if needed.
https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/10/21/chicken-broccoli-and-mushroom-stir-fry/0 -
My tips:
1. Plan what you are going to eat for the week/month, make a list, and stick to it. Neither your food diary nor your bank account really need that chips and salsa you didn't think you wanted until you got to the store.
2. Look at the weekly ads and plan your meals around that. Is turkey on sale? Eat that for dinner this week. Apples on sale? There's your fruit for the week. If there is a particularly good deal, buy extra and freeze it for a week there are no good sales or the budget is a little tighter.
3. Buy in bulk whenever possible. Dry rice and beans last forever. Some stores sell soups and the like in packs of two or four. Look for whichever quantity has the cheapest unit price (many stores have this right on the price label) and get that size. Exceptions are if it is something that expires and you know you won't eat it all - if you know you can't eat 10lbs of potatoes before they go bad, go ahead and get the 3 or 5lb bag.
4. Generic tastes the same as branded.
5. If your grocery store has some sort of rewards or points program, make sure you sign up for it. Same goes with coupons. Find them. Use them. But don't use them as an excuse to buy something you wouldn't otherwise need.
Best of luck!1 -
Christine4507 wrote: »acorsaut89 wrote: »Someone - I believe - mentioned Costco above and I cannot second that enough! Some things, though, depending on if you're single (or have a family) are just not worth the savings. Things like produce you likely cannot eat fast enough to make it worth the $2 you'll save because you're throwing food out but there are some things that I won't buy anywhere else . .. for example . . .
- PB: at $7 for 2KG (and sometimes even cheaper) you can't go wrong there
- Protein Powder: they have vanilla or chocolate in the brand that I buy and it's $40 for 2KG . . . most health food stores are $30 for about 2LBS, so big difference. I buy this container twice a year and I make oatmeal almost every week with it, plus I make my own protein bars
- English Muffins: $4 for 3 (or 4?) x 6 packs . . . you just can't beat that
- Tortilla Wraps: $5 for 2 x 10 wraps . . . at a grocery store I think it's like $3 for 10? Maybe more.
- Eggs: $4.99 for 2 dozen, large Grade A eggs. Not organic, not free range.
- Coffee Cream: $1.95 for 1L (compared at $2.95 at the grocery store)
- Bananas: $1.69 for usually about 8 or 9 bananas
- Honey: $13.99 for 3 bottles (compare at about $5 or $6 for one bottle, and since I use it in my protein bars I go through a lot of it)
- Tide Pods: $28.99 for 3 x 40 pods - sounds not grocery related but this is an awesome steal when compared to grocery stores or even wal mart so I always buy pods here.
- Bread: I don't buy bread as I buy english muffins and wraps, but if you do buy bread you can get 2 or 3 loaves in a pack, and it's a lot cheaper than the grocery store.
In regards to Costco, it REALLY depends on where you live if paying the membership fee is really worth your while. Your have to check around at all your grocery options and compare first rather than just taking someone at their word that it is cheaper. It varies by geographic region. For example, I live in Wisconsin and our chain grocery stores offer very comparable prices. Aldi's is super cheap, for example.
My main store (Pic n Save/Copps/Roundy's depending on part of state) even has a new gas program with BP where you earn points on groceries you can redeem for cents off per gallon. I haven't paid full price for gas since that went into affect. Once I saved 80 cents per gallon! Not worth going to other stores for too much now that I have that awesome saving on top of decent prices. No way I'd pay membership fee at Costco!
My best advice is to take some time one day to investigate your store options. Look online for reawards programs and places you can get coupons through that they accept. Look for double coupon days that stores may offer and sales flyers you can sign up for or the store has when you walk in. Then,make a big master list of all the groceries you buy regularly. Go through each store and got down prices for these things. It will take a ton of time, but you'll be left with a great spreadsheet showing cost/benefit of these places. You can pick the best store for general shopping and a place or two to hit up every so often for random things that are super cheap there.
I live in a rural community with no Costco nearby. The nearest one is 3 hours away. We also have strict coupon rules here in Canada.2 -
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OMAD0
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IMO, eating healthy becomes budget friendly once you stop falling for the over-hyped and over-priced "health" foods...2
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kommodevaran wrote: »Eating healthy, tasty and cheap can be done, easy, if you're willing to work with some parameters.
You have to look at your diet as a whole, and in connection with need. When you stop working out, you may experience that you need fewer calories, aka less food. But one car instead of two means that you'll be walking more, so maybe you can't cut down on food. Cars and gyms cost money, walking is free. It could take more time to get things done, but maybe it doesn't make a negative impact, maybe it just "steals" time from watching excessive TV.
You have to consider value, not just cost. Ramen noodles and bananas offer a different range of nutrients. A human needs a wide range of nutrients every day, and an appropriate amount of calories. A variety of foods will provide you with what you need. The main challenge in our world, is to not eat too much. We are often tempted to eat or buy too much, and that's why you have to think about what you get for your money, not just what it costs in dollars.
Cooking from scratch using simple single food ingredients can be easy and cheap, but you have to know how to cook, how to plan and not be fussy. You have to balance your meals so they are appealing and nutritious. Low carb and high protein will be expensive, not just boring. You can't rely on vegetables for calories. Use oil, grains, potatoes to get enough calories, add fruit and vegetables for vitamins, and meat and fish for variety and supplementing protein. Buy cheap foods often and in larger amounts, buy more expensive items more occasionally and in smaller amounts. This has the unexpected but wonderful side effect that you'll appreciate all food more.
Other tips, or expanding on this, is to plan meals you want to eat, and eat up everything. Buy just what you can store, store it properly, and eat it before it spoils. Mostly stick to what you know you like, but try new things occasionally too. Buy store brand and in season. Buy the cheapest alternative of otherwise equal items. Don't pay extra for things you don't need. Rotate and alternate. Learn to cook and free yourself from recipes. Peruse sales and stock up, but don't be fooled, look at price per pound and compare with other package sizes and brands.
Most of this is about attitude. If you don't want to change the way you're eating, you can just tell yourself that "healthy eating is boring, difficult and expensive".
Thank you for posting this! I found it both informative and inspiring! My goal this year is to eat more whole/natural foods in smaller portions. This is MY year to achieve!1 -
$10.99 for two is fine dining at my house. Cook from scratch whenever possible. Staples like dry beans, grains, and flour, seasonal produce, and on-sale whole cuts of meat are cheap. Stop filling the freezer with convenience foods and make room for frozen veggies and that meat you bought on sale. If you are busy with work crockpots and bread machines are good time savers.0
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I found OMAD more expensive because I'd be so ravenous by the time I was leaving work that I'd often just grab fast food or quick ready-to-eat meals instead of cooking. But of course, it's different for everyone. I just don't see the inherent savings in different meal timing/frequency choices.0 -
I found OMAD more expensive because I'd be so ravenous by the time I was leaving work that I'd often just grab fast food or quick ready-to-eat meals instead of cooking. But of course, it's different for everyone. I just don't see the inherent savings in different meal timing/frequency choices.
Sorry for hijacking thread..
I should of mentioned eating healthier options and grocery shopping for meals you prepare at home. I'm not sure why you got extremely hungry, because hearsay is most people do not get hungry fasting. I don't either.
I got a pork loin for $8 at the store and a $1 bag of broccoli yesterday. Fed me and my girlfriend, and still have at least another 2 meals on the pork.0 -
srpotts1212 wrote: »We live in a world where raman noodles cost less than 4 bananas. A place where fast food establishments offer 2 can dine for 10.99. Over a year ago I joined weight watchers and lost 50 pounds using the program. I kept it off. Due to budget constraints I had to leave the program. I have not gained any weight since but have not continued to lose either. My diet has had increased carbs, fats and sugars and decreased vitamins and proteins.
So here is a little more info...I work as an LPN and make reasonable money. That is when I work full time hours. I have been a casual for many years and often have to work a different position for a lot less money just to make ends meet. My husband left his high paying specialty trades job to go back to school 6 months ago. We have all the usual bills, rent insurance, car payments ect. Money has been tight and we have had to stick to a specific budget just to get by. We made a lot of lifestyle changes such as only using one vehicle. In this time I also cut out my gym pass. Our food budget went from being virtually non existent to extremely tight. I now have a full time nursing line but we have to stick to a similar budget to pay back the debt we have had the last few months.
I am going to try to not eat fast food, reduce my carbs and increase the amount of vegetables and proteins we eat. All on a budget of 300 dollars a month (canadian). I am open to suggestions from anyone on ways to save. My biggest one right now. Buy unprocessed beans...takes a long time but high in protein. I am making chilli tomorrow. Another is to use frozen vegetables instead of raw.
Please brainstorm with each other on recipies and ways to save.
I will post further as I learn.
Veggie curry can be made relatively inexpensively in large batches and so many diff types of curries. Mostly veg meals would help cut some costs. Is growing anything at home an option? Youtube has vids on growing celery etc from the butt ends. Congrats on getting a full time line! That will come in handy for sick and vacay days to avoid further budget strain.0 -
srpotts1212 wrote: »We live in a world where raman noodles cost less than 4 bananas. A place where fast food establishments offer 2 can dine for 10.99. Over a year ago I joined weight watchers and lost 50 pounds using the program. I kept it off. Due to budget constraints I had to leave the program. I have not gained any weight since but have not continued to lose either. My diet has had increased carbs, fats and sugars and decreased vitamins and proteins.
So here is a little more info...I work as an LPN and make reasonable money. That is when I work full time hours. I have been a casual for many years and often have to work a different position for a lot less money just to make ends meet. My husband left his high paying specialty trades job to go back to school 6 months ago. We have all the usual bills, rent insurance, car payments ect. Money has been tight and we have had to stick to a specific budget just to get by. We made a lot of lifestyle changes such as only using one vehicle. In this time I also cut out my gym pass. Our food budget went from being virtually non existent to extremely tight. I now have a full time nursing line but we have to stick to a similar budget to pay back the debt we have had the last few months.
I am going to try to not eat fast food, reduce my carbs and increase the amount of vegetables and proteins we eat. All on a budget of 300 dollars a month (canadian). I am open to suggestions from anyone on ways to save. My biggest one right now. Buy unprocessed beans...takes a long time but high in protein. I am making chilli tomorrow. Another is to use frozen vegetables instead of raw.
Please brainstorm with each other on recipies and ways to save.
I will post further as I learn.
Veggie curry can be made relatively inexpensively in large batches and so many diff types of curries. Mostly veg meals would help cut some costs. Is growing anything at home an option? Youtube has vids on growing celery etc from the butt ends. Congrats on getting a full time line! That will come in handy for sick and vacay days to avoid further budget strain.
In the summer I grow celery, green onions and tomatoes but I have a small balcony so that is all. I love home grown veggies wish I could all year0
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