Clean on a tight budget?
Troll
Posts: 922 Member
Some things:
1. We're in a food desert, i have access to walmart or the dollar general.
2. My husband is a hardgainer with a labor job, picky tastes (meat and taters, basically). 3700 cal or more a day
3. Im small but breastfeeding, i need 1800 or less. Vegetarian.
4. We have a newborn and 2 year old. Toddler has a mild dairy intolerance.
5. Our budget is $400/month, including nonfood items like soap or toilet paper.
Any tips on eating clean at this budget and such varied needs? We dont qualify for aid.
1. We're in a food desert, i have access to walmart or the dollar general.
2. My husband is a hardgainer with a labor job, picky tastes (meat and taters, basically). 3700 cal or more a day
3. Im small but breastfeeding, i need 1800 or less. Vegetarian.
4. We have a newborn and 2 year old. Toddler has a mild dairy intolerance.
5. Our budget is $400/month, including nonfood items like soap or toilet paper.
Any tips on eating clean at this budget and such varied needs? We dont qualify for aid.
4
Replies
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The term 'clean' is arbitrary and very subjective-it doesn't actually mean anything.
My family of 5 has a $100 a week grocery budget, which also includes nonfood items. Walmart's prices are decent so you should be ok there (if you have an Aldi within an hour drive, it's worth it though to go at least once a month).
Things like beans, rice, lentils, potatoes, loss-leader produce, frozen produce, whole grains (oats, pastas etc), etc are all inexpensive. For your husband you can add cheap cuts of meat and larger portion sizes. Casseroles are a great way to do cheap meals, and then we do a lot of 'breakfast for supper' meals-breakfast burritos, pancakes with eggs and a meat, quiche, egg scrambles with hashbrowns etc etc.
eta: one of my kids is lactose intolerant. I do buy her almond milk ($2 at Aldi), but otherwise she can eat most of the food that the family eats. Sometimes she needs a lactaid pill but she can eat cheese and such without one.
eta#2 (lol) Menu planning is a huge help in keeping you on track for your grocery budget
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I like budgetbytes.com for cheap recipes to feed a family of varied tastes.
Oh and platejoy.com2 -
What does eating clean mean to you and why do you feel the need to do it?
Buy bulk as much as possible. Oats, beans, and rice tend to be inexpensive in bulk. Shop sales. Frozen meat and produce can sometimes be a cheaper option than fresh, especially in larger quantities. Buy generic/grocery store brand rather than name brand items.3 -
I guess it really depends what you consider "clean".
You can get eggs, dairy, frozen bagged veggies, dried beans and lentils, oats, rice, natural nut butters. I have seen tofu at Walmart. Most Walmarts now have a limited supply of in season fruits and veggies. There's probably other stuff I'm not thinking of, but I don't make any effort to eat in any style so it's not top of mind for me.
I'd add that there is really no benefit to eating 100% by whatever definition of clean you're going by. Even professionals in the wellness industry only profess to eat 80/20, and probably fall a bit short of that in actuality.
Maybe if you give us an idea of the types of things you'd like to get but can't afford, it would help with more suggestions?3 -
We'd have to understand what you mean by "eating clean."
Meat + potatoes + veg qualifies as a whole foods based diet in my mind. Beans and lentils are cheap and vegetarian. Eggs are cheap. Frozen veg and fruits are usually cheaper this time of year. Just a few thoughts.3 -
You don't have to "eat clean", especially since the term is useless and has no set definition (which is not a dig at you btw). Eat what you like, buy what you can, try to get in a lot of servings of veggies and fruit. There were a couple people who shared some great websites that had some pretty yummy meal ideas for tight budgets, hopefully one of them will share them. I'll try to find them if I can. Only other things I can suggest are being mindful of sales, frozen can be as good as fresh, and don't think you have to buy organic. It's just paying more for nothing.3
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To give an example: My own personal definition of "eating clean" will probably not match yours. I have no fear of processed foods or preservatives. My only restriction is if a simple product seems over-processed (for the lack of a better word) like a pizza having imitation mozzarella cheese or something. I am not afraid that it is going to do something negative to my body but I don't see the point in it and it doesn't exactly scream quality imo.5
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Edit. Hubs will not eat: yogurt sweet potato beans lentils nuts oatmeal bread tomato onion peppers hummus mayo avocado fish desserts milk alternative milk shellfish no veg except cuke, canned green beans, corn, and broccoli with ranch. Only apples grapes banana.
I dont eat cottage cheese, avocado, tomato, tofu, mayo, sour cream, or mushrooms.
Toddler is a garbage disposal.
Clean means...like, im sick of not cooking and everything coming from a stupid box or freezer bag because we cant make any kind of cohesive plan. I miss fresh, home prepared, limited ingredient1 -
If your husband refuses to eat foods that have to be a staple of your diet as a vegetarian, maybe it's time to have him feed himself and you worry about yourself and your little one. Maybe someone else here will see something jump out at them, but you pretty much eliminated anything "unprocessed" I eat in your follow up post. Good luck!11
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That is quite a list of exclusions. Any chance carrots were accidentally omitted from the husband's will eat veg list? I see no bread is that an allergy or a low carb situation? What about pasta? What about eggs?
Before making any suggestions which might be harder for me than for someone else with a picky eater in their house I would advise that if your life currently revolves around pre-packaged foods not to try and go to an extreme right away. Maybe start with planning 2 or 3 meals a week and then ramp up to more.
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If your husband refuses to eat foods that have to be a staple of your diet as a vegetarian, maybe it's time to have him feed himself and you worry about yourself and your little one. Maybe someone else here will see something jump out at them, but you pretty much eliminated anything "unprocessed" I eat in your follow up post. Good luck!
And, REALLY not trying to sound like a jerk but...
...as adults, sometimes you have to do things you don't necessarily like. I don't want to go to work or pay my bills or clean the house, but I do. Eating foods with some reasonable nutrient content isn't that big of a deal. I'm not saying you have to waterboard your husband with kale smoothies every morning for breakfast, but he sounds like a kid...what do you like to eat? "Chicken nuggets and mac & cheese." Anything else? "NO!" If he wants something - to change his diet and eat healthier (which is what I am assuming you mean by "clean") - then that means he's actually going to have to open his mind and accept that eating healthier involves...wait for it...waaaaaaaaaait for it...you know...eating healthier *GASP*
Seriously though. When I was a kid, I didn't like spinach or asparagus or BARF anything else green. There are still some foods I don't like, of course. But somewhere along the way I crowbar'ed my mind open just enough to be willing to try some stuff I "didn't like" and I guess my taste buds grew up too.
Like Kimny said, maybe he just needs to figure his way around the kitchen a bit and let you eat a decent variety of stuff that is both inexpensive & nutritious.11 -
I completely missed the fact you are a vegetarian. You probably realize there is no way to feed yourself and him the same food, right? One of you will be starving.1
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That is quite a list of exclusions. Any chance carrots were accidentally omitted from the husband's will eat veg list? I see no bread is that an allergy or a low carb situation? What about pasta? What about eggs?
Before making any suggestions which might be harder for me than for someone else with a picky eater in their house I would advise that if your life currently revolves around pre-packaged foods not to try and go to an extreme right away. Maybe start with planning 2 or 3 meals a week and then ramp up to more.
No carrots either, bread is a preference. He eats tortillas.0 -
If your husband refuses to eat foods that have to be a staple of your diet as a vegetarian, maybe it's time to have him feed himself and you worry about yourself and your little one. Maybe someone else here will see something jump out at them, but you pretty much eliminated anything "unprocessed" I eat in your follow up post. Good luck!
He feeds all of us considering its his paycheck we buy food with5 -
I completely missed the fact you are a vegetarian. You probably realize there is no way to feed yourself and him the same food, right? One of you will be starving.
Thats why im compromising and eating processed junk-we cant afford such wildly different menus unless somebody eats ramen for every meal.0 -
The issue isnt cooking, its paying for it. I happily cook all day but we use his paycheck to buy food.1 -
None of us are going to be able to solve your household problem. We can suggest things that help you figure it out, maybe, but you and your dh are going figure this stuff out. Eggs are cheap and nutritious. He might have to learn how to cook up a mess of huevos rancheros and put them in a tortilla.5
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You can definitely stretch a budget especially with his food. While I am not a fan a pot roast with an inexpensive cut of meat could make many meals for him. You can usually buy whole chickens and roast them cheaper than individual cuts. You can make a very cheap and tasty sauce/gravy with chicken or beef stock and a corn starch slurry that will add a little something extra to his meals.2
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For your meals beans a few nights a week are really cost effective.0
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but we use his paycheck to buy food.
And YOU gave him 2 children, one of whom you are still breastfeeding. His KIDS also deserve a variety of nutritious foods. It's great that he earns a paycheck but it's not like your needs, and those of and your children, are not deserving of consideration also.
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Pork loin - one large pork loin roasted in the oven will feed one man for a week. Serve it hot and fresh on day 1, then slice it for sandwiches, and toss it with veggies in stir fry on subsequent days. Buy frozen veg of kinds your husband likes.
With such a long picky eater list, I would be seriously tempted to ask him to cook for himself, give him his portion of the budget, and let him figure it out, since he refuses to eat most inexpensive staples.1 -
The issue isnt cooking, its paying for it. I happily cook all day but we use his paycheck to buy food.
Does he believe that he gets to decide what everyone eats because he has the paying job?12 -
The issue isnt cooking, its paying for it. I happily cook all day but we use his paycheck to buy food.
Well, it's cheaper to cook from scratch. Sounds like you have the time and the willingness to cook from scratch?
In your situation I would cook separate meals for him. Or cook meat for him, starch and veg you both like (potato and broccoli?) and an acceptable protein source for you.
I don't "eat clean" but I do have food ethics, and was able to abide by them for $200/month, and this was while eating some organic foods, and dairy and meat from animals that were raised more humanely than conventional methods, so more expensive.4 -
ps - my OH would love if I rotated between meals like meatloaf and potatoes, and spaghetti with sausage and meatballs, but while I do cook foods like that quite often, I also throw in a lot of experiments and ethnic* foods. He always has the option to have hot dogs if the experiment fails, but I think has only once done that.
*Ethnic meaning if his mother didn't serve it or have the spices for it. Pizza is NOT ethnic
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Not to be rude, but sometimes you need to eat what you don't like. If your husband is such a picky eater that his foods stress the budget too much. he will need to step up to the plate and get a different job that will support his tastes or adjust his tastes to support his budget. That said, He may need to eat more potatoes and less meat. Does he really need as much as he is eating? Only he can assess that. It might be time to pre plan. Make a menu that is reasonable for both of you. Make sure your toddler has some variety in his diet. Kids will follow parent's examples though so you may need to occasionally eat something from your no list as will your husband. Not saying you would need to eat a lot of it but sample it so your toddler does not develop the same fussy tastes you both have. After your weekly meals are planned it will be time to go shopping. Most menus do have serving sizes. Make your husband aware how many meals each recipe needs to last for. For example, if you purchase steak, 1 lb of steak, a 4 oz serving may be unrealistic for your DH but he will need to stay in budget. so the four servings should feed your DH 3 meals and your toddler 2. Of course not enough daily calories so he will need to choose from acceptable sides to fill out his meal. As for you, you could make yourself a nice vegetarian main dish and share your sides with your toddler if it is something Dh will not eat. Good luck in finding the middle ground and being able to feed all of you. As your toddler grows of course his nutritional needs will also. If you are struggling now, what will it be like when both kids are eating food.7
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I don't think we should be trying to decide how they should run their family.
OP, look, you are not going to go into your kitchen one day and invent a new nutrient rich vegetable that tastes like chicken. You may need to pivot your expectations and look for easy wins that you can build upon in the future and, more importantly, try to be happy in the meantime. Instead of solving work on mitigating.
It seems to me that if you can lower the cost of feeding your husband at least part of the time which should be easy it will leave more of a budget for you.3 -
I am concerned by the mentality that "he does all the work to get the money so i have to make him whatever he wants". I assume there was some discussion about having kids and you doing all the work on caring for them and the house and the cooking. YOU DO contribute every. single. day. to the household. you DO work every day. that shouldn't be dismissed as he is caring for all of you all on his own.
It sounds like if you have time to cook, the solution is to cook two sets of meals. you can cook batches of beans and such for your meals, a roast (or inexpensive cut of meat, whatever is on sale) for him and maybe some veggies/starches you can both eat. kids can eat from a bit of both to get some of everything.
like, make a big batch of curry with lentils and vegetables for your (it can be super cheap) and freeze in portions for you or you and the kids. then you can make the protein husband likes and pull out your prepared curry. share some vegetables/rice/pita. similarly with vegetarian chili.
Pre-making some batch meals for your (chili, curry) can save you for making two FULL meals daily.
depending on sales maybe look at making shepherd pie for him. or lasagna (would he eat vegetarian? if not make two, one for vegetarians and one for him).4 -
While one of the vegetarians in our family is off to college and I'm not having to be quite as creative as I used to be, for many years I was quite good at putting dinner on the table with something for everyone. For instance, if there's a starch in common, say baked potatoes, one goes with whatever cheap pork/beef roast you have, the other gets loaded with black beans and whatever piques your interest.
As others have said, having a cheap cut of meat can be turned into multiple meals. Cook it long and slow and flavor it differently. For instance, the meat that went with his potatoes last time gets simmered with some cumin,etc and put into a tortilla for mexican night (and those black beans or whatever veg suits your fancy goes into yours).
I also agree with others that he needs to branch out, but I'm also realistic and know that's not going to happen overnight. By having other things available, you might also tempt him out of his comfort zone.1
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