Possible to eat healthy cheaply?

glocke12

Over the past 6 weeks I have gone from eating 100% pre-packaged foods (ranging from various frozen dinners, frozen veggies to spaghetti), to eating 95 % fresh meats and veggies..

Unfortunately my grocery bills have increased by at least 30% as a result. I've offset this by making cuts in other areas of my life, staying in more, eating out less, etc..but that only goes so far.

Is it at all possible to eat healthy and not have it costs so much?

MerBear1985

It can be tough if you eat a lot of meat. But if you buy things like beans, rice and whatnot to put in dishes, that don't go bad fast it helps. Also, make sure you buy fruits and veggies that are in season or on sale. Frozen vegetables are just as good as fresh and they keep longer so you don't waste as much. Also, use meat as a small portion of your meal instead of the main item. Hope this helps!

jwdieter

Yep. Kinda depends on definition of "healthy" and "cheaply" though. You can cook your own food from scratch for a reasonable price. Frozen dinners aren't particularly cheap for what they offer.

Frozen vegetables are fine, and so is dried pasta. Rice and beans are cheap as dirt. Look for good deals on the protein elements and you're golden.

HeidiCooksSupper

You can also do a lot with on-sale cheaper cuts of meat. For example, I wait for two-for-one sales on so-called London Broil, which at our grocery is actually a top round cut. There's hardly any waste on it so I cut it into meal-sized pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and freezer them. Double wrapped like that they get no freezer burn, even after a few months. We allot 3 to 4 oz. raw for each serving meaning 4 or 5 servings per pound. On sale London Broil works out to about $.50/serving for us which is really cheap for beef.

Top round can be a tough cut and therefore big chuncks of it need to be braised. Sliced thin or pounded into fillets it's much more forgiving. It makes great stir fry, Philly cheese steaks, etc. It's pretty much the only beef we have on hand.

Similarly, watch for big family-sized amounts of chicken on sale. You can either use the same plastic wrap + foil freezing method to avoid freezer burn for raw pieces or cook it all and divide into single meal-sized portions for later quick suppers.

A whole chicken can make lots of meals. A pork butt or ham when on sale are great to cook up and freeze as well. Don't buy boneless pork chops; wait until boneless loins are on sale and slice them yourself, wrap and freeze. Only try to do bone in loins if you have a good meat saw.

And always, save the bones, raw or cooked, for making stock. The bones and other scraps can be frozen for later use. In fact, I've been stuffing bones miscellaneous parts in the freezer all summer just waiting for Fall and soup season!

My cooking blog is www.heidicookssupper.com and there are some money-saving recipes on it.

Emilie04444

I find eating healthy is cheaper. It's the healthy premade dishes that are expensive. If you go from eating prepackaged foods to eating prepackaged Kashi meals, then yeah it is more expensive. But if you switch to produce (which often goes on sale), beans, grains, meat on sale it has got to be cheaper.

When I buy processed foods it adds up. Buy it in it's natural form and make it yourself, much cheaper.

Annie120484

I am a college student on a VERY fixed income and YES it is possible- with creativity and planning! My tips:

1. Buy a slow cooker! Major hassle-saver... I make tons of easy meals with my slow cooker and totally inexpensive to boot. You can throw in chicken and salsa and frozen veggies and eat for a week. Lots and lots of easy recipes online.

2. I usually buy chicken thighs because they are cheapest- then I remove the skin at home. I also keep a box of veggie burgers in the freezer for protein emergencies- You can pop em in the toaster!

3. Pasta salads are great meals on the cheap. I like using whole wheat or brown rice pasta. Throw a couple sliced yellow peppers in the oven for ten minutes or so, toss with cooked pasta, some cherry tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese. This tastes good hot OR cold; I take it to school with me ALL the time. You can totally vary this recipe- roast a head of broccoli and toss with pasta and parmesan (sometimes I add chopped ham for protein).

4. I hard-boil a dozen eggs every Sunday. Inexpensive and easy to eat on the go! I bring one to school ALL the time.

5. Making casseroles is also easy and will feed you for days. I literally dump the most random stuff into a casserole sometimes! You really just need the basics: some kind of vegetable, some kind of cheese, a grain, maybe a protein, and a couple eggs to bring it all together. Seriously, it's error-proof.

6. I buy LOTS of things in bulk, even spices. You can buy a bunch of grains, chickpeas, beans, pasta, almonds (which I use to make my own almond milk- so easy). It's far cheaper and once you get the hang of the prep, you'll never look back!

7. But, if you DO like buying things pre-made, I recommend getting a bag/box of frozen pre-cooked brown rice- I sometimes use this for a quick meal when I'm in a rush! Saute a cup of rice with a little oil or chicken broth, throw in an egg and scramble it, top with some cheese and sliced avocado and PRESTO delicious, takes five minutes and costs pennies.

Hope this helps!