Help Me Make A Shopping List

JessicaWhosit

Hi all,

I'm looking for a little help here. I'm a lover of all foods but am obviously trying to get fit and healthy. Unfortunately, my husband and I are on a very fixed budget.We usually try to do all of our shopping 1-2 times a month. We try to buy ahead of time and freeze whatever we can.

What are some good not too expensive items to get that are freezable, have long shelf life, or last a while on the fridge? We buy a lot of our veggies fresh but I'm looking for other ideas of things that we can buy that will help build healthy recipes.

All help is appreciated.

NancyKhuu

This is right up my alley...

I'm a college kid who lived on an extremely tight budget. Have you heard about the "food stamp challenge" - where people would try to survive on $30 a week - the amount that is given per individual on food stamp. Well that is my food budget per week, and let me tell you I am never hungry. I win that challenge each and every week. Lol

Here is my rules (per person):

$7 meat
$6 vegetables
$5 fruit
$4 dairy or eggs
$3 carb
Total: $25
$5 stables

Suggestions:
- meat: chicken breast when it's $1.99 per lb. pork would be around $3.50 per lb. go for some "rare" protein sources too like chicken gizzard - only $.99 per lb or canned tuna.
- veggies: things like lettuce, cabbage, celery and carrots are always cheap - less than $2 a package. Looks for things that are in season.
- fruits: same with above. Banana is always cheap. Buy apple in the 3 lbs bags is cheaper than buying the "loose" ones per lb but they are smaller - doesn't bother me anyhow.
- buy eggs as a source of protein, cheese + cream cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.
- carb: bread, cereal, dry beans and the like
- I save $5 per weeks for stable like oil, sugar, salt, rice, etc

It takes a lot of planning but not impossible. Also, save the ads they send to your house every week. If there is a thing cheap from any store, take advantages of the ads match program at Walmart. To example: my local Aldi's is having 50 cents per mango but their mangos are wilted and too small, I matched with Walmart and night jumbo mango for 50 cents each. Win!

Hope this helps.

JessicaWhosit

It takes a lot of planning but not impossible. Also, save the ads they send to your house every week. If there is a thing cheap from any store, take advantages of the ads match program at Walmart. To example: my local Aldi's is having 50 cents per mango but their mangos are wilted and too small, I matched with Walmart and night jumbo mango for 50 cents each. Win!

Hope this helps.

I didn't know Walmart would price match on food also. That's an awesome tip! I have the same issue with Aldi a lot...good prices but hard to find the best quality veg and fruit wise.

mistermama

I don't remember the exact prices, but these are some common items my family buys. I try to eat low-cal and we are definitely on a budget

- Chicken thighs! Much cheaper, and actually tastier than chicken breast. Thighs are really versatile and flavorful. Plus, I find the smaller thigh portions easier to keep track of calories. *If I do get breasts, I get them frozen, literally 1/3 price.

- big canister of instant plain oatmeal, and then mix in brown sugar.

- family size quart of soy sauce.

- diet pop / fresca (if its on sale) / crystal lite

- cans of soup, as they go on sale (3 for $5), usually progresso or campbell's has low-cal flavors

- cheap fresh veggies we get are onions (red, white, green), cabbage (green, red), mushrooms, and carrots.

I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of.