Healthy grocery shopping on a budget! :-O

Phatgirl420
Phatgirl420 Posts: 197 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a little low on $$$ this week after I paid all of my bills, and I am also getting low on my low calorie, healthy food options that I have left at home...anyone have some suggestions on what to buy to make meals, and also snack ideas? I am open to any and all suggestions! Thanks! :)

Replies

  • jams0426
    jams0426 Posts: 6 Member
    My husband and I have started to use a program called Emeals. It is subscription based, but there is a groupon that makes the fee only $20 for a FULL YEAR. You can choose your menu type, and we use the "Low Calorie" option. All the dinners are 500 calories or less. It generates the menu and the shopping list. We also only spend like $50-$70 a week for groceries and it's for the 2 of us!

    It has REALLY helped our weight loss goals by having set amounts of calories and the foods are really different and exciting. We've been using it for about 3 months and not a single recipe has repeated.

    This might be more of a long term solution than something to help this week, sorry :(.

    But overall, it is really great!
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
    Mangos are on sale 2/$1 where I live right now.

    Ice berg lettuce is usually about a buck.
  • Charlie003
    Charlie003 Posts: 1,333 Member
    Yeah....the budget. Ok, maybe not the best thing to do. But, for pure budget, go to a bulk barn, load up on trail mix. That is a great appitite suppressant. Buy a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of whole wheat bread. and you are good to go for the weak. Throw in some spagettini if you feel dangerous.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    Rice
    Beans
    Carrots
    Celery
    Onions
    Oatmeal (not the individual serving packets)
    Lettuce
    Eggs
    Frozen vegetables
    Berries are in season now, so they're pretty cheap.

    Look at your grocery circular to see what's on sale. I buy chicken thighs a lot because they tend to be cheaper than breasts, but if breasts are on sale they could be the same price or cheaper than thighs.
  • easeintofitness
    easeintofitness Posts: 25
    I buy canned black beans and rice and eat that on low-calorie wraps (that I sometimes put in the pot and make a quesadilla). I will add cheese to the mix and voila! Awesome food. In fact, canned food is your best friend. You can stock up at walmart on vegetables in a can. MAKE A SOUP. Get ground beef and a ton of canned vegetables and make a tomatoe-based soup. You can pair this with cornbread. My husband and I do this when we are really tight on money, and one good pot lasts us 2 weeks.
    I buy lots of baked chips for sides and Tostito's dips.
    Potatoes are cheap and make a lot of food that you can leave in the fridge for people to eat with canned green beans.
    Meats: This is where it gets more difficult. Find the cheapest meat you like.
    Bananas are super cheap. Buy some peanut butter and you have a wonderful breakfast.
    Bread is cheap (PB&J sandwiches).
    It's pretty easy to catch lettuce on sale if you still want to eat salads during this tight time.
  • Phatgirl420
    Phatgirl420 Posts: 197 Member
    I LOVE the black beans and rice wrap idea, I am def gonna do that, thank you!
  • ditzyFlip
    ditzyFlip Posts: 104 Member
    I also vote for the soup idea. When I lived by myself, I'd make a big pot of veggie soup that would last me an entire week. And you can almost never go wrong with soup.
  • miceyl
    miceyl Posts: 11 Member
    Check grocery flyers for whatever fruits, vegetables and lean protein are on sale. I shop at a lot of the smaller neighborhood markets, it seems their prices are way better than the big chain stores. Eating seasonal keeps costs down too. Seeing a lot of berries and fresh corn on sale.
  • justformel
    justformel Posts: 193 Member
    Box of brown rice and 3 lb bag of chicken tenders (less than $10 total), spent a few hours one night preparing and my daughter and I had lunches for the next week all prepped and ready to go. Can cook with seasonings or a couple of the days I made a dressing to throw on it, 1 tbsp evoo, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp organic maple syrup-could leave out if you don't have on hand. But it was like a honey mustand dressing and mixed in with the rice and chicken in one bowl, yummy! We've been eating all week, each day for lunch, not tired of it yet. :)
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    Don't forget pick your own farms, farmers markets, and ethnic markets like Chinese etc (I have found some great deals there)
  • KaelaLee88
    KaelaLee88 Posts: 229 Member
    My Husband and I do our weekly shop on £15 per week (Roughly $26.00) and have done for years.

    The key is making a menu and sticking to it! Label Monday to Friday - all meals for however many people and stick to it.

    Fill up on cheap, low calorie foods and look for tinned, frozen or small portion alternatives. We always buy budget varieties or own label if there is no alternative

    Pasta, Tinned Tomato, Tinned Fruits and Tinned veg is all cheap.

    For desserts, we have meringue with frozen berries or jelly with berries.

    Snacks like grain bars or fruit keep me going and I just remember to drink lots of water.

    Good luck on your low-cost week!

    Kaela x
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
    You could roast a chicken.

    Whole bird $5.

    http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/whole-chicken-in-a-slow-cooker/

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