Eating healthy on a very tight budget.....

SunKissed1989

I lost weight on a student budget...invest in frozen veggies. They keep forever!!

KaelaLee88

My Husband and I live on a tight budget and have been successful in losing weight thus far! Be sure to buy what you like but just eat smaller portions.

We go for the golden rules:

- Always make a Week-long Menu and add items to shopping list
- Buy Value, reduced or (at a push) own-brand items from the supermarket
- Don't spend over the budget
- Don't go shopping hungry!

We also are sure to buy the following to keep costs low:

- Tinned Fruit, Beans, Vegetables and Soups
- Wholewheat Bread
- Pasta
- Lettuce and Mushrooms
- Eggs

We regularly eat simple to prepare meals at a low-cost. The majority of our meals are under £1.00 for 2 dishes. Below are samples of the meals we eat:

* Tacos with Wedges and Beans
* Frittata with Beans or Salad
* Chicken Breast, Wedges and Lettuce
* Sausages and Mash with Carrots
* Cheese and Tomato Pasta with Mushrooms
* Spaghetti Bolognese
* Steak, Jacket Potato and Lettuce
* Pizza and Lettuce
* Burgers, Wedges and Lettuce

I hope that this helps you!

Kaela x

PunkyRachel

Sales! I only make about $1,200 a month income. So I only spend about $200-300 a month on groceries. I check the weekly ads you get in the mail/newspaper. I buy rolls of frozen Jeanie-O ground turkey at our Walmart for $2.58 a lb. I can't touch it anywhere else for less than $3-4 a lb. I'll buy bags of frozen chicken breast, a 5lb bag will last the whole month. I can usually find my whole wheat pasta and bags of frozen veggies for a $1 each. I buy a big box of sliced cheese that will last about 2 months. Walmart brand is about $11 for I think 96 slices? I keep shredded cheese on hand too. I'll buy several bags when it's on sale. I make my own sauces with tomato paste or cream of ___ soup. The paste is about $0.60 a can, I do 1 can water for pizza sauce (so its thicker), and 2 cans water for pasta sauce, then add my spices to get the flavor I need. The same with cream soup I do 1 can water/milk ratio and add my spices. I buy store brand spices for about $1-2 per spice, depending on what it is. For bread I go to outlet stores, we have a Sara Lee outlet and I can get my bread for $1.50 a loaf, and if you spend $10 there you get a free item. So its nice :-) I buy a box of powder milk and mix it up myself, but Aldi's has the cheapest milk where I live if you must have the real stuff.

tarak75103

I have the same issue. Trying to feed 3 adults on 200 a month is hard. I do a of frozen veggies, eggs, chicken, salads, veggie soups, i use cabbage instead of rice etc to put the veggies on top of. oatmeal, wendys chili.... taco salad, chicken veggie soup, turkey instead of hambuger and you can get coupons from jennie off line every month for 1.00 off. hubby goes fishing so that helps too.

Athena1007

My husband and I used to live at poverty level, and I started couponing and thru helped a lot, but it only does so much. We focused on a lot of dried foods, beans, rice, pasta, etc. I also got creative with cooking - example: I figured it how to make Rice-a-Roni for $0.21, as opposed to paying $1 for a box. If you know how to cook, you can skip the processed meals and make a healthier version for less!

Aldi was also essential to getting by. Make good use of your freezer, frozen veggies like everyone else said. Also if you have a farmers market, go about an hour before they close and start haggling: the farmers are most likely going to reduce their prices so they don't have to take stuff home!

preferhealthys

You can also find some healthy recipes here : http://www.preferhealthystyle.com. You can find different combination for budget plan and also healthy and delicious food.

tanzmitpalmer

If you've got a kroger around, always scope out the produce section for anything marked with a "Manager's Special" sticker. It's usually half off retail, and good for at least a couple of days in the fridge. Same goes with lean meats, except those can be frozen for 4-6 weeks, so stock up whenever you find a nice score!

Frozen veg, again, is very cheap. I buy the crap out of frozen broccoli florets. It's a mealtime staple 'round here.

Chicken is hella cheap, and very versatile. Go chicken, go.

Swap ground beef out, and bring ground turkey in. The frozen rolls of ground turkey are sooooooo much cheaper than beef. I always use it in chili, soups and tacos (sorry turkey, but you ain't for no burgers, mmhmm).

NOMORECARS

Don't think of food as healthy and unhealthy. Just count calories.

WOW

NOMORECARS

Don't think of food as healthy and unhealthy. Just count calories.

WOW, JUST THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT TO DO.

Jessie24330

I know it has already been mentioned a few times but frozen vegetables are the way to go. I am actually only repeating it to give a tip on how to cook them so they aren't so yucky. My family has been much more welcoming to frozen veggies since I have been steaming them rather than boiling them. Don't buy the steam in a bag ones because there go your savings, just invest in a steamer basket which aren't too expensive.

Oh, also, roasted carrots are super good. Sometimes I cook them alone and sometimes with potatoes and onions.

You might want to see if someone you know has a membership to Costco's, Sam's or BJ's. Unless of course you can afford one yourself. I reluctantly bought a membership to Sam's a few months ago and it has been a huge asset to me. But be careful and know your unit prices for other stores because sometimes they are more expensive and it is just hard to tell because you are buying like 1,000 pounds of whatever so you think it must be less until you actually calculate it.

I keep a bowl of lettuce I have chopped up (already shredded is way more money) in the fridge and it is a easy side to anything. Just cut up part of a tomato and whoever wants to eat has a small salad on the side.

And there is nothing wrong with having something like pasta or rice with dinner most nights. Just don't make it the whole meal. I would also say that you could probably do a lot better as for as money goes than buying boxed sides. Or course, you might not have the time to cook from scratch too much so I am not judging but it really is a lot cheaper to make it yourself (and healthier too) than to buy it in a box where you just add water and boil.

wannakimmy

It can be done. You have gotten a ton of great advice here. It takes a little more effort to eat healthy, but it is no more expensive than eating not so healthy food. Good luck to you

beccadaniixox

Do you have farmer's markets near you?
I can buy 2 pounds of green beans for about $1.50 at a farmer's market.

toddrundgrenrocks

My husband likes a sandwich for his work lunch but he had to eliminate salt where possible, so I started buying chicken breasts and cheap roasts to make in to 'deli cold cuts'. At a couple dollars a pound, it's also quite a savings.

If you like to bake, it is very cheap to make your own bread. My favorite is the No knead type -- it's got very few ingredients and you can add whole grains so it is substantial.

That said, I have one daughter who would live on ramen if I let her!

fe2o3girl

Check out this website:

http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/

It is written in British English, but it could give you some ideas.

Unknown

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NOMORECARS

Don't think of food as healthy and unhealthy. Just count calories.

WOW

You don't know much about nutrition, obviously.

I agree. The person who originally wrote that shocked me so much I was speechless. All I could say is WOW.