budget food/snacks?

someghostguy

I'm on a budget, but its hard to shop healthy. I'm walking in the grocery store and there's pizzas that are $1.99! But getting together a salad can cost more than $5. I'd much rather eat the salad but the pizza is bigger AND cheaper. I really hate it..and I want to be healthy.

Can anyone give me some budget foods and snacks?

darrensurrey

Do you want to be healthy or do you want to lose weight?

FWIW a bag of frozen or fresh veg is about the same kind of price. Throw in some couscous ($1.50 a kg, 50g for a portion) and you have a reasonable meal for one.

someghostguy

Both!

taunto

I'm on a budget, but its hard to shop healthy. I'm walking in the grocery store and there's pizzas that are $1.99! But getting together a salad can cost more than $5. I'd much rather eat the salad but the pizza is bigger AND cheaper. I really hate it..and I want to be healthy.

Can anyone give me some budget foods and snacks?

What are you putting in your salad thats making it $5? You can buy those Dole prepackaged salads for like $2 or something I think. I say get the pizza AND the salad and eat a bit of both. Pizza will fill up your belly (and your taste buds) while the salad will provide you with the low caloric micronutrients that you need.

darrensurrey

Both!

Which is more important? You can eat healthily and still put on weight.

someghostguy

Most pizzas are very greasy, high in calories and I know it won't help me with my weight loss. Salads can be costly, with just the lettuce itself, and dressing, cheese, fillers like tomatoes, ham, and that's just about what I put in it.

taunto

Most pizzas are very greasy, high in calories and I know it won't help me with my weight loss. Salads can be costly, with just the lettuce itself, and dressing, cheese, fillers like tomatoes, ham, and that's just about what I put in it.

I can understand that you want to eliminate pizza from your diet due to it being heavy in calories. Might I suggest going more towards something like chicken? I used to buy chicken drumsticks for $0.69 per lb. and you can get very creative with them. BBQ them, bake them after spices, you can even make chicken tikka masala or other dishes.

As for salads, I honestly don't understand how your salads are so expensive. Maybe perhaps revisit the ingredients? I make bean salads which average me about $1-$2 per serving and thats on the expensive side. If you wanna go really basic, I eat onion, tomato and cucumber salad with lemon juice and salt but I only eat it with curries.

Missjulesdid

A fresh garden salad or pizza are not the only options here. Get some 99 cent a pound chicken and a 99 cent bag of frozen vegetables and got to town.

catcalledjinx

If you want to eat healthy and on a budget you are going to have to start cooking! Homemade vegetable soup can be super healthy, easy to make and scientifically proven to be more filling than the same ingredients not made into soup (interesting, huh?)

Start by gently frying a chopped onion in a little oil, then add any chopped vegetables you like (if they are in season they are usually cheaper). Add hot water for speed and then some stock. (My favourite is Swiss Marigold Vegetable Bouillon which guarantees flavour.) A little seasoning and if you like spice, something like Cumin or Coriander or even Chilli can really help. Bring the pan to boiling point then simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Then either serve chunky or blend for a smooth soup.

I just did a 'Summer Vegetable' soup, with yellow courgettes I grew in my garden, white onion, leek and sweet potato.

Good luck

catcalledjinx

Most pizzas are very greasy, high in calories and I know it won't help me with my weight loss. Salads can be costly, with just the lettuce itself, and dressing, cheese, fillers like tomatoes, ham, and that's just about what I put in it.

Also, to be healthy and lose weight, you should drop the dressing and the cheese from your salad. Lean ham is much lower in calories than cheese, or better still, a small tin of tuna or oily fish like mackerel will zest up your salad and give you much better nutrients. If you must have dressing (and I must), invest in a good quality low-calorie one and use it as sparingly as you can manage.

Good luck

someghostguy

Most pizzas are very greasy, high in calories and I know it won't help me with my weight loss. Salads can be costly, with just the lettuce itself, and dressing, cheese, fillers like tomatoes, ham, and that's just about what I put in it.

Also, to be healthy and lose weight, you should drop the dressing and the cheese from your salad. Lean ham is much lower in calories than cheese, or better still, a small tin of tuna or oily fish like mackerel will zest up your salad and give you much better nutrients. If you must have dressing (and I must), invest in a good quality low-calorie one and use it as sparingly as you can manage.

Good luck

thank you! That was very helpful

plumbucket

I just graduated from college - this is one of my favorite topics

Since I was paying the majority of my day-to-day expenses, it was really important for me to manage my food costs. Here are some of the things I did (and still do):

- Weekly Meal Planning:
> I plan for breakfast, two different meals, and two different snacks. If I get bored, I usually can make up something different using pantry staples.
> I also try to have some things that can cross between recipes (i.e. the same vegetable/meat in two different dishes)
> At the end of the week, I put leftover individual portions in the freezer for those days when I need something quick.
* If you have the freezer space, you can always do monthly meal planning and prep, which will save you a few more pennies.
* Some people will tell you to stock up when certain things are on sale - if you have the space, go for it, if you don't, you can still do well on a budget.
* I used to just buy whatever cut of meat that was on sale for the type of meat I was going to need, since I was going to cook it anyway. For example, when I made spaghetti one time, there was some kind of tiny chopped up bits of beef (had a spanish name that I don't remember) that were way cheaper than a pound of ground beef, so I bought that.
* In general, you'll save the most money as your food items get less processed. So, if I want pizza and salad, I buy my preferred pizza toppings and make crust from scratch. I don't buy canned soups, I buy stock, meat, and vegetables.

- Shopping Location:
> Walmart is usally people's go to, but in both of the places I've lived recently (a place where the COL is 10% less than the national average and a place where it's well over the national average), it is a lot cheaper to shop at other places.
> Look for the budget place in your area (Aldi, Sharp Shopper, Price Rite). Even the grocery stores that tend to cater to international customers tend to have a broad and inexpensive vegetable and meat selection.

- Recipe Suggestions:
> Chili - This is my go to, super-cheap week recipe. The most basic recipe I have: meat (or lentils, if that's your thing), ~30 oz of tomato sauce, 2 15 oz cans kidney beans, onion, 15 oz diced tomatoes, green pepper, a hot pepper (those four basically add up to salsa)
> Spaghetti - Even buying the Barilla Plus pasta, this is pretty inexpensive. If you use the big can (28 oz) of tomato sauce (sometimes it says crushed tomatoes), some dried herbs from your cabinet, and some fresh onion and garlic, you'll have a pretty tasty dish. You can add meat, if it's in your budget, and a couple of tablespoons of low-fat ricotta, if you want a little something special (not too many calories, either!).
> Salad - I keep olive oil and balsamic vinegar stocked in my cabinet. Buying a whole head of lettuce (and I try everything but iceberg) is less expensive, by weight, than buying lettuce mixes. It's also been my experience that the plastic containers are cheaper than the bags. I have had taco salads (ground beef, corn, black beans, green peppers over greens), asian sesame chicken salad (orange segments, sesame seeds, and chicken over greens [the dressing is what really makes it here!]), a strawberry and feta salad over greens, and many more, all on a budget.
> Black Bean Soup: My favorite cheap recipe! ~30 oz black beans, chicken stock and water, corn, and salsa (or just buy the things that make up salsa)
> There are so, so many more. I head to Pinterest frequently for recipe ideas. Generally, if I'm making it, it's cheap.

- Snacks:
> I usually try to have a protein item and a veggie/fruit item every time I snack. This is a more expensive part of my grocery budget, but I save so much money in the meal part that my cart isn't that expensive. I'm a big fan of involving almonds or greek yogurt in my snack plan, but Greatist has multiple lists of great, protein-rich snacks.

I survived on a $20 (the real rough weeks) - $30-ish/week grocery budget for the three years I lived off campus. The bottom line for me was, if I can make it, don't buy it, and eat as many vegetable-based items as possible.

Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any questions or want more ideas!

plumbucket

I can understand that you want to eliminate pizza from your diet due to it being heavy in calories. Might I suggest going more towards something like chicken? I used to buy chicken drumsticks for $0.69 per lb. and you can get very creative with them. BBQ them, bake them after spices, you can even make chicken tikka masala or other dishes.

So true! I usually buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are way cheaper than boneless, skinless chicken breasts and super tasty. If you buy them less butchered (with the bone or skin on) and do it yourself, they are even cheaper.

I also tend to eat a lot of canned tuna.

shabaity

I would go both the supreme bagel bites are 2 servings to a box after all. And so long as you keep everything separate the salad stuff shouldn't go bad too fast. Grabs some fruits but keep it to small containers like 4-5 servings that you can portion out over a few days.

oedipa_maas

I'm on a budget, but its hard to shop healthy. I'm walking in the grocery store and there's pizzas that are $1.99! But getting together a salad can cost more than $5. I'd much rather eat the salad but the pizza is bigger AND cheaper. I really hate it..and I want to be healthy.

Can anyone give me some budget foods and snacks?

I got some great ideas in a thread I posted the other day on this sub forum about money being tight…the food recs were really good!

Lizzy622

Ramin noodles are really cheap but throw away the packet which is full of salt. Add some steam in bag frozen vegetables and a poached egg on top. I doubt that even comes to $1.99.

Michele7091

Do you have a farmers market nearby? We typically have grilled chicken salad for dinner every Monday night and we buy the produce from a local farmers market. We spend less than $20 and get 3 large heads of romaine, a basket of roma tomatoes, 4-6 cucumbers, & 4-6 bell peppers. It gives us enough to have our big meal salad in addition to small salads throughout the week to have with our dinner.

I am certainly not one for depriving myself of foods that I love so I say if you want to eat pizza, then eat pizza. Just make the crust from scratch. You will have to spend some money up front on the ingredients but after that, it'll cost next to nothing. I found a delicious recipe for whole wheat pizza crust YEARS ago and we just make our own pizza now. I also make our own pizza sauce out of a large can of tomato sauce. I make a big batch & freeze the rest for later use.

Eating healthy can be difficult when you're on a tight budge but it can be done. You have to look at the big picture. Yes, fresh fruit will cost you more than a bag of chips but that bag of fruit will last way longer.

Good luck!!