Broke on a Diet

sbear867

I have a family of 7 and I am the only one not at a healthy weight. I let my mom guilt take over and make sure my growing kids have the fresh produce and a balanced plate and then I eat whatever cheap meal I can find of my husband to find. We are on a super cheap budget...like a peanut butter sandwich and ramen noodle budget. We don't buy extras. We have 10 month old twins and 3 other growing kids.

I really want to succeed at finding health and energy again. I work 50 hrs a week as a radiology technologist. I cloth diaper and so on....free time for exercise is limited but I squeeze it in when I can. I really just need to find a better cheap way to balance out my intake. My days are sometime 20hrs long. I struggle staying awake and have some very generous coworkers who like to buy me redbull and lunches on occasion, otherwise its just whatever I can throw together.

Any suggestions?

Mr_Knight

rice + lentils.

Nutritious and about as cheap as it gets.

Tart it up with whatever veggies are in season and/or spices and/or salsa/pasta sauce etc.

mygnsac

This is a great little free online cookbook. It was designed for those on a tight budget trying to eat healthy. Lots of great, easy, recipes and tips.

https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0c21d0480f50d3.googledrive.com/host/0Bxd6wdCBD_2tdUdtM0d4WTJmclU/good-and-cheap.pdf

Chief_Rocka

I don't understand, eating less should be a breeze

williams969

rice + lentils.

Nutritious and about as cheap as it gets.

Tart it up with whatever veggies are in season and/or spices and/or salsa/pasta sauce etc.

Yep to all of this. I've fed my family of 5 on $100 a month budget. And it was all nutritious, and very little pre-packaged foods. Bulk cook on one day a week, and freeze in meal size batches for your family dinners (or whatever is a family meal for yours). Set aside a portion of that to take for your work meal that day/the next day.

DamePiglet

rice + lentils.

Nutritious and about as cheap as it gets.

Tart it up with whatever veggies are in season and/or spices and/or salsa/pasta sauce etc.

Rice & lentils - FTW!

Are commodities still available? I used to get those and I learned to cook WELL from scratch.
Also, +1 about the cooking ahead & freezing. Sunday is my day to cook ahead and freeze up my homemade TV dinners.
Casseroles and crock pot dishes are also your friend.

Also... I don't want to be unkind here, but I hope you're not planning to have any more children. At least any time soon.

Jacwhite22

I have a family of 7 and I am the only one not at a healthy weight. I let my mom guilt take over and make sure my growing kids have the fresh produce and a balanced plate and then I eat whatever cheap meal I can find of my husband to find. We are on a super cheap budget...like a peanut butter sandwich and ramen noodle budget. We don't buy extras. We have 10 month old twins and 3 other growing kids.

I really want to succeed at finding health and energy again. I work 50 hrs a week as a radiology technologist. I cloth diaper and so on....free time for exercise is limited but I squeeze it in when I can. I really just need to find a better cheap way to balance out my intake. My days are sometime 20hrs long. I struggle staying awake and have some very generous coworkers who like to buy me redbull and lunches on occasion, otherwise its just whatever I can throw together.

Any suggestions?

I buy a bunch of chicken and make chicken salad.

MizTerry

Cheap nonfat yogurt and chia seeds.
Raw veggies.
You eat what they eat.
Take leftovers for work.

crpeterson84

I stock up whenever the frozen vegetables are on sale to save money. If nothing else they are great to throw in a pot and make a batch of vegetable soup. And when they go on sale- you can catch a bag of frozen vegetables for under a dollar.

When you buy fresh- try to buy what is in season only. I have saved a lot of money by researching and knowing what fruits and vegetables are in season. Also if you have a farmers market that is good near you- you can save money usually by shopping there for yo ur in season ingredients.

Good luck!

caracrawford1

I don't understand, eating less should be a breeze

I would imagine she would like to eat less but still have good nutrition whilst she's on a budget. That can be tricky. Ramen is certainly not the way to do it (but it is cheap, though)

Holla4mom

Do you have any children under 5? Do you qualify for WIC (Women, Infant, Children) provides whole grain cereals, as well as vouchers to Farmer's Markets etc for mothers and their children under 5. This could free up a little money in your budget for other healthy foods.

Legumes (beans) and brown rice are a fave for us and when you add veggies, a very healthy, filling, inexpensive meal. Soup using vegetables left over from various meals (compile it in the freezer until you have enough various vegetables) and left over chicken or ground beef is also good, especially heading into the Fall.

kingscrown

Crockpot! Cook from scratch doubling tripling meals and freeze. Meal planning and prep on day off. Involve family with meal prep. Use frozen veggies lots cheaper. Buy fresh when on sale and in season.

seltzermint555

You have been given some great advice already but my first thought was go to ALDI or wherever produce is cheapest in your area, and buy celery, a couple of cucumbers, and a huge bag of baby carrots. Then some of whatever fruit is on sale...the ALDI nearby has delicious black, red, or green seedless grapes, 2 lb bag for $1.58. Supplement 1-2 meals a day with large amounts of those. Even if you're eating PB sandwiches and Ramen it will boost your nutrition and fill you up.

mamaoftwins9197

Do you have any children under 5? Do you qualify for WIC (Women, Infant, Children) provides whole grain cereals, as well as vouchers to Farmer's Markets etc for mothers and their children under 5. This could free up a little money in your budget for other healthy foods.

Legumes (beans) and brown rice are a fave for us and when you add veggies, a very healthy, filling, inexpensive meal. Soup using vegetables left over from various meals (compile it in the freezer until you have enough various vegetables) and left over chicken or ground beef is also good, especially heading into the Fall.

Yes, apply for WIC if you don't get it already! Not only do you get the cereal and the Farmer's Market vouchers, but you also get milk, cheese, eggs, etc. And for the 10 month old twins (I have almost 7 year old twins), you get formula and baby food, if they are still on that. Check out the Farmer's Market anyway, if you don't get/want WIC. I got all the ingredients to make a big pan of Ratatouille, which will feed my family of 4 twice over for $6 and change! Can't beat that! Just gonna make some brown rice to go with it.

LianaG1115

Here in Buffalo we have Wegman's, they have "Club Packs" where things come in bulk packages to save money. One pack of boneless skinless chicken can run about $15 and has about 10 breasts in it. I get the bin of organic spring mix ($4.99), a cuke, and a beefsteak tomato, along with a bottle of yogurt dressing. All under $10 and lasts me the whole week for my lunches. I get a bag of almonds ($4.99-6.99 depending on type) and split them up into 1/4 cup servings, there's my snack. I get the double 18 packs of eggs from Sam's club and boil about a dozen a week, my snacks or breakfast on the go,eating only the egg whites unless I'm starving I'll eat one whole egg. Cheap eats and good for ya...there's more but ya just have to know how to shop and what to eat.

sbear867

Thank you all for the advice.

Nope we don't qualify for WIC. Make just over the cutoff.

Nope don't plan on any more children. My family is made up from two broken pasts. We love are three mix matched kids like they were our own blood and the twins were a huge surprise and proof of why oral contraceptives are only 99.0% dependable.

I think I may need to start saving for a deep freeze. One cook days to plan for the week seem to be great advice, just need the room to store. And I just looked up where to find an ALDI near by.

sbear867

This is a great little free online cookbook. It was designed for those on a tight budget trying to eat healthy. Lots of great, easy, recipes and tips.

https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0c21d0480f50d3.googledrive.com/host/0Bxd6wdCBD_2tdUdtM0d4WTJmclU/good-and-cheap.pdf

Love this! Thank you!

michikade

I also recommend a crock pot - you can get the cheapest cuts of meat imaginable to come out tender and yummy after 8 hours or so, heh, and all it requires is some water or stock and some root veggies to taste (I like carrots and onions, used to do potatoes but last time I made a roast we had brown rice on the side instead).

We have a SAMs Club ,membership and buy those gigantic bags of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts - they cost around $23-25 but they usually have 30 or so chicken breasts in them so it lasts quite a while, and is waaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than other packages of chicken. We also get condiments and household stuff like toilet paper and paper towels, etc at SAMs and it saves us tons of money.

If you have decent farmers markets around you and like a wide variety of produce, sometimes you can score wicked deals. One time I got one of those reusable grocery bags chocked full of squash, zucchini and some leafy greens for less than $10 -- it was so much food I gave some to friends because we couldn't finish it. This is a your mileage may vary situation, of course, but it seems like many of the farmers markets around me tend to price foods really well.

Rice and legumes are way cheap.

NJGmywholewrld

Unfortunately we live the same way at times. I find myself eating my sons leftovers sometimes to get a meal. I have learned to stick with store brands. Not always the best, but it is food. The rule in our house is, as long as our son eats, we are ok. I know that is not a good thing, but when you have children you have to sacrifice. I too will stock up on chicken, tuna and less expensive fruits and veggies. One thing that I like to do is cook whole chickens to get 2 meals, one day chicken the next day use what is left of it to make soup. You are not alone. There are a lot of us here.

KatieSvelte

There are 6 in our family and with a lot of little ones I know it can be hard. Is there a Gleaning group in your area? We have one and they sometimes go by different names. We belong to one and its great, it saves us so much and they often have lots of veggies. Thats my suggestion!