Limited budget and Healthy eating????

tobitude

I have to ask this because I am trying to make this work. I have a family of four and we are on a very limited budget, we do our best to stay with mostly healthy options but when you reach the end of your budget lean meats and healthier breads and some of the other healthy options are just out of the question (we do make sure we have some on a regular basis). We buy things when they are on sale and I get my fruits and veggies from a local farmers market to keep the cost low.

So anyway I am asking if it is gonna be possible for me to accomplish this with having to make choices due to cost rather than healthy choices, or am I just wasting my time????

For example 99 cent loaf of bread is cheaper than whole grain and last longer for a family of four, and chicken leg quarters are cheaper than chicken breasts.

If anyone else is dealing with this issue and having success I would love to hear how you are able to do this.

Not looking for judgement just looking for some feedback.

FrenchMob

You can only do your best with what you have, but at the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out to lose weight. It helps to eat healthier for other reasons, but losing the weight will make you healthier than you are now regardless.

foxxybrown

Eating chicken leg quarters is fine. Take the skin off and bake it.

Barelmy

Frozen vegetables might be cheaper, and sometimes have more nutrients than fresh vegetables. With chicken, would taking the skin off and cooking it in different ways make up the difference between legs and breasts? You could try things like that.

Do you have the time to make things from scratch? They can be cheaper that way. Or could you feed your family more of the cheapest options and less of the expensive ones?

mbrown0619

Hello!

Me and my wife are both in college and are on a limited budget also. It's diffidently difficult to stick to healthy eating when most of the healthy stuff is much more expensive. We have found that as long as the food isn't terrible for you, it seems to work with weight loss. Like with the chicken, you may not be able to afford the fancy lean chicken, but if you get the regular chicken and cut any of the fat off, it's still a better alternative then just getting ground beef or other greasy type meat products. Somethings boil down to a little more work at home for a cheaper cost. Hope that helps some!

ashleighk2010

It's hard. I do as much shopping as I can at a bulk store (Sam's Club) then I re-package and portion out everything. They don't have everything I'm looking for but I'm on a super thin budget, so this has helped some. Good luck and great job for being on top of eating healthy.

susancelli928

when it comes to the chicken, take off the skin when cooking. Bread... make your own using different. A bag of wheat flour and yeast goes a long way. Any leftovers???? FREEZE THEM FOR A DIFFERENT MEAL. Homemade soups also go along way.

I raised 5 kids on a very very strict budget being a single mom, its all about planning and researching... Its a pain in the *kitten* but well worth it

Pandorian

Buy in bulk, buy when it's on sale, instead of paying extra for stewing beef buy a cheaper cut of roast and cube it yourself for stewing, buy a whole chicken when the per pound price is cheaper than the thighs or breasts alone. Grow some of your own herbs or veggies if you've got room, if you don't have room look into sprouting, there's lots of options for sprouting and it only takes an empty mason jar.
Make some of your own bread...
Healthy eating doesn't have to be expensive I question the "organic" labels on so many things, room-mate has a jar of face cleaner that is 78% organic, to me its either all organic or its not qualified as organic.
But definitely be prepared to buy in bulk, I buy a 12 pack of canned soup when it goes on for $6 sold individually they are $1.49 each so I save almost $1 per can by buying more of them than I may immediately need but they are shelf stable so I don't mind them sitting so I don't have to pay full price. Same when tuna goes on for $1 a can, I'll buy a dozen of them which will last me 3 months or so..

bijalita

Whole grains and beans are pretty cost effective. Especially if you cook them yourself rather than buy them canned. Try incorporating more vegetarian meals into your weekly meal plans too. A big part about this weight loss journey is changing current habits and trying new things. Rather than just substitute lower calorie versions of what you already eat maybe explore new recipes? Good luck!

california_peach

I competely understand the budget thing. For bread, the best bet is going to be to shop around. Try Target, Wal-Mart and Costco/Sams/BJs. You should be able to find something less expensive there. My husband is a vegetarian, but the kids and I are not. I purchase all out meat at Costco. We only eat, chicken breast, fish and ground turkey (this I get as needed from Target). Buyin in bulk on the meat helps with the bottom line cost wise. You can also cut back on the amount of meat you consume. You could have one meat free day a week or month.

Vegetables are easier, because frozen works just fine and is WAY cheaper. For any of this stuff if you want organic go to Trader Joe's if you have one or check into a CSA for group buying on organic produce.

Check out these people. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28295159/ns/today-money/. I see them on the Today show all the time and they support a family of 7 on $44,000. Not sure how lean they eat, but you might get some great ideas.

Good luck to you!

jer2kat

That's right it is calories in vs. calories out. When I started I continued to eat the same old junk as I did to gain weight in the first place but in moderation and within my calorie goals and I lost weight without starting to exercise or even eat healthier but just by staying within my calorie goals. I have since started to eat healthier and add in a little exercise because this site has helped me realize the benefit of it but overall if you stay at your calorie goal you will lose weight.

A few months ago there was a story on the news about someone actually started a "junk food" diet and ate stricktly out of a vending machine for a couple of weeks and ate complete junk food (chips, cookies, candy) and managed to actually lose weight just because they stuck with a calorie goal. I figure if someone that only eats junk can loose weight by counting calories then anyone can.

JPod279

I see you live in Florida, so you should have plenty of sunshine. Are you in a home? If so and you have some room in your yard you can make a small garden. You will have some of your own veggies and it is an activity that will help keep you active. We had one growing up and while (back then) I hated working in it there was nothing tastier than picking something and then taking it in and eating it.

tahardesty

Believe me, you're not the only one on a budget... You can still succeed in making yourself healthier by the preparation of those foods you have to buy on sale...for example, bake rather than fry and what-not or by practicing portion control. There are ways to do this on a budget and I'd much rather see you try than give up because you think you're not being healthy enough... Take it one step at a time.

sam363

Yes! I have a family of 4 as well and we stick to a tight budget. I do not shop for boxed or frozen convienent meals - they might seem to be easier and cheaper but they are not. I purchase a loaf of whole wheet bread for $1.09. I also get the frozen veggies for $1 because I know that they will last longer if for some reason we don't get to eating them right away. I also buy yogurt, or cottage cheese in a bigger tub rather than indidual containers. Make sure that you are shopping for filling foods like multi grain pastas. Even if it costs a little bit more that the other stuff your family will be fuller for longer and not eat as much food.

Another trick that I have is to make up some meals ahead of time and freeze them. These make for easy on the go lunches. My kids need to have a packed lunch every day so their meals usually consist of pb&j sandwich, yogurt or string cheese, fruit or apple sauce, and a snack pack pudding. If we have left overs I'll send them with that and also a piece of fruit. I generally eat left overs for lunch or soup. Deli meat is expensive so I try to limit what I buy. This past week I bought a turkey on sale made it and then we had left over turkey sandwiches.

Good Luck. Remember that coupons are great too as long as you were already going to purchase it.

lfcutie

i try to buy when things are on sale and portion it and stick it in the freezer.,.,usually around holidays in cali there are alot of sales so i try to keep extra money that week.,.,.,i know here we have a food for less and you can get week bread on sale 2 loaves for a little over 2 buck.,.,.,it is hard i am on a budget too....and coupons! those always help it extra time to look for coupons but sometimes you can get great deals...

cat3nv

We are a family of 5. I do not work I am a full time student, we make less than 30,000 a year, and we do not receive any assistance.

If you buy healthy food you will see you are filled up longer adn you will not eat as much food. Also make everything from scratch. Yes the day you go to the store and buy all the ingredients it is more expensive than if you loaded up with the cheap stuff. However, the cheap stuff is gone quickly, and the other stuff is still there.

I buy meat that has been marked down due to the expiration date. At the store I shop at they mark it 40% off 2 days before it expires. Then I freeze it if I can not use it right away. Clip coupons. Find a way to save money and be healthy too.

Good luck!!

Tzavush

I am in the same boat, I have a family of seven and we have to eat what we can afford to buy.
I focus on portion control and try the best to include the MOST healthy choices we can manage.
It may not be the BEST options, but they are the BEST options for us.
We chose the best solutions we can make within our budget.

I think that you need to applaud yourself for trying the best you can to do what you are able with the resources you have.

equillian

What everyone else has said is great so I'm not going to rehash... some things I thought of:

Exercise is a great way to offset the extra calories you get so find something you like... also...

If its possible, why not consider making a garden. It doesnt have to be fancy and it works two fold: You get free veggies AND you get some exercise. Spend a half hour a day on the garden and bam, theres a half hour of Light / Heavy labor... in fact... thats probably not a bad idea for yours truly.

Either way, keep at it and good luck!

elliecolorado

I am on a pretty limited food budget as well. Tuna is a good option and usually pretty cheap. Yes also frozen veggies are usually cheaper than fresh. If you have the money to buy larger quantities of things like meat it is almost always cheaper in bulk and freeze smaller portions. Store brand wheat bread isn't that much higher in calories than some of the more expensive brands, and I don't eat enough bread to worry much about a few extra calories when I do eat it. Chicken it doesn't really matter what part of the chicken it is as much as it matters how you cook it. Planning my menu ahead of time has helped a lot too. Plan your menu while looking at the weekly specials or sales. You can definitely still eat healthy on a limited budget, it just takes a little bit more work. :-)

tlp8rb

I see there are four Aldi stores in Orlando. Have you done any shopping there? I find their prices to be much lower than even WalMart. For example, a gallon of skim milk at Aldi is $2.24, at WalMart it is over $3.

Aldi carries very nice whole chickens, frozen, for .89 cents a pound. You should be able to not only feed your family a delicious meal, but have enough left over for a casserole.

Aldi carries a line of reduced fat/sodium foods called Fit and Active. There is a very good chicken noodle soup that compares to Progresso for half the cost. Their breakfast cereals are also much less expensive than the name brands and are just as good. Is it a pain to have to take your own bags and bag your own groceries? Sure, but the savings are worth it.

Here's another trick I used to use (fed four kids on a limited budget). Divide four pounds of lean ground meat into five meals. You won't even notice the difference and getting the "free" meal makes up for the expense of buying better ground beef.

I don't work for Aldi - but I do do 99% of my shopping there. We live on our Social Security Checks - less than $25,000 a year - and by being very careful, we're OK.

sam363

Whole grains and beans are pretty cost effective. Especially if you cook them yourself rather than buy them canned. Try incorporating more vegetarian meals into your weekly meal plans too. A big part about this weight loss journey is changing current habits and trying new things. Rather than just substitute lower calorie versions of what you already eat maybe explore new recipes? Good luck!

I love the vegetarian idea! My family and I eat vegetarian meals at least 3 times a week. It gets my kids to try new things too. We also buy our meat from a butcher. It's completely worth the upfront cost because it's the leanest cuts and cheaper that buying at the store every week. My husband also hunts therefor we have plenty of venison steaks and roasts. They are lean and practically free for us.