Food - on a budget

melzteach

What are your must haves for a small grocery budget?

skinnyinnotime

If you shop around prices differ greatly. Vegetables, fruit and fish, prawns and chicken for me are a must.

olgitafajita

Dried beans! A bag costs about a dollar, and cooked you can get several meals out of it. You can throw them in a crockpot with some seasoning and veggies and then come back in a few hours and voila! I buy red and/or black beans and throw them in with garlic, onion and a can or tomatoes to make chili. I buy black eyed peas and cook them with collard greens. Red lentils for moroccan lentil soup. Recipes abound!

swaymyway

What country are you in? If from the UK you can't beat Lidl and Aldi for cheap fruit and veg, Aldi have a 'super 6' each week and Lidl do great half price offers each week - I look forward to getting the new leaflets each week to find out what I am going to be eating lol

melzteach

I'm in the USA, Southern Texas.

Oh and we have a renovation project gone horrible and I don't have a kitchen to speak of. For cooking I've got a grill, double hot plate, microwave, toaster, crock pot, and a blender.

calliope_music

frozen chicken breasts, greek yogurt, frozen veggies, brown rice.

MegtheTeach

Appliance-wise: Try a rice cooker. It's kinda like a crock pot / slow cooker that switches off magically when the food's ready. http://www.food.com/cookbook/rice-cooker-recipes-80457 for examples. I got one for $15 at the WalMart.

Food-wise, I want to second the Aldi suggestion. Also, you can find cheap produce at a farmer's market or international grocery. In metro Atlanta, the best produce price & quality is found at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market. It's an international grocery with the absolute lowest produce prices in town.

What have I been buying?
* green bell peppers go well with hummus (skip the other colors -- they're way more expensive and taste the same)
* strawberries in season
* chicken (for the grill, mostly)
* international seasonings (this recipe is to die for: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/06/broiled-or-grilled-pollo-sabroso.html)
* cereal & skim milk
* fat free Hebrew National hot dogs (40 cals each!)
* baby spinach (to cook or eat as salad greens)

liveyourlifex

salad! at Costco, they have pre-cut salad for $1.99
brown rice
non fat milk
cereal (some are expensive but buying bigger bulks will cost less)
beans
fruits
veggies

GaveUp

I eat fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, chicken, cottage cheese. I never thought I would say this but it really isn't that expensive to eat healthy for me.