Asking 4 tight budget grocery ideas

amunet07

Ok...I'm back on the wagon again but struggling. Sunday will be grocery day...other than fresh fruit or veggies what should I get for a single woman on a very tight budget? Thanks for your ideas.

Bellum24

you can buy boxed chicken breast and I find that it usually goes a long way!

Harper0618

Very good question! I will be watching your post for ideas also. Why does it cost so much to eat healthy

cpegasus01

Lots of chicken and fish. Those are meats that can be prepared lots of different ways and paired with lots of veggies. If you like fish, I reccomend trying the Swai. It is available at Walmart in the frozen foods area. Grill it, broil it, pan fry it whatever. It is a white fillet with a mild flavor. My boys love it!

JustBill

When you find out, let me know too!!! LOL. Seriously, eating healthy is expensive as all get out. I spent $20 on frickin' cherries the other day. Fresh fruit is expensive! And I'm trying to avoid pre-packaged foods because of all the sodium... it's practically impossible to eat well and not spend a fortune.

sweetheart03622

Do you have Aldi near you? They're save you SO much money! I always keep frozen chicken, frozen tilapia, and canned tuna around. I also buy the large containers of plain oatmeal and plain yogurt. Both of these will fill you up and you can add in fruits, nuts, etc. to switch up the flavors. Cottage cheese is also great for trying to lose weight, just watch the sodium in it. Good luck!

julwills

Have you tried shopping at local farmers markets? I can get amazing deals and everything is so much cheaper there! We went shopping one Saturday morning and got all the fresh produce, fruits, meats, cheese, pasta and bread we needed for the week for less than $40!

dfborders

Store brand rice and store brand seasoned black beans. If you can afford a cheap bottle of salsa to add to it even better. Very fulling and tasty. I make 4 servings of rice, add the black beans and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salsa. I also add whatever spices I like - although I don't know what you may already have in your pantry - I like Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic, etc.

tn2010

Nut butters, low-fat cheeses, frozen chicken breast, a rotisserie chicken that you can cut up (remove skin) and use in salads, quinoa (in the bulk section it should be much cheaper...great recipes on allrecipes.com), brown rice, rice crackers (I love Real Foods Rice Thins), olive oil, red wine or rice vinegar for dressings, canned beans to add to salads, rice dishes or to make hummus.

audradanielle

Black beans! Cheap and delicious. You can do a lot with them!

camy_chick

posting this so i can read later......am very curious as well.

tattooedtwiin

Farmers markets are a great choice, sometimes as they're closing or packing up you can even get BETTER deals.

tattooedtwiin

Farmers markets are a great choice, sometimes as they're closing or packing up you can even get BETTER deals.

katron1974

im in the same position and heres wat ive found. the supermarket own brands r not only cheaper but they beta 4 u calorie n fat wise. i get a bag of pasta 4 17p n it does me 5 meals. u dont have 2 spend massive amounts 2 eat healthy x

mamathrash2

We usually shop at Aldi or Save a Lot. You can get fresh fruit and vegetables a lot cheaper than a regular grocery store. The main difference is the selection isn't as big but you can still get the things you need. We try to get everything at Aldi/Save a Lot and only buy certain things at a regular grocery store that the other doesn't have (which isn't much). I can feed my family of 4 for 2 full weeks (3 meals a day) at Aldi for $150.

luckystar8131

I would say boneless, skinless chicken. Pretty cheap if you buy it in a family size and you can make it tons of ways. My favorite is to take it and pour some salsa over it in a casserole dish. Bake it til it's done then put some cheese over it and melt that. SO yummy and healthy. I usually make some brown rice with it.

messyhare

Do you like fish? I just went shopping myself and purchased several different kinds of fish - fillets individually wrapped and frozen. They were VERY inexpensive and are super easy to prepare. I think I paid $9 for a bag of Swai fillets and there are about 10-12 fillets in that bag, a bag of cod fillets were even less expensive and a bag of tilapia. I have a family of 5 and allot one fillet per person and that fills each one up. I also buy family packs of legs now - for under $4 you can get a pack of about 12-14 legs. I then repack in smaller sizes. I was never a chicken leg fan before but I have to make the grocery money last and have now grown to love them!

I also buy wild rice, brown rice, pasta's etc in the bulk section. So much less expensive.

shesblossoming

Lentils and quinoa are great bulk food items that can be made into soup or mixed in with salad for an extra dose of protein! Lentil and quinoa soup can be made in bulk and is very hearty for the winter time.

Every week, I usually get a rotisserie chicken, and I use it for lunch or dinner throughout the week. That, or I get frozen chicken breasts and cook them on Sundays and then distribute portions throughout the week. I'm not sure if you're a vegetarian though!

I usually buy romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, carrots, celery, and cucumbers. As soon as I get home, I cut them all up and put them in a large, sealed container, so I can just easily make a salad whenever I want... frugal and easy in case I'm too tired to make anything! Add some avocado and the rotisserie chicken, and it's very filling.

I purchase a lot of corn tortillas instead of bread. It's taken some getting used to, but I use it for breakfast burritos (eggs, pico de gallo, avocado). Very simple, but very filling for the weekends.

Oatmeal is your friend. Combined with strawberries, banana, and blueberries, it's a very nourishing start to the morning.

My first month of eating like this was about $200.00, but I was buying a bit much. Now, I'm spending maybe $150.00 a month. I actually go to the grocery store twice a week to make sure I always have fresh ingredients. I also don't want anything to go bad, so it's worth it. It's actually made my shopping experience cheaper!

FabCheeky

I'm into a Paleo style of eating. I find that whole chickens are GREAT cheap protein sources. So versatile.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html

her show is called $10 dinners (for a family of 4)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/melissa-darabian/index.html

Also, I second farmers markets. I buy my lean proteins when they're on sale. I make a crap ton of soup from scratch.

amunet07

When you find out, let me know too!!! LOL. Seriously, eating healthy is expensive as all get out. I spent $20 on frickin' cherries the other day. Fresh fruit is expensive! And I'm trying to avoid pre-packaged foods because of all the sodium... it's practically impossible to eat well and not spend a fortune.

lol, funny I did that too...cherries are spendy. I also have to watch my sodium

fuhrmeister

I love ground turkey. walmat uasually has teh frozen Jenn- o at a good price. But check your labels to make sure it's white meat turkey and doens't have the skin mixed in making it more fatty.

greek yogurt - pricer than reg. but that's all ai eat fro breakfest so 1.00 to 1.25 for breakfest isn't too bad
nuts (almonds and walnuts are best) buy a big bag inested of teh 100 cal packs that are more expensive
frozen chicken breast
lettuce (I can make almost anything into a salad)
canned tomatos - you can make pasta sauce or top a fajita or taco salad, put in chilli instead of more meat
generic cheeros and bananas

feel free to look at my journal and see what I eat. I'm not on a super tight budget but I do watch my pennies. And i'm not perfect I love sweets. I buy a lot of meat in bulk and freeze it. so chicken one week lean ground beef the next etc. in no time you will have all kinds of stuff in your freezer.

Best of luck to you.

yeabby

Go to farmer's market at the end of the day. They usually cut prices or will haggle to get sell off the last of their produce. I've also made friends with my local produce stand owner. He sells me ripe produce at a very reduced price. It's a win win situation. He gets rid of produce that needs to be used quickly and I get to save money.

I'm also a big advocate of saving money in other ways so I can spend more on quality food. One way I save is by making my own laundry and dish detergent which ends up costing me about 3 cents per load I save a lot of money. The bonus is there is a lot less chemicals used, store brands have a lot of unnecessary fillers, and a lot less packaging. The environment thanks me. If you'd like the recipes let me know.

vallejos6

Shop the bulk bins for your grains/beans/nuts and seeds. Generally, from the bulk bins I get steel cut oats, quinoa, brown rice, almonds, flax seed, chick peas, black beans, pinto beans, whole wheat pastry flour, wheat bran, lentils. Definitely shop the sales on produce! In addition to being cheaper, the stuff on sale is usually what's in season, so it tastes better too!

~~Veronica

killagb

Black beans! Cheap and delicious. You can do a lot with them!

True enough, I made some the other night with some cut up sugar plum tomatoes, an onion that was diced up and 'sweated' (grilled to where its sort of translucent) and some cotija cheese, very good and quite filling!

luckystar8131

Oh also if you get good deals on fruits or veggies at the farmers market while things are in season and cheap freeze them. I do it with strawberries because I buy frozen strawberries to put in my slimfast shakes and make a milkshake with them.

dayzeerock

I live on my own, and spend $50/month TOPS on groceries. I have a CSA farm share, which cost me $300 but I get a huge box of fresh produce every two weeks for 5 months, so it was well worth it. With that out of the way, I buy in bulk, bulk, bulk! Much cheaper! I can get a few pounds of different beans, a few pounds of grains like brown rice, quinoa, barley, and a few pounds of whole grain and spelt pasta for around $25. The rest is my "free" money, which I spend on snack foods like chickpeas for hummus, pita, snack veggies like carrots and celery, etc. I'd definitely start browsing your grocers bulk area for sure!

arlingtonangel

Black beans! Cheap and delicious. You can do a lot with them!

I second this. They are great in salad or by themselves..I also suggest looking for clearance items like greek Yogurt and hummus. They are very expensive here, but I find them on clearance for 75% off usually. I eat them that week and they are always good.

amunet07

Unfortunately for me...I don't like fish. I have a bunch of canned chicken breast but need ideas on using it

LeonaBlack

hi! I buy A LOT of chicken because it can be prepared in many ways and its cheap. I never fry of course, only bake and grill. My staples are salmon, tilapia and flounder. Brown rice, green beans, squash, almonds, and sugar free jell o are a few of my favorites as well. I stick to a pretty tight budget in my household as well as it is only my husband and I.

fuhrmeister

I am totally on teh aldi band wagon as well. I buy my bulk meat and asian stuff at Wegmasn and almost everything else at Aldi