Eating healthy but saving $$$ (LONG!)

babyblake11
babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
edited October 31 in Health and Weight Loss
I love my healthy food and will never ever give it up, But for some people it can be hard to eat healthy and enjoy it while keeping a good budget.
I feed myself and my 8 month old daughter (she obviously only has a bit of big food (:) for about AU$150 a fortnight. and i eat 2000-2500 calories a day.

First i will give you an example of what i eat and how much.

Breakfast:
1 cup of rolled oats w/ 1 cup of skim milk and 1 tablespoon of L.S.A (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almond) with a little cinnamon or nutmeg.
OR
6 wheat biscuits with 1.5 cups of skim milk

Snack (which i only have if im hungry):
6 brown rice crackers with reduced fat cheese and onion
OR
1 ryvita cracker with reduced fat cheese, tomato and onion

Lunch:
1 pita pocket with 100g chicken, 1 large egg, avacado, tomato, cucumber, onion, olives and lettuce.
OR
2 slices wholemeal bread with 100g chicken, 1 large egg, avacado, cucumber, onion, olives and lettuce.

Afternoon Tea:
1 banana
1 apple or orange
1 carmens muesli bar

Dinner:
150g chicken with one clove of garlic and spices. 100g of peas and corn (50g of each). 150g of pumpkin. 1/2 serve of mixed bean and brown rice salad.
OR
Every 8 days when i run out of my mixed bean and brown rice salad i will usually have 1/2 cup uncooked wholemeal pasta, 150g, 100g peas and corn and add some beans, tomato onion or whatever i feel like. Or i will have lean beef and veggies.

Dessert:
1/2 cup of low fat natural greek yogurt (no added sugars of preservatives)
1 tablespoon of organic coconut
1 slice of diced melon fruit

Very balanced and delicious! the key is a shopping guide like mine. and switch to homebrand. all those extra cents add up. i really mean it. heres my shopping list:

Fresh Produce/Dairy:
Chicken breast from the deli (much cheaper than the ones in the coolers) .
HOMEBRAND Eggs.
Avacado
Cucumber
Tomatos - cherry & garden
Onion - red & brown
Pitted olives from the deli. Buy cheapest you can find.
Parsley
Garlic
IN SEASON fruit. At the moment i buy oranges, bananas and melon fruit. as they are all under $3 a kilo. I change fruit as the seasons change. Therefore i get lots of variety too. Take advantage of markdowns too. If it ends up cheaper. Buy it.
IN SEASON veg. Same as above. BUT buy HOMEBRAND frozen separate peas corn and beans in 1kg bags. Ends up so much cheaper.
Low fat natural greek yogurt, bigger tub the cheaper it is.
HOMEBRAND skim milk. dont pay more than $1.20 a litre
HOMEBRAND reduced fat cheese. bigger the cheaper it is.
HOMEBRAND(if possible) Ground L.S.A.

Wholegrains/Breads
HOMEBRAND wholemeal bread (go for cheapest as possible, but try to look for one with NO wheat flour, only whole wheat flour)
Wholemeal pita pockets. (homebrand if able to, but i have found a brand that has only whole wheat flour, water and salt in the ingredients)
HOMEBRAND wheat biscuits. So cheap!!! They are EXACTLY the same as weet-bix or vita brits.
HOMEBRAND rolled oats. around 1-2 dollars for a kg versus $3+ for expensive brands.
Wholegrain Ryvita crackers
Brown rice

Packaged foods
Spices. I buy one with the container, then buy the cheapest refills i can find.
Organic shredded coconut
Carmens muesli bars. These and the only ones that i will actually eat, they have very good ingredients. They are pricey but i buy in bulk when they are reduced. A cheaper alternative is making your own Muesli cake or bars with wholemeal flour, rolled oats, sultanas, mixed nuts, milk, egg and cinnamon and nutmeg. I also sprinkle coconut and L.S.A on top. Tastes great with greek yogurt.
Frozen peas
Frozen beans
Frozen corn
Extra virgin Olive oil, homebrand is good but if you buy 5L cans it ends up cheaper most of the time.
HOMEBRAND wholegrain mustard
White wine vinegar
HOMEBRAND 5 bean mix cans

and THEN i have a 'reduced' list. That i will buy whenever it is on special or reduced. so you can have other foods you like sometimes:

Brown rice crackers
Wholemeal pasta
Lean beef
Low salt soy sauce
Sesame oil
Olive oil spray

I really hope this has helped alot of you! i will also leave you with my mixed bean and brown rice salad recipe:

4serves (i eat 1/2 serves)
1 cup uncooked brown rice, cooked
1 can five bean mix
1 cup frozen beans, cooked
1 punnet cherry tomatos
1 red onion
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients, yummy!!!

Thanks for reading this far :)!

Replies

  • breezad
    breezad Posts: 237 Member
    that is a really good decriptive food list and breakdown!!!
    thank you sooo much posting its good to see wat ppl eat and how much and often. you eat very healthy.
    im going to try your menu for a week and see my savings etc.
    thanks again!!
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    Another tip is if you but pumpkin. Collect the seeds and roast them at 150 degrees celcius for 50mins (shake em every ten). With some soy sauce and spices. Or whatever you want. Great healthy snack
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    awesome!! will have to try the black bean and brown rice, sounds delish! :)
  • Dexy_
    Dexy_ Posts: 593 Member
    Bump for later
  • paperlily
    paperlily Posts: 17 Member
    Very helpful read! Our shopping lists are quite similar already but you have given me quite a few ideas.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    :)
  • This is great! thanks for posting!
  • seal57
    seal57 Posts: 1,259 Member
    Thanks heaps for this.....
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    bump :)
  • Thanks for this. One of my biggest worries is that I won't be able to eat healthy within my budget. Your post really helped!
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    bumpity
  • This is very helpful. It is hard at times to eat healthy on a budget, especially when you are new to this. I have a very hard time knowing what foods to get.
  • snakesandladders2
    snakesandladders2 Posts: 59 Member
    Mmm, I like your idea of making a job lot of your rice/bean salad. I always have beans or rice with my packed lunches, but I end up spending quite a long time making them. If I had a week's supply, that would save me LOTS of time (especially given how long it takes to cook wholegrain rice!).

    I live in the UK and always buy the supermarket discount brands. I don't know if you have them in Australia - they normally come in really plain packaging, but it's essentially the same product. Saves so much money! There's 2 of us and we shop about once a month, spending £120, but I do spend another £50 or so on fresh produce throughout the month.

    The one thing I totally splurge on is my whey protein addiction...the bars and shakes are so pricey! If I didn't buy shake, my shop would be under £100 for 2 eating 2500 cals a day!
  • grobbygru
    grobbygru Posts: 292 Member
    thanks for that - I'm going to try the salad in a minute :smile:
  • grobbygru
    grobbygru Posts: 292 Member
    OMG!!!! This salad is beautiful - everyone must try it!! Thankyou OP.
    I made a few changes (as I do lol) - it was only really for logistical purposes - I had to use what I had - so I used 4 bean mix instead of 5 - put around 1/2 cup of corn in as I only had 1/2 cup of green beans - didn't have enough parsley in the garden - so just put as much as I could in and had to use normal tomato's as well because there wasn't a punnet on my bush of cherry tomatoes. Oh and I had to use normal brown onion. The only thing I would change is maybe lessen the amount of oil - but that's only because I am a 'fat nazi' lol.

    Thanks again for sharing.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    the salad is delicious hey :) so happy to be helping you all !
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
    That is actually quite a lot of money to be spending on food in 2 weeks. I spend that or less in a month for myself and my partner.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    bump
  • blueham5
    blueham5 Posts: 67 Member
    $100 or less per fortnight is about average for 2 adults. And seeing as you're sharing with a baby and not an adult, your food costs are actually relatively high.
  • Every day at work I take a whole cucumber and a tupperware full of baby carrots and celery - will keep you full. I take a sandwhich with thinly cut chicken or turkey, no condiments but a thin slice of cheddar as well as a small salad. My husband and I spend about $180 a week on food and ONLY eat out once a week. My key has been staying away from processed food and only snacking on veggies. It helps to have the mindset of "eat to live" - we grill our meat every night and have a salad with a steamed veggie. I must also say I love ice cream - so I give myself 1 Skinny Cow a night -
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    $100 or less per fortnight is about average for 2 adults. And seeing as you're sharing with a baby and not an adult, your food costs are actually relatively high.

    You also have to take into a count calories, I eat enough for two people , around 2500cals a day, baby has four meals a day now and formula. plus my partner moved in and it isnt costing much more, to be honest I brlieve it wouldnt be any more as ivr found more ways to cut costs. You would be suprised at the amount people actually spend on groceries with processed good etc. and people trying to eat healthy buying expensive so called health foods. Im just trying to encourage people to continually compare prices, make cheaper and healthier supstitutes, take advantage of reduced items and buy in season! I am getting getting so much variety and proper nutrition for this small price
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