Losing Weight on a Budget?

Rubyinthesand2012

I was given some "stay-fresh" bags from my mum, you basically put the fruit or veg in them and then in the fridge or wherever you normally store and it keeps the fruit fresher for longer.... Bananas lasted 3 weeks without going brown! carrots lasted ages as did brocoli and cauli and sprouts etc... means i can bulk buy when things are on offer.
they sell them on ebay & amazon

musicaljessica

I was given some "stay-fresh" bags from my mum, you basically put the fruit or veg in them and then in the fridge or wherever you normally store and it keeps the fruit fresher for longer.... Bananas lasted 3 weeks without going brown! carrots lasted ages as did brocoli and cauli and sprouts etc... means i can bulk buy when things are on offer.
they sell them on ebay & amazon

They sound amazing! I could really do with some. Asda always have big bulk offers and those bags would would be perfect for us.

ooshlet

i'm on a strict budget at the moment. i make a giant vegetable soup every weekend - normally some kind of variation of butternut squash, red lentils, carrots etc, then eat that all week. freeze some and just keep it in the fridge. then i have eggs and nuts for protein. it can be done - you just have to plan a little bit more.

swisspea

Frozen produce is truly helpful, I love it, I'm munching on some grapes I froze a few weeks ago when they were on sale

Beans: I make a lot of salads with beans- something simple: beans, olive oil, garlic salt and different vinegars make a good lunch. As for lentils, I like putting them in soups. They really fill me up. My favorurite is a potato-lentil soup, which is basically boiled skinned mashed potatoes, vegetable broth, a bit of light sour cream (or yogurt) and lentils all mixed together and left to simmer with some herbs- yum yum!

I always do the same with freezer stuff, which is really bad! or I think "no, its only for when I'm really busy and there is a food EMERGENCY"- which pretty much never happens and I forget it for a few months, and by then its full of freezer burn and gross (like my butternut squash soup I tried to de-thaw last night).

Hi! Best of luck! I honestly believe it can be done (and I have also ate healthy and lost weight on a very very tight student budget). Ive managed with the following tips: Buy mostly frozen veggies and fruits. Although this means most of your veggies will be cooked for consumption, frozen produce is frozen at the source so (apparently) there are more nutrients than we find in fresh veggies that have been sitting on a shelf for days, frozen produce is on sale (as there are many different brands in that frozen foods isle)and can be purchased in bulk (and there is nothing as good as frozen berries, milk and 1 crushed generic cookies to make you feel like your treating yourself). Baking your own bread is REALLY cheap, and fun. Generic rice cakes and nut butters are your friend in a pinch. Buy dried lentils and beans from a non big-box store (the only difference is you have to soak them, but you leave out all that nasty sodium). Lastly (and I'm still working on this myself) finding a love for homemade soup is very helpful. Good luck!

I had thought abuot buying frozen because tbh I throw alot out when it goes off - and with frozen it'll not go off.
And I've never made my own bread! I love baking (although I'm not sure cakes are such a good plan right now).
I love making my own soup. I use my Nana's recipe and make it in bulk and freeze in portions. But I only ever do that when veg is going off. And then I normally forget its in the freezer and make something else.

Never tried using lentils. And I wouldn't know what to do with them or what to put them in!! Same with beans. Other than chilli what can I do with them? Cos I know that lentils and beans are a good source of protein - which I'm trying to up right now

shakybabe

Really? That seems a lot for just fruit and veg when meat is so much more expensive. Are these the bulk buy frozen food type Iceland deals?

I get organic veg delivered to my home and I get a weeks worth for just £10!

where from?

ednawhatnot

Porridge oats are great for breakfast and dirt cheap, they can also be used to thicken soups and add bulk to dishes like stew etc which makes them go further. Lentils are another multipurpose item which are great for bulking meals out or using instead of meat for a chilli or similar (I often make a chilli or savoury 'mince' using leftover bits of veg, lentils and onions). I'm also making vegetable broth once a week which costs me about 30p per portion - it's just chopped veg like carrot, celery, cabbage & leek with a couple of handfuls of dried soup mix soaked overnight, a stock cube and whatever herbs I feel like dropping in.

Do you have a friend you could shop with to take advantage of multibuys?