Any suggestions of 'cheap' healthy foods?

JenMarie8781

Shop at Walmart and price match! You don't have to have an ad to price match, you just have to know the exact price of the item at whatever store you are matching it from. For example... Aldi's has extremely cheap produce -- $0.49 for celery....$0.59 for a head of lettuce... $0.49 for an 8oz container of grape tomatoes.... $0.89 for a container of strawberry's, etc. The reason I know this is because I'm a cashier at Walmart and people price match this stuff a lot. lol.

Lesa_Sass

Thanks for the suggestions! I always like stocking up on beans & pulses, it's just trying to think of exciting things to do with them ha!
I only have a tiny freezer which makes it hard to buy a lot of frozen veg, but i'll have a scour round and see if theres any smaller bags kicking about
What about meat etc? My boyfriends one of those people who doesn't think its a decent meal unless it has meat in it haha. Been buying a lot of turkey but getting slightly fed up of it!

Maybe boyfriend can buy his own meat? Just an fyi, people spend, on average, 4000.00 per year on meat. Going veg is way cheaper than people think it is. A bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a can of tomato sauce and some cooked lentils makes a very yummy soup, that can last you all week long. I will put a couple of cups of chopped cabbage and hot sauce in mine. And meat can also be added to the soup as well.

Good luck to you. It may seem like eating healthy is expensive, but if we stop buying stuff that is bad, then we see it is not as expensive as we once thought.

yes most definitely. i like to eat turkey & white fish, which isn't that expensive and i still get the protein i need. im not that big a fan of red meat anyway, so if he wants it he can buy it! i've found that using turkey mince instead of beef mince is a lot healthier and you also can't taste the difference.
thanks a lot! x

I agree, the turkey is a much better option and the one we use in this house. I never use ground beef, only ground chicken or turkey. On the rare occasion we have red meat burgers, I use bison instead of cow.

I used to complain that healthy food was more expensive than bad for you food, but I realized I was spending the same amount of money when I cut out buying junk or stuff we really did not need. I started creating my grocery list around meals, which were created around calories. If you are not eating an excess of calories, you are not spending as much money.

deborawrrx

Aw I really wish we had some of those shops over in the UK!! Not fair haha. Asda's probably our best though.. (its the British counterpart of Wal-Mart!), but its not quite as cheap as you said Wal-Mart is.


But its still cheap enough to get fruit & veg from. I will be going to Aldi though, as they've got a Super 6 idea on, so 6 different fruit/veg are only 59p!! It's so cheap, blueberries, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes to name a few Gonna stock up on them and freeze a lot of blueberries for smoothies!


Made up my meal list/shopping list, but put a couple of different recipes for each night - but they're made with the same ingredients! Planning ahead.

amonkey794

Saved!

deborawrrx

thanks for all the suggestions guys! hope a lot of you have found some help too.

amiles21693

Dont know if you have an Aldis where you are but theyre really cheap and I shop there when I have no money (Im a college student too).

amiles21693

I also agree with making a list of meals instead of individual foods. It has helped me cut back a lot and if youre only shopping for yourself use a basket instead of a cart. It will keep you from impulse shopping.

kirstyg1980

I can feed a family of 4 on £70-£80 a week (that's $105-$120) for breakfast lunch & diner

I cook all diners fresh, I buy no ready meals,frozen meals or jars of sauces

I have porridge or cereal and fresh orange for breakfast, sandwich, soup and yogurt for lunch and something like spag bol for tea, rest of family eats like this to

you need to learn how to cook without using the convenient sauces, these can be high in fat, sodium & calories anyway, where as preparing your own isn't

if it's a meal that takes a good hour or so to make, I prepare it the night before

hardatwork45

bump

kirstyg1980

Also make a list and buy ONLY what you need to

I have stated shopping at a small morrisons as I found I was buying to many things on special at Asda/Tescos

Also only buy specials buy 2 for £x or buy one get one free's if you actually use them - it's not a bargain if you don't

sheepysaccount

As a university student, I live on a budget as well. I would suggest saving on other things like new clothes, going to the movies, random stuff that's not essential. Then spend the extra money on food. I live by the philosophy that you should buy good stuff for your and save elsewhere since your health is a long-term investment.
Try coupons, websites that let you trade in stuff, check out books from the library. And also check out iamcheap.com for other ways to save money.

ednawhatnot

Do you have a Morrisons nearby? They always have great offers on meat, especially pork, plus all their meat is sourced from the UK. I agree with other posters bout Aldi, they offer fantastic value for money.

One thing I've started doing recenty is cooking multiple portions of a meal, portioning it out into sealable sandwich bags and writing the calories on the bag before freezing. The bags take up a lot less room than tupperware since you can freeze them into flat packages, but you will need to decant them into a dish to microwave the contents. Writing the calories on makes it easier to do a quick add on the calorie counter since there's no way I'm going to remember the ingredients of a meal if it's been in the freezer for weeks.

robbda

Ok so I am on a really tight budget! This is only feeding one

I shop at Iceland mainly

My Shop this month:

Tuna Steaks 5 for £4
Minted Lamb steaks 5 for £4
Cod pieces 5 for £4
Chicken Breast 5 for £4
Chicken Tikka Pieces £2 (does about 4 salads) x 2 (will have to buy more during the month for freshness)
Crunchy Salad £1 (2 portions) x 2
Tomatoes £1 for 6
Prawns £4 small bag
Orange Juice 2 for £1.50
Activia 8 for £2
Eggs 12 for £1
Ham £3 its like 20 slices
Bag of mixed veg £1 x2
Spinach £1
Fajita Kit £1.75
Soup 2 for £1 x 12
Pasta Bake £1 x2
Pasta £1
Cheese £3 x2
Apples £1 x 2
Oat so Simple £1.50 for 12 sachets x4
Flour for Bread £1

Then I head over to aldi for cheap bits and I spend about £10 in there on ingredients for lasagnes that i batch bake (British steak mince for £1.99), fruit for 59p, peppers and onions for the fajitas

So I have:

For Brekkie: Porridge or Toast or Egg
For dinner: tuna steaks, Lamb Steaks, Cod and chicken x 17, Fajitas x2, pasta Bake x 2 Omelette x3, Jacket potato
For lunch: 24 Soups with home made bread, Prawn Salad, Cheese salad, Egg Salad, Ham Salad, Chiken tikka Salad For Snacks: Cheese, Apples,Activia Yoghurt, Cheese toastie

all dishes are changed with the spices I have in my cupboard

MONTHLY SHOP TOTAL £73.25 (about £18.31 a week)

Topsking2010

Tons of great suggestions.

skullkrusher22

Frozen veggies are just as good as fresh and are cheaper!!!

^Agree. Also experiment w/ eggs by adding tomato, spinach, orange or yellow bell pepper. Keep a box/bag of flaxseed as an alternative for omega 3. Sprinkle it on your oatmeal, salads, cereals. You can buy it for around $2-4. Natural applesauce is a great snack and cheap too. Whole grain pasta can be found for $1-2 a pound which can provide about 5-6 servings throughout the week.

Hambone23

Thanks for the suggestions! I always like stocking up on beans & pulses, it's just trying to think of exciting things to do with them ha!
I only have a tiny freezer which makes it hard to buy a lot of frozen veg, but i'll have a scour round and see if theres any smaller bags kicking about
What about meat etc? My boyfriends one of those people who doesn't think its a decent meal unless it has meat in it haha. Been buying a lot of turkey but getting slightly fed up of it!

How supportive is your boyfriend, or how open-minded? My boyfriend is a Texan, born and raised. It's not a meal unless there's a dead animal in it. Period. No rabbit food. No beans. Not a fan of vegetables at all. But he's trying to support me, and I think he wouldn't mind a healthy dinner given the crap he eats because he drives all day. But I actually got him to eat a whole Mexican-style veggie/bean casserole (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chilaquiles_casserole.html). He actually asked for seconds, and we had an ungodly amount of leftovers, which he happily ate (and he doesn't eat leftovers either).

I think, little by little (because they are expensive), it's worth picking up a dried spice or two during a shopping trip. What seems like bland food can be jazzed up quite a bit with very cheap options: canned diced tomatoes, A splurge of grated Parmesan, that at 2 TBLS a serving will last a long, long, long time. Lemon juice. Campbell's cream of <insert option here> soups (there are lots of low-fat and low-sodium versions now). Buy a cheap chicken, use the meat for 3-4 meals, and make your own soup stock to cook with instead of water, which gives even bland things a nicer flavor. Pork chops are super cheap on sale.

There's also a good link on extremely simple chicken recipes (all 5 ingredients or less and a lot of things you'd have on hand if you have the most used spices) if you're looking for cheap variety: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/02/05/magazine/simple-chicken-recipes.html#Coconut_Ginger_Chicken

maemiller

i plan a menu a week in advance and then so my shopping around that. Dried beans are cheap and if you make too much, they freeze really well. lots of protien and you can do a lot with them. Found that precut veggies are more expensive than regular vegetables (bag salad vs. head of lettuce), so i would that instead. Buying bulk veggies are cheaper and during the spring and summer hit the farmers markets.

Another thing is that if you can cook like a weeks worth of meals and freeze it, its cheaper and much more convenient, to me

deborawrrx

brilliant suggestions!
i'm a pretty avid cook, so tend to not use pre-made sauces etc, own ones taste so much better but just found it a bit difficult getting used to counting the calories in the portions if i make something from scratch. hopefully get used to that.
definitely going to iceland in the next few days, get some fish & meat. aldi for fruit & veg for a couple of things and probably asda for the rest! busy couple of days coming up but im sure i'll fit it all in.

made up my list of breakfast/lunch/meals for 10 days/2 weeks, a lot of it can be doubled/trebled up to make multiple things. and ill freeze a lot of it too. i don't tend to spend a lot of money on clothes etc, its just cos i have some ridiculous bills this month (£400 + £310 rent which is a hell of a lot compared to normal) but it will get better

the boyfriend is a lot better than he used to be, its gotten to the stage where he's happy with whatever i decide to make for dinner haha, its a lot easier for him just to agree!

so thankful for everyone's help! was really stressing out about it, but has totally made me realise it can be done

SRH7

1. Aldi and Lidl: I'll second Aldi, and Lidl is great for fruit and veg too. A couple of weeks ago I got five mixed peppers for £1 in Lidl, when they were 86p each in Sainsburys and 79p each in Asda. A bag of Rooster potatoes was £1 at Lidl, compared to £1.80 at Sainsburys. Lidl is also better for more 'exotic' veg such as celariac, sweet potatoes etc.

2. Meat: With meat, I prefer minced pork to beef and it's much cheaper (Asda do it). Just be sure to drain off any fat after browning before adding in your ingredients. It's more tender than beef and I make it stretch further both calorie and money wise by adding in lentils, beans etc. It's fab for chilli, for example. Also, the 'basics' chicken breasts in most supermarkets is from exactly the same farms as the normal chicken breasts - they are just different shapes and sizes due to how the butcher has cut it (Sainsburys and Asda have both admitted this). Once it's chopped and cooked, it's exactly the same - but around a third cheaper!

3. Yellow sticker bargains: You said you don't have much freezer space, but if you can make a little room then shopping after 8pm at night in the big supermarkets is great for bagging bargains. Most have an area where 'Yellow sticker' items that are on the edge of their sell-by dates are sold off. I tend to buy all my meat this way and just stick it in the freezer straight away, ready for future use. My freezer currently has all sorts, from rump steak and smoked salmon to turkey mince and fresh beef burgers. Just be cheeky and ask the staff if they have certain times when they sell goods off. One woman I work with goes in at midnight once a week then brings in items the next day that she has bought for 5p each etc and sells them at a profit! Bargain!

4. Asian supermarkets: From little local Gujuarti stores on your local high street to big out-of-town Chinese supermarkets, there are bargains galore. As a student in Leicester I only ever shopped in the local shops, getting big bags of onions and carrots, bunches of herbs, spices etc for a fraction of the price in the supermarkets. Last week I got a box of saffron for £2. A similar amount in the supermarket would have cost £20. Yes, a luxury buy, but fab in risotto! I also buy loads of noodles from the Chinese supermarkets in a once-a-month shop. They last forever, are dead cheap and I particularly love the rice noodles as you simply pour boiling water on from the kettle then leave to stand for 10 mins. Drain off, add in a stack of raw or lightly cooked veg and beansprouts and several splashes of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and you have an instant dinner (beats Pot Noodle every time!).

5. Shop online: Yes, you have to pay for delivery but it means you can pick, choose and swap brands in the comfort of your own home. I love http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/ as it offers you price swaps (for example swap Heinz beans to Adsa to save money). It will automatically flag up any special offers and gives you the chance to 'swap' your basket to another supermarket if the bill will be cheaper.

6. And my final suggestion is to always try to shop in season. Cabbages grown in season in Aberdeenshire will always be cheaper than those shipped in from South Africa out of season! This website is fab and has a guide you can print off to stick on your fridge (or carry in your handbag): http://eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/calendar/ Just make a note of what is in season and you can bet your bottom dollar it will be a good price in the supermarket. Savoy cabbage and cauliflower are in right now - perfect comfort food when you are six feet deep in snow (which I suspect you are in Scotland right now!).

deborawrrx

1. Aldi and Lidl: I'll second Aldi, and Lidl is great for fruit and veg too. A couple of weeks ago I got five mixed peppers for £1 in Lidl, when they were 86p each in Sainsburys and 79p each in Asda. A bag of Rooster potatoes was £1 at Lidl, compared to £1.80 at Sainsburys. Lidl is also better for more 'exotic' veg such as celariac, sweet potatoes etc.

2. Meat: With meat, I prefer minced pork to beef and it's much cheaper (Asda do it). Just be sure to drain off any fat after browning before adding in your ingredients. It's more tender than beef and I make it stretch further both calorie and money wise by adding in lentils, beans etc. It's fab for chilli, for example. Also, the 'basics' chicken breasts in most supermarkets is from exactly the same farms as the normal chicken breasts - they are just different shapes and sizes due to how the butcher has cut it (Sainsburys and Asda have both admitted this). Once it's chopped and cooked, it's exactly the same - but around a third cheaper!

3. Yellow sticker bargains: You said you don't have much freezer space, but if you can make a little room then shopping after 8pm at night in the big supermarkets is great for bagging bargains. Most have an area where 'Yellow sticker' items that are on the edge of their sell-by dates are sold off. I tend to buy all my meat this way and just stick it in the freezer straight away, ready for future use. My freezer currently has all sorts, from rump steak and smoked salmon to turkey mince and fresh beef burgers. Just be cheeky and ask the staff if they have certain times when they sell goods off. One woman I work with goes in at midnight once a week then brings in items the next day that she has bought for 5p each etc and sells them at a profit! Bargain!

4. Asian supermarkets: From little local Gujuarti stores on your local high street to big out-of-town Chinese supermarkets, there are bargains galore. As a student in Leicester I only ever shopped in the local shops, getting big bags of onions and carrots, bunches of herbs, spices etc for a fraction of the price in the supermarkets. Last week I got a box of saffron for £2. A similar amount in the supermarket would have cost £20. Yes, a luxury buy, but fab in risotto! I also buy loads of noodles from the Chinese supermarkets in a once-a-month shop. They last forever, are dead cheap and I particularly love the rice noodles as you simply pour boiling water on from the kettle then leave to stand for 10 mins. Drain off, add in a stack of raw or lightly cooked veg and beansprouts and several splashes of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and you have an instant dinner (beats Pot Noodle every time!).

5. Shop online: Yes, you have to pay for delivery but it means you can pick, choose and swap brands in the comfort of your own home. I love http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/ as it offers you price swaps (for example swap Heinz beans to Adsa to save money). It will automatically flag up any special offers and gives you the chance to 'swap' your basket to another supermarket if the bill will be cheaper.

6. And my final suggestion is to always try to shop in season. Cabbages grown in season in Aberdeenshire will always be cheaper than those shipped in from South Africa out of season! This website is fab and has a guide you can print off to stick on your fridge (or carry in your handbag): http://eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/calendar/ Just make a note of what is in season and you can bet your bottom dollar it will be a good price in the supermarket. Savoy cabbage and cauliflower are in right now - perfect comfort food when you are six feet deep in snow (which I suspect you are in Scotland right now!).

Thank you so much, incredibly informative!! Shall take all these suggestions into consideration might do a wee shop tonight online. Usually takes me ages, haha but I like to find the good offers! Hopefully i'll be able to nip along to the Chinese & Indian markets soon for some bargains x

leojsivad

1. Bag of frozen chicken breasts
2. Beans
3. Frozen green beans
4. Lean ground beef