healthy food on a budget

RosieWest8

Stores like Aldi and Trader Joes are good ways to spend less on groceries. The only thing about them is there's less of a variety of brands for the things you want to buy. For example, Aldi may not have 10 different brands of peanut butter, they might just have one b/c that's the one they got the best deal on ..... savings they pass on to you. It's the same way with Trader Joes, 'Trader Joe' brand stuff everywhere, but it saves you money. So look for a store in your area like those (or go to those if you have them).

When I was in college, I have an $80/wk budget and commonly didn't spend it all (on groceries at least.........but it got spent --- on beer!) I didn't eat a huge variety of stuff but I always had food in the apartment and I only went grocery shopping every 2 1/2 - 3 weeks.

I'd buy chicken on sale and portion it out when I got home and freeze it and took it out to thaw as I needed: same with ground turkey or pork.
Whole wheat bread/spaghetti --- I'd buy the store brand spaghetti/pasta...but I never really gave up on my Brownberry Healthnut bread -- I just love it too much! Plus the bread is so hearty that I usually only eat one slice (I rarely make a whole sandwich with it).
Frozen edemame --- I'd eat it as a snack or throw it in with pasta and sauce. Quick healthy way to add protein to your spaghetti and sauce. Or other frozen veggies are always a good deal and on sale often.
Canned tuna/salmon also was a quick/cheap thing to grab and keep in the pantry. Get those while they are on sale too, they keep for a long time.
Brown rice -- the long cooking kind, isn't expensive and you can cook a bunch up and keep it in the fridge and portion it out as your need it.
Eggs

And go shopping when your tummy is full! =D I think it helps me from grabbing stuff I wouldn't normally grab.


Really anything you buy, you want the least processed version of it...it's always cheaper. So if you buy and whole chicken, it's cheaper than buying packaged chicken breast...and if you know how to cut/bone a chicken you might as well do it that way.
Same with fresh veggies in the produce section --- instead of buying that plastic tub of spinach......they usually have 'loose' spinach on the wall that you can throw into a bag ---- it's usually cheaper. Already cut up fruit is more expensive, same with onions that already have their 'paper' removed. LOL, the more prep work you do yourself the better off your wallet (and waistline, I guess) will be!