Healthy Eating on a Budget Threads

SillySkittles

I'm going to post this here too as I couldn't remember exactly which part of the forum I read it in!

I was reading a thread a couple days ago with suggestions and tips on how to keep eating healthy foods while on a budget! It suggested things such as getting roast chicken from wal-mart and having that last over a couple days, etc....

A friend of mine has started eating better but is running into trouble because the healthy foods that she knows of is breaking the bank!!! We need help!!!!

Does anyone have the link to that thread or any other threads or places that have good suggestions, etc?

Thanks in advance!!!

YourCatalyst429

Buy produce thats in season! If you can find a local farms market they are much cheaper then the grocery store. Also I often by the reduced price meat. It's fine as long as you cook in that night or the next.

vanessa915

I don't know of any threads on this particular subject, but I can tell you some of the things that my husband and I have been doing to lower our grocery bills. It's just the two of us, so we're not feeding a huge family, but still...

First off, we have a small upright freezer in addition to the one on our fridge. This gives us a lot of flexibility when things are on sale.

I buy a lot of things from bulk bins. You would think Whole foods is more expensive, but in truth, you can buy things like brown rice, steel cut oats, wheatberries, and barley for $1/lb or less. Much cheaper than buying bags of it at the regular grocery store! Plus, I can buy just as much as I need instead of a big package.

We're lucky to have a farmer's market nearby that has a lot of good deals on fresh and organic produce in the summer months. Often they will have things like snap peas for $3/each or 2/$5, so I go with a single friend and we split deals like that. That way we both get the better price and neither of us end up with more than we'll use for the week.

If you don't already have a membership to Sam's Club or Costco, then see if any of your friends have one. Go shopping with them to get deals on frozen veggies, fresh fruit (if you'll use it all up before it'll go bad), cereal, dry goods, meats, etc. They have a lot of healthy food options if you look around. I sometimes will go with my mom or another friend and we split the cost on a lot of things. Then we both get a good deal and things don't go to waste.

I always shop sales. I have 4 grocery stores that are convenient for me to go to, so I check all of their ads to see who has the best deals. If I only need one or two things from one of the stores, it's easy to get in and get out quickly if I know exactly what I'm going for, and because it's on my way home I don't waste any gas going out of my way. I also try to plan my menus around what I already have at home and what is on sale for that week.

I also try to know when the stores do their markdowns in the meat section. Keep an eye out for healthy cuts of meat that are on the last day of their sell-by date. They are usually much, much cheaper so they get sold quickly. For example, last night I was at the store and they had Jennie-O extra lean ground turkey marked down to half of the price because the sell by date was the next day. I bought 3, took them home, and froze them as soon as I got home. (We have also invested in a Foodsaver vaccuum system, but you can always just double wrap things to help prevent freezer burn.)

Come up with healthy, but simple meal ideas. Things like chili or soup are healthy, filling, and pretty cheap to make. You mentioned getting a whole chicken. That's a great idea! I like to get a whole chicken, remove the skin, and cook it in the crock pot. Then I strip the bones of all the meat, but the bones back in the crock pot, add water, celery, carrot, onions and garlic and make stock out of it. Now you've got the makings of any number of dishes.

I hope some of this helps. A good website for all things frugal is www.stretcher.com They have all kinds of ideas and resources for people trying to find ways to save money. I've gotten a lot of great ideas from there.

Vanessa

angelajiniel

I don't know what the thread was either, but the biggest thing I know of is meal planning. Look at sale flyers and what you have on hand and plan out a week or two worth of meals ahead of time. That way you'll use what you have up and only buy what you need. It also makes it a lot easier to have something good on hand when you want a snack to have planned ahead for it!

Bulk cooking is also good. We only have two in our house, so this helps me a lot. I make a big batch of chili or soup or even lasagna and then freeze the extras for use later.