Is it possible to eat healthy AND cheaply?

TehSeed

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Piqueaboo

I find when I buy on farmers markets or directly from the farmer, it works out cheaper. I also don't buy much meat, so that saves a lot of money.

DangerJim71

yes. shop smart, buy things on sale, in season, fresh frozen, or grown locally. The whole idea that it is expensive to eat healhty is BS and an excuse in my opinion. I get a 5 lb bag of carrots and stalk of celery for what a family size bag of doritos costs and it provides delicious and healthy snacks all week. I get boneless skinless chicken on sale for $1.88/lb and stock the freezer. You can't get big macs for $1.88/lb. Little debbie crap cakes cost about 50 cents each compared to the same price for an apple or orange.

TehSeed

Since we live in an apartment, we are limited to buying from a grocery store and not a bulk store.

We also are very picky in what we eat. I am quite limited thanks to my tree nut allergy, so no almonds, pecans, etc.

At least I can eat peanuts, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't eat peanuts or peanut butter.

summer8it

Anyone, no matter what their diet or preferences, can lower their grocery bills just by following a few simple rules.

Shop around. Visit all the available stores to find out which stores have the best prices on the items you buy. Don't expect to buy everything you need in one store. If the store that stocks your favorite cereal has terrible prices on produce, don't buy your produce there just because you ran out of your cereal.

Shop the sales and use coupons. Stock up on shelf-stable or freezable items when you can get a good deal. Look for websites that match up grocery sale flyers with available coupons to help you plan your shopping (southernsavers.com is one example that covers all the grocery stores and drugstores in the Southern US.) For freezer items, you can maximize freezer space by repackaging items into freezer bags.

Waste not. Try not to throw away ANY food. Get creative and find ways to repurpose leftovers, use up produce before it rots, turn your bones and bits of veg into broth (crock pot is an easy way to do this). Keep a constant eye on your fridge to make sure you're eating things before they go bad. Another great idea is to do an occasional "Eat down the fridge" challenge, when you go a week without buying any groceries to make sure you are using up the items in your fridge, freezer and pantry before they get too old.

mrguse

All good tips, but here's my thoughts: when beginning to eat healthy, just accept the fact that your cost of living has gone up. The tips above can minimize the damage, but it's just more expensive. I can buy 2 apples or a case of Toast-Chees for the same price. I can get a cheeseburger for $1.99 or a salad for $3.99, etc.

Lowering your grocery bill is a very, very time consuming job. Coupons cut it a bit, being willing to split your grocery shopping between 3 stores helps more, farmers markets can help even more. All of that will significantly increase the amount of time it takes to eat healthy.

Another tip: unless you really, really want to, don't shop organic. Intuitively it makes more sense, but it can be at least twice to 3x the price. "Natural" is a good middle ground.

LoosingMyLast15

i second shopping farmers markets for produce - so much cheaper. also look at some of the meals you eat to see if you could actually make them yourself. eat baked beans - try making them yourself, even though you have to buy the ingredients you end up with 2-3 times as much as you would in just 1 can. love hummus? so much cheaper if you make it yourself. trader joes sells tanini past dirt cheap, a can of chick peas, olive oil, garlic, whatever else you want to put in it and you end up with a jumbo sized container of homemade hummus. make your own granola (bars, balls whatever shape you want).

i also second getting creative with leftovers. definitely helps stretch your money.

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Jexebel

I can buy 2 apples or a case of Toast-Chees for the same price. I can get a cheeseburger for $1.99 or a salad for $3.99, etc.

You're doing it wrong. I know 'healthy food' bought prepared is expensive. If you buy the ingredients for the salad and make it yourself at home, per person will come out to cheaper than getting a cheeseburger for everyone. I have no idea what toast chees is but buying fruit and vegetables in season is the best way to go. Frozen is good option too.

Elen_Sia

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I live in central Indiana and spend, on average, $180 a month on groceries for myself. I buy canned tuna, poultry as well as frozen vegetables/fruit/salmon filets and bread from Sam's Club. Poultry gets divided into smaller baggies with weight and portion sizes written on the outside so I know how much I will be cooking when I grab a particular baggy. All baggies and bread are frozen until I am ready to cook/eat them. Most of my non-perishables are purchased from Amazon on their Subscribe & Save program. If I can't find what I want from Amazon or Sam's Club, I do without it and find available alternatives.

Jexebel

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

From your diary, things like Dr. Pepper, granola bars, frito chips: all add up to a whole lot of money and are worth nothing nutritionally. Lean cuisines etc..packaged meals much mroe expensive than cooking meals at home.

Dee_84

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

From your diary, things like Dr. Pepper, granola bars, frito chips: all add up to a whole lot of money and are worth nothing nutritionally. Lean cuisines etc..packaged meals much mroe expensive than cooking meals at home.

^^ This!
Skip the Soda and the granola bars (3 bars in one sitting, really?!). Instead drink water and grab a pb&j sandwich on whole grain bread, cheaper and better for you!

Lina4Lina

We eat a lot of legumes and whole grains which we buy in bulk where we can. My husband and I spend about $300/month on a mostly organic diet. We don't eat meat or dairy so that cuts down the bulk of our costs.

TehSeed

I am eating the bars to save time, actually. Those are expensive but, they are organic! I usually eat two bars and eat a 3rd bar for a snack later in the morning, but I get busy at work and just put my food in at one meal. we've only been buying them on sale, to a tune of about 50% off lately. When I am not eating those bars, I am eating an egg-white, turkey sausage and english muffin sandwich.

with my tree nut allergy, I can't eat so many breakfast foods, in a timely fashion.

I drink the diet dr peppers for the caffeine, since I have never developed a taste for coffee. Additionally, I alternate between frozen meals for lunch and cooking chicken tenderloins and a side salad, which I make at home.

For the past year or so, we've been making a few meals from the I Can't Believe its Not Fattening! Cookbook, but I feel like we're burnt out on those. I guess I need to adopt the workout diet, baked chicken and rice, 5 nights a week.

livelifebreath

I am a couponer and I love shopping deals. Here are my recommendations we spend about $100 a week at the grocery store and do not eat out. We also do not buy prepackaged food except oatmeal or graham crackers. I recommend starting to shop at places that are local or hispanic produce markets. Great produce and strawberries are .99. Also if you need to buy prepackaged things then shop at places like ALDI. Sign up for the newsletter and start receiving deals. I shop at Weis Market or Giant Food because they have gas reward programs and great prices. I recommend printing coupons for salad mix, carrots, and signing up for online reward programs. SavingStar is great too. I could talk forever about this, but I hope this makes the point.

rodneyderrick

Yeah. It's called beans.

sc1572

bump

MFPBrandy

Beans are the cheapest-healthiest thing out there. Chickpeas are awesome--you can make hummus dip for your veggies, you can spice them a hundred different ways and roast them for snacks, mix them with different veggies for salads...I have a salad in my fridge right now that is chickpeas, black beans, red pepper & cilantro tossed in olive oil, cumin & black pepper. It is amazing, especially with a little crumbled feta...in fact, I think I will go have some right now.

simplydelish2

First, stop eating out so often...that helps the $'s and the waistline the fastest.

Buy fruits and veggies that are in season, buy frozen (NOT canned) when you need to.

I spend about $150-200 per month and have all the fresh and healthy stuff I want and yes that includes meat at least once a day - usually twice.

Check your list for processed foods and eliminate those - that should help cut the $'s too.

Good luck

Secondgoround

I agree with shopping farmers' markets so you can buy what's local to where you live. It's fresh, healthy and usually a good price. I also stock up on dried legumes. That way, I just soak and cook what I'm going to use instead of opening a can and having them spoil before I get sick of them. I also try to cook things I can freeze (like chili, bean stews and soups) so I'm not tempted to grab something like fast food or crappy frozen dinners.

Also, make friends with eggs! They are cheap, a good source of protein and there are so many ways to fix them.

MFPBrandy

Oh, and check out the bulk bins if any of your stores carry them -- don't be thrown by the word "bulk," you can buy as little or as much as you want, and sometimes the prices are WAY better than the packaged stuff. I get organic brown rice and organic quinoa for super cheap that way.

xTattooedDollx

I agree with everyone. I have a severe gluten allergy and I just rent a room with no kitchen privileges. You just have to be smart about what you eat and what you spend. We eat mostly just fresh fruits and veggies that are locally grown and a lot of fresh meats. My crock pot has been great! I eat gluten free oatmeal for breakfast most mornings and it ends up costing about $1.25/breakfast.