What are the healthiest, inexpensive foods?

NWCountryGal

I was thinking about this last night and realized I am one of the lucky ones that can buy enough, of some of the "best" foods because I am single and only have to buy for me. Plus, even single people struggle to have enough money to buy healthy foods.

I am asking for anyone interested, to list some foods that don't cost and arm and a leg, that last(can be frozen/stored)but have at least as many nutrients as a body needs. All of us need to know since many of us are only a paycheck away from poverty or even homelessness. Let's face it, we need a backup plan. Just because we can fill our cupboards with supplements, the best and maybe most expensive of food from the grocery store but what if we can't, or, we suddenly found ourselves scraping for money to buy groceries??

The only cheap foods I can think of that are healthy and provide good nutrition off hand are:

chicken
beans(in a bag you cook yourself without salt)

lets fill this thread up with cheap or at least cheaper, healthy, foods!! Denise:drinker: :drinker:

How to buy and shop hints are totally welcome! Maybe in bulk but how many can afford to do that if they only have a small studio size fridge? Or yeah, the pork might be way cheaper in bulk but it's still 20 bucks you don't have. You get the idea;)

moesaid2

Oatmeal

MindyG150

EGGS!

NWCountryGal

both great suggestions! What about proteins and good fats, good carbs that we can buy if we are short on grocery money? Also brands that may be better for us but still cheaper to purchase? What about ways to get our fruits and vegies in there? Frozen I hear is only 2nd to fresh in nutrients?

Denise:drinker: :drinker:

yoovie

frozen veggies
eggs
brown rice
boneless skinless chicken breasts - frozen
whole grain pasta
whole wheat bagels and pitas
peanuts
fresh veggies like celery and baby carrots
tuna
beans
round steak

heidiberr

Bananas!

erickirb

fruit and veggies that are in season

boydsterk

fruit!

i can go to the store and get a nice pre-cut container of honeydew and canalope for 3 bucks.

Lina4Lina

I think cabbage and carrots are among the cheapest veggies but buying in season helps too
lentils are among the cheapest legume, especially if you buy in bulk
I've found millet to be one of the cheapest grains (99 cents in bulk)
In season fruits are generally cheapest, especially apples

jeddy3mcc

GRITS and Eggs!!! Keeps me full all morning

kit8806

This is a great thread! I'm a single mom and live paycheck to paycheck and my 4 year old loves to eat her veggies! It's so hard for find cheap healthy foods!! Thanks!!

CoderGal

20 food stuffs for under a dollar:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22175/52070-twenty-healthiest-foods-1

SoDamnHungry

Sometimes frozen and canned veggies are better than fresh. When fruit sits around it starts to lose nutrients (at least that's what I've been told), but when they freeze it it retains them all. Of course, fresh right out of your garden would probably be even better!

dodihere

I invested $56 in a garden this year that produced a few hundred dollars worth of vegetable. If grown by seed, cheaper. I was able to provide food for my daughter and her family, my family and my neighbor and that was from an 8x8 raised bed garden. Not all foods have to be store bought.

EroseT23

http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/

She says more than I ever could.

ETA: Also, buying grains/beans in the bulk section can keep costs down. Lentils, barley, quinoa, pinto beans... you know. Filling and nutritious.

broomnic

Eggs, porridge, frozen veg, cherry tomatoes, keep em coming

kumitekg

Thanks for this post ! My kids have been away for a good part of the summer so I have had the benefit of shopping "healthier" as well and only having to worry about myself. For the most part, the healthier choices have definitely been more expensive! Kids are coming back on the weekend and I am worried about continuing my progress while having to cook inexpensive KID FRIENDLY meals !!! (What to do when The Boy won't eat veggies!). I'm a single mom of 3 kids (12, 14 and 16), so this advice is useful!

debussyschild

Eggs are dirt cheap.
Canned meats such as tuna are usually inexpensive.
Depending on where you shop, you can get good deals on produce. Just look for stuff that is in season and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
I eat the same thing every day. That ALONE keeps my costs down, since I don't waste any food and my grocery bill stays consistent.
Don't hesitate to go up to the seafood counter to look for deals for fresh fish. Just last week I got fresh/never frozen Atlantic Salmon for $6.99/lb. That's a steal AND it taste a sh*tload better than individually vacuum packaged portions of frozen fish.

bcattoes

Dried beans
Brown rice
Oats
canned tuna
White fish - pollock, tilapia, haddock, perch
cottage cheese
eggs
frozen vegetables/fruit
whole grain bread/pasta

These are probably regional but where I live these are always fairly inexpensive:
carrots
apples
onions
green cabbage
butternut squash
radishes

And when in season:
sweet potatoes
broccoli
collard greens
kale
cauliflower
peppers
green beans
zucchini
summer (yellow) squash

debussyschild

both great suggestions! What about proteins and good fats, good carbs that we can buy if we are short on grocery money? Also brands that may be better for us but still cheaper to purchase? What about ways to get our fruits and vegies in there? Frozen I hear is only 2nd to fresh in nutrients?

Denise:drinker: :drinker:

Good fats, you can get from nuts (preferably unsalted), peanut butter, or avocados. Flax seed is a good source of fat and keeps for a long while in the cupboard. You can buy flaxseed meal (already ground up for you), but I'm not sure how well it keeps compared to whole flaxseeds.

taylor5877

peanut buttter and dry beans

Annzatgoal

Canned tuna, big container of old-fashioned oats, local or in-season produce, store-brand whole wheat bread, low-fat milk by the gallon, store-brand dried beans and brown rice, to name a few.

When buying items priced by the pound, bunch or head, weigh them to get the most for your shopping dollar. Could be an extra carrot or two in that "one-pound" bag.

Take advantage of BOGOs and batch-cook with a friend.

Freeze tidbits of leftover veggies, roast beef, and broth. Make soup when you get a quart or two.

Yellabutterfly05

20 food stuffs for under a dollar:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22175/52070-twenty-healthiest-foods-1

^^^Loved the article....thanks!!!

debussyschild

Just wanted to throw this out there:

There is ALWAYS the option of gardening You don't need a yard to grow fresh vegetables or herbs. I just successfully planted three crops in the raised planter beds my husband and I built and I've got hot peppers, bell peppers, green beans, and tomatoes going!! Not to mention, gardening can be a good workout as well. You can't beat nearly free produce (and extremely fresh!)

cyndymar

Quinoa, egg whites I usually get 4 cartons @t Samsclub the box is $5.00 not sure if you have a Sams club where you live . Ezikiel bread 3.65 @t Trader Joes , Coconut oil organic only 5.99 @t Trader Joes , cage free eggs 1.50 @ Trader Joes

estjames

I have recently come across this woman's blog when she plots out buying groceries for a family of 6 for $100 or less, so she sometimes has good ideas.

http://thepeacefulmom.com/

BAMFMeredith

I regularly make dinner for my family of 3, with enough leftover for me to take to work as lunch the next day, for around $10 or less. Chicken breast tenders (boneless, skinless) in bulk, frozen veggies in the microwave steam bags (our grocery chain has their own brand that's even cheaper than steamfresh or whatever), and I'll bake a couple potatoes for the boys and a large sweet potato for myself, cut it in half, and there ya go.

Bananas are also super cheap, as well as rice/lentils because you can buy a large amount and they keep foreverrrr. One bag of rice can seriously stretch for really long time. I'm big on whatever yummy fresh fruit is in season/on sale, and batch cooking things that last for a couple meals. On a tight budget week, we can keep the family fed for around $100 (although generally speaking we'll spend closer to $150-$175, when we've got a little more budget freedom).

MeganDominique

well heres my least of where and what-

WALMART-
Eggs
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Apples
In season fruit ( right now blueberries for me , 2.95 for a lb!)
canned fish (salmon, tuna is dirt cheap here!, )
coconut milk/almond milk ( im lactose)
frozen beef paties ( the ultimate ones are only beef& seasoning)
occasionally frozen fish is cheaper here
if you eat yogurt its cheaper here than anywhere unless you buy in bulk than hit up costco

SOBEYS-
I get all my quinoa, nature path cereal and gluten free oatmeal here..compared to my health food store its about 1/2 the price)
occaisonally there meat sales are awesome!
my coconut icecream once again cheaper than health food store and i dont care as i can only eat this haha


BUYING IN BULK ( My roommate and me live paleo, when shes here we go joint on bigger items)
COSTCO
all fruits and veggies, cheaper for what you get (ideal for famillies or people who eat fruit/veggies every meal)
frozen meats

Health Store
NUTTERS
-Buying nuts and almond flour in bulk is cheaper here
-sometimes "miracle noodles", i could get them cheaper online but since i dont eat pasta often maybe once a month if that and if i am its this stuff.

HotAshMess

-beans
-eggs
-frozen veggies (they're so much easier to just toss in with something like ramen noodles if you have to eat them) I also like to -make brown rice and veggies.
-if you have local farmer's markets, go there and use them. The prices are not always better, but when people want stuff to move they mark it down.
-buy in season. Watermelon in December is not cheap!
-rice
-low calorie drinks....if you cant get off the water, you can make your low calorie zero sugar drink mixes go further. My family prefers it when I add more water to the ones we have at home.
-Grocery store sales tend to run in cycles....pork one week, chicken the next, ground beef, ect. You need to learn to buy what is on sale. If you have the money, buy extra and freeze so you aren't running to the store and paying full price for something because you want it instead of what is on sale that week.
-grocery stores also tend to put stuff on sale with a theme. For example...the store closest to my house with have things like tortillas, salsa, beef, and cheese on sale all at once. Or every kind of noodles, pasta sauce, garlic bread, and ricotta cheese. If you can, buy the things that are on sale that you can incorporate into your own healthy recipes.
-take advantage of bogo sales....if your store offers free potatoes with the purchase of a roast and carrots...consider the deal and go for it. You don't have to use all the carrots or the potatoes...they can go towards another meal.
-crockpot....it is cheap cooking at it's finest.
-look for "manager specials". A store I used to work at used to sell porterhouse steaks for half the price after they'd been in the case for a few days. They weren't bad, being exposed to the air in the case and the lights make them look like there were on the way out....but they weren't.
-make your meat go further. I have a meat eater at home...a pound of hamburger for meatballs was enough for dinner for 2 and a giant lunch of leftovers for him (he's not trying to lose). Add breadcrumbs (buy or make your own) and an egg. Now a pound of burger turned into spaghetti and meatballs last 4-5 meals. There are recipes that encourage this...like porcupine meatballs (rice, meat, onion, garlic tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Thats it!)
-google budget meals, and frugal living
-check local convenience stores. We have stores here that sell bread (on sale for .69 cents but can be up to $150 for white OR wheat), eggs (99 cents/dozen) bananas (.39), butter (on sale 1.99 for a pound), milk (sold in half gallon bags, 2 bags are .60 less than a gallon at the grocery store), onions(.39), and potatoes (.39) cheaper than any store in the area.
-coupons are great for things you are going to use. When you shop, compare prices and look for coupons on the package that are good right away!
-always check the discount produce bins, that aisle at walmart with discounted food and shop the sales. Go to multiple stores in the same area if you can do it fast and you get the best deal!
-meal planning is smart. Take the ad on Monday, plan the next week, go shopping Friday or saturday to get those deals. Repeat on monday...many times what wasn't on sale on Friday, will be on sale sunday. So you can pick up stuff on sale for the next week, and go back and get what wasnt on sale...if your brain can organize that.

emstethem

Cheaper foods from the grocery store: rice, beans, chicken (dark meat is cheaper). Ingredients might be cheaper too...like flour, lard & milk to make biscuits (to freeze). There are probably a few local CSAs that would be interested in exchanging food for work on the farm (There is actually one around here (where I live in GA) that I was going to check out that actually offers food, like fresh cow or goat milk, vegetables and fruits in season, in exchange for work!). If they have the space they could also start keeping a garden and a few chickens (fresh eggs!). Chickens are very cheap to keep and feed and so friendly! Your friends could also raise rabbits. Rabbits are excellent animals to raise for meat. Not only are they delicious, prolific, and hardy, but they are also inexpensive to feed. In fact, they yield more high-protein meat per dollar of feed than any other animal. Goats are also good to keep for milk and meat if you have the space. Goats don't take up much space and will keep underbrush under control. If your friends live in an apartment they could maybe keep a container garden for kitchen herbs which will save $ on the grocery bill, and fresh herbs smell amazing!

redheaddee

^^^Pigs too, they eat everything, so no more table scraps going to waste!

I have a big, beautiful garden, which produces (punny lol) the most amazing stuff. Buy seeds to start, which is WAY cheaper. plus gardening is a great workout!