healthy grocery shopping with no money
lisamurphy7227
Posts: 26
i need some grocery shopping advice. weve been super low on cash, and the money we do have, we spend in all the wrong places. if you have zero food (very limited condiments) and only $100, how would you spend it? (obviously we are dieting) bad food is always the cheapest food. semi vegetarian, low sugar, low sodium, high potasium diet. $100 has to last at least a week to feed 2 people.
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Replies
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Check out ethnic stores - get big bags of rice and beans. Find a farmer's market for vegetables. If you eat any meat - look for cheap cuts like chicken thighs or shin of beef, or cheap white fish like dabs etc.0
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Frozen is the way to go.
I prefer the idea of fresh veg but often he frozen stuff is got before it can loose the nutrients which fresh can do sat in a store. If you eat fish have a look at getting multi packs of fillets, ditto chicken breast. Pasta and rice as usually pretty cheap to bulk buy and very filling, liven a cheap pasta sauce up with some extra veg (peppers, onion, mushrooms etc), pasta salad is great for lunch too.
Not a fan of bread so don't tend to eat a huge aount as it bloats me, but when I do i tend to make my own. If you like pizza make your own base (bread flour, yeast, water, sugar) i use either pizza base sauce, tomato puree with herbs an garlic, or pasta sauce and you can control what you put on it then and it's a proper pizza base rather than tasting like cardboard!
I'll 2nd the chicken thighs! Great to use in a stir fry or curry as more flavour than breast.0 -
I would buy veggies (depending on where you live..stop by and Aldi's first)..then I would make soup...if using a chicken ( semi vegitarian u list so idk) make chicken soup..buy noodles etc on the cheap. Use the legs etc in the soup. Save the chicken breast for another dinner. Buy 10 lbs of potatoes for like $1.50. Have baked potatoes one day..potatoe soup one day ..buy two bread bowls to put it in..I would buy beans to make bean burgers (recipes on net) cheapy buns at aldi's..yogurts, salads, fruits for lunches..You get the idea. I think in order to get by, you have to cook for a day for the week and you will be fine. Tuna salads...etc. Onc enight maybe have breakfast for dinner...banana pancakes with maple syrup I love sometimes!0
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Frozen veggies if the fresh ones are too expensive. You can even get frozen fruit. Canned tuna is fine if you watch the sodium, and it's not expensive, then get the leanest cuts of meat you can afford if that's possible on "semi-vegetarian." Some of the roasts are not too expensive and will go a long way--I usually buy a bottom round roast most weeks and it lasts more than one meal with little fat and lots of potassium. If you stay away from beef, eggs aren't that expensive unless you get organic (which you should if you can afford it), there are cheap fish for sale at most stores each week, and you can get cottage cheese or yogurt if you eat dairy. And chicken is still pretty cheap. You can eat healthy on $100 a week at least as easily as you can eat unhealthy. Drink water and it will save you a bunch--sodas, teas, juices are expensive and have no real nutritional benefit.0
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Also, if you buy dried beans instead of canned you can save a bunch, and they aren't hard to cook, just take a little more time for the soaking overnight.0
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I'm not sure what area you from, but I shop at Fresh & Easy and Trader Joes.0
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$100 can definitely feed 2 people for a week. You just need to be flexible in meal planning and will take more work in terms of cooking, but can definitely be down. when I was out of work I tried to keep food down to $50 / week for two.
1. Look for sale items and coupons on staples.
2. look for the produce on the rack with the "managers specials" they are usually cheap, and can be used in cooking i.e. bruised apples can be made into applesauce (cut up, rinse and put in a pot on low), bruised peppers canbe used for peppers and onions or fajitas. or you can through that over rice and beans.
3. rice and beans,
4. make soup,
5. yogurt can be found a few containers for a dollar, or buy a big tub and put in individual tupperware.
6. Roast a chicken, can make chicken sandwiches, and save carcass for soup. you'd get a few meals out of that.
7. eggs. good protein & cheap.0 -
Farmer's Markets and off brands, buy in bulk, shot from discount grocers. Sometimes, it's a surprise what amazing things you can find at super low prices.0
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This sounds extremely difficult, but doable.
Make chilli and freeze into personal portions and you can do the same with oatmeal. You can blend up expiring fruit as a healthy topping.
Check the sale or clearance racks (often hidden at the back of store).
Freeze all your leftovers, even if it's not much. It comes in handy, when you least expect it.
Lots of places, Wal-Mart, and other grocers will honor flyers too. I bought chicken for half the price, due to a nice lady sharing her flyer with me at the store. Give that flyer away when you're done with it, for that feel-good feeling.
Pasta is inexpensive.
Talk to the manager at the store and explain your situation, he/she may let you buy the food that was damaged (still good, don't worry), that they are just tossing away.
Freeze bread. Just use a half loaf at a time.
Junk food/processed foods are expensive.
Hope this helps.0 -
I'll agree with the farmers markets for veggies and fruits. Always get some great deals here.
Get frozen veggies for those you can't find. Beans and rice and pasta are good for fillers.0 -
Dry beans, black beans and pinto or great northern and lentils
Collards, kale, spinach
Ham chunks or ham hocks, for seasoning
2 lb. bag of corn meal
2 dozen eggs
thick sliced bacon (limit 2 slices per serving)
small box Bisquick
2 cans evaporated milk
ground chicken or turkey
potatoes
pasta
canned spaghetti sauce or chopped tomatoes
onions
lettuce
celery
cucumber (if you like them)
tuna, canned
3-5 lb eye round roast (beef)--ask the butcher to slice off 2 steaks and grind the rest for you
whole grain bread, sliced
frozen mixed vegetables
small can kernel corn
fresh tomatoes
Soak the dry beans in water for 20-30 min (add baking soda to the water, rinse well, then cook--reduces gassy effect)
Bisquick makes pancakes, biscuits, etc.
corn meal is for corn bread--skip if you don't like--make in muffin tins for serving size
kernel corn to mix with black beans, add chopped tomato, if desired
one meal with steak, ground beef should give you 2-3 more meals--and no pink slime
This is what I buy all the time. With additions, since my budget isn't QUITE that strapped.
Just MHO.0 -
1. Get coupons out of the Sunday paper. I usually save an average of $40-50 each shopping trip using coupons. You can also go to websites like coupons.com and print out coupons. Just check with your local store to see what their coupon policy is. Mine will double any coupon .50 and under, so a .50 coupon will get me $1 off.
2. Look for Manager's Specials in meat and produce. My store gives major discounts on items that are expiring that day or the next. I will buy whatever hits me as a good deal and then have it for dinner that night or freeze it and use it later.
3. Think about crock pot meals. The same ingredients for a dinner for two can be stretched in a crock pot to make a few more meals.for the week.
4. Use salads as filler. A meal may look kind of small, but add a side salad and it will look a lot better. You can usually get a head of lettuce for around $1-1.50. Don't buy the bagged lettuce and pre-made salads, unless they are on sale or you have a coupon.
5. Buy rice and beans in bags instead of cans. It'll cut down on sodium and you get a lot more for your money. It does involve a little more preparation sometimes, but it's usually worth it.
6. Buy store brands instead of name brands. Most stores pay to have food private labeled to their store brand. Most of the time, the ingredients are exactly the same, or extremely close, as what's in the name brands.
Hope this helps! Good luck!0 -
Everyone else has already posted my tricks for stretching my dollar at the grocery store. One thing that also really saves is buying whole meats (i.e. bone in, skin on, etc) and doing the butchering yourself. Ground turkey/beef is very versatile and canned chicken is good for quick added protein to spaghetti sauce. My local grocery store, HEB, has whole wheat pastas for about $1 box.0
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i have limited money to spend on grocery shopping too, but i always buy fresh fruits & veggies first and use them for the bulk of my meals. and bananas are always super cheap...they're a lifesaver! i also buy frozen veggie burgers and canned soup. my personal downfall is wanting to buy stuff like nuts or trail mix...i love those things, but they are ridiculously expensive so i try not to buy them! not to mention i have a hard time limiting my portions of them!0
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i need some grocery shopping advice. weve been super low on cash, and the money we do have, we spend in all the wrong places. if you have zero food (very limited condiments) and only $100, how would you spend it? (obviously we are dieting) bad food is always the cheapest food. semi vegetarian, low sugar, low sodium, high potasium diet. $100 has to last at least a week to feed 2 people.
Personally I don't agree that bad food is the cheapest. Buy in bulk: rice, so many types of beans, Quinoa, oats, wheatberry, farmers markets or on sale frozen veggies (from the States with nothing else added). Purchase eggs on sale, make your own Greek yogurt or regular (search Google, tons of ideas on making your own..pretty much whatever you're looking to make, to save loads of money). Buy in Season!
Take some beans, Quinoa etc. and sprout them for a variety, oh...the list is endless... Seek and you will find good healthy food out there for pennies! Particularly if you're semi-vegetarian as you shared, it's even easier.
Healthy food IS cheaper than buying junk, if you make the right choices, the healthy food will keep you satiated far longer and you won't waste money on sugar, preservatives, extra salt, packaging etc.
All the best!
Love, love, LOVE my CSA each week, it's a lifesaver!Here in Pittsburgh (western PA) we have a lot of local farms. They sell these CSA boxes of produce .... a ton of produce for $25.00. You place an order and then pick up your box at a specific location. The boxes are overwhelming for one or two people so sometimes people share a box. I'm pretty sure you can subscribe to a CSA box/bag anywhere in the US.
Here is a little blurb I pulled from the web:
Thinking about signing up for a CSA but want to learn more about the idea before you commit? Read on.
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.
I think you might need to seek out a more legit CSA as I've been using my local CSA and never ever had a problem. Ah and learn to embrace Eggplant, so ways to use it, Eggplant Lasagna, roasted eggplant, salads.. Google for a ton more ways to enjoy it, so healthy for you too!Definitely agree with everything said here. I think you got all the answers you need!
But gotta say about that CSA...good luck. We did that one summer and our "varied" boxes were always full of eggplant and fruit flies.0 -
oh and another suggestion: get in a routine and know EXACTLY how much of everything u need for a typical week. i'm not very good at this, but my fiance has it down to an exact science for himself haha. that way u dont waste any food. it's kinda monotonous though...0
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www.mygrocerydeals.com - use this website. Choose all the stores within a 100 mile radius of you, then take your list to Walmart grocery store and they will match all the prices. I have been saving $10 - $20 a week with this and not having to shop at particular stores wasting gas. Ground beef for 2.99 instead of 4.68 in one pound packages. I bought several to freeze and some to use during the week. They also had chicken breasts buy one get one free. Who can beat that? You always save on milk - each week someone has it on store and since the regular price at my Walmart yesterday was over $4 a gallon, it paid to take a few minutes to pull the ads together for price matching. I am feeding 3 of us (including a growing teenage boy) for about $80 a week right now average. Some weeks more, some weeks less.0
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Here in Pittsburgh (western PA) we have a lot of local farms. They sell these CSA boxes of produce .... a ton of produce for $25.00. You place an order and then pick up your box at a specific location. The boxes are overwhelming for one or two people so sometimes people share a box. I'm pretty sure you can subscribe to a CSA box/bag anywhere in the US.
Here is a little blurb I pulled from the web:
Thinking about signing up for a CSA but want to learn more about the idea before you commit? Read on.
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.0 -
If you have an Aldi's around you, $100 for 2 people could last you a month. Their produce is super cheap and good. Their yogurts are great and their chicken is always on sale. They have a great variety. I can spend a $100 a month and feed our family of 4, easily. But we eat left overs and I love to try to make everything stretch.
Soups and casseroles are the best route. MOST things can be frozen in portions and heated just like those expensive, sodium filled meals that people buy0 -
Definitely agree with everything said here. I think you got all the answers you need!
But gotta say about that CSA...good luck. We did that one summer and our "varied" boxes were always full of eggplant and fruit flies.0 -
The Aldi's here have all raised their prices a TON over the last two years. You could buy lots of stuff for $20 back then, now just buying the basics runs you $50 per person...If you have an Aldi's around you, $100 for 2 people could last you a month. Their produce is super cheap and good. Their yogurts are great and their chicken is always on sale. They have a great variety. I can spend a $100 a month and feed our family of 4, easily. But we eat left overs and I love to try to make everything stretch.
Soups and casseroles are the best route. MOST things can be frozen in portions and heated just like those expensive, sodium filled meals that people buy0 -
It is very rare that I can spend more than $100 a week for a family of four, so I can appreciate your post! My best suggestion is to find out when they do the grocery ads in your area and buy what's on sale. Since protein is my "priority macro," I get the cheapest meats, either what's on sale or a bundle of meat from the local butcher, then plan meals around my protein. For example, if it's a high fat meat, then I plan for low-fat sides. Also, for veggies I almost always buy frozen ones. Almost every week, there is a sale on frozen veggies somewhere, and I stock up. Sometimes I have found a package for as low as fifty-eight cents! It takes a big commitment to planning ahead, but it can be done if you are careful about it.0
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The Aldi's here have all raised their prices a TON over the last two years. You could buy lots of stuff for $20 back then, now just buying the basics runs you $50 per person...
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Ours is still WAY lower than any other stores in the area. I think food prices (along with everything else) has just risen0 -
i prefer the dried beans! i get the 15 bean soup bags and ditch the "ham". there is so much sodium in canned beans and they all taste like mush to me anyway. i can get many meals out of that and it costs the same as 2 cans of beans.0
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Healthy food IS cheaper than buying junk
I actually agree. Our pathetic food budget goes a LOT farther when I buy individual items of food instead of pre-packaged, pre-cut, pre-processed everything. They incorporate processing costs into the prices, so it is much cheaper to just process it yourself than to pay someone to do it for you.0 -
*Dried beans and lentils
*Whole grains (especially oatmeal for breakfast)
*TVP
*Low cost produce: onions, garlic, carrots, celery, bananas, plus anything on sale that appeals to you
*Stained tomatoes bottled in glass (BPA avoidance)
*Eggs
*Tofu
*Cooking ingredients: Seasonings, soy sauce, canola and/or olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar
Some low cost ideas:
*Oatmeal for breakfast
*Soups and stews (bean and veggie)
*Homemade pizza topped with grilled or roasted veggies
*Stir-fried tofu and veggies with a simple sauce0 -
Best kept secret I am going to share: Asian Markets
They typically sell fresh fruit and veggies for a FRACTION of what it would cost at a regular grocery store. Their meats tend to be cheaper as well.
If it didn't cost me so much money in gas just to get to one, I'd do all my grocery shopping at Asian markets! :grumble:0 -
Frozen veggies if the fresh ones are too expensive. You can even get frozen fruit. Canned tuna is fine if you watch the sodium, and it's not expensive, then get the leanest cuts of meat you can afford if that's possible on "semi-vegetarian." Some of the roasts are not too expensive and will go a long way--I usually buy a bottom round roast most weeks and it lasts more than one meal with little fat and lots of potassium. If you stay away from beef, eggs aren't that expensive unless you get organic (which you should if you can afford it), there are cheap fish for sale at most stores each week, and you can get cottage cheese or yogurt if you eat dairy. And chicken is still pretty cheap. You can eat healthy on $100 a week at least as easily as you can eat unhealthy. Drink water and it will save you a bunch--sodas, teas, juices are expensive and have no real nutritional benefit.
i should have specified more on the "semi vegetarian" part. i had a kidney transplant in april. meat is hard on the kidney. i stopped eating all meat other than fish. my husband still eats meat, but not nearly as much since im the cook. we both have had weightloss surgery and cant drink pop anymore. i cant seem to get him to drink water EVER!0 -
If you are already semi vegetarian then it's so easy. Dried peas and beans are cheap. Buy the biggest bag, soak overnight, pre cook and freeze portions for quick, convenient meals. Buy seasonal fruits and veggies which are usually cheaper. Potatoes and rice are still cheap enough and they are not as evil as they've been made out to be (check out fat free vegan or the Dr McDougall website) Eating healthy vegan does not have to be expensive at all and the food is filling and satisfying. Stay away from the processed food aisle because you are really paying for packaging which you can't eat anyway so might as well spend your money on non packaged, healthy REAL food. Also check out your local farmers market which usually has the freshest and cheapest produce.0
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*Dried beans and lentils
*Whole grains (especially oatmeal for breakfast)
*TVP
*Low cost produce: onions, garlic, carrots, celery, bananas, plus anything on sale that appeals to you
*Stained tomatoes bottled in glass (BPA avoidance)
*Eggs
*Tofu
*Cooking ingredients: Seasonings, soy sauce, canola and/or olive oil, maple syrup, brown sugar
Some low cost ideas:
*Oatmeal for breakfast
AWESOME! you just wrote a grocery list for me. thanks a ton.
*Soups and stews (bean and veggie)
*Homemade pizza topped with grilled or roasted veggies
*Stir-fried tofu and veggies with a simple sauce
AWESOME! you just wrote a grocery list for me. thanks a ton.0
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