I'm broke, any ideas for low calorie low budget?

Liz12mae

bump for later

atrebor18

I'm super broke too, my favorite place to shop is Aldi's so if you have one in your area I'd go there first. Great place to get basics for cheap like frozen veggies and fruit, beans, oats, they even almond milk and goat cheese.

woahitsangie

bump for meeeeeee

groversa

Bump for THIS college student!

Shadowknight137

Buy "normal" stuff and eat less of it.



Eggs. Offal. Bananas.

deedee303z

If you have a local small grocery or produce stand, they will often sell the veg that are just going off at a deep discount (or even let you have them for free). These are not so great to just eat raw however cooked down with water make great vegetable stock which is a great base for soups and stews. Cook down with a lot of water, then strain out the solids to get the stock. The solids can be mashed and mixed with a bit of baking powder and flour to make little savory pancakes.

Variations of soup with the stock: add things like frozen or canned veg, rice, pasta, mushrooms, tortellini, bulgur wheat, lentils, beans, chopped spinach, chopped spring mix (these last two, again, you can get from the discount bin--still nutritious, but cooked the texture doesn't matter).

PunkyRachel

Buy store brands and use coupons/sales on name brands, its what I do. My budget is about 300 a month. I will buy bulk, like a big box on instant rice will last a month, sometimes 2 months. Measure everything out, cook at home instead of eating out, fix a little extra at diner and box it up to take to work the next day. Shop at bakery outlet stores for bread, the one in my city is Sara Lee and you can get bread for less than $2 a loaf and for every $6 you spend you get a free bread item of you choice. Aldi's is awesome too! Farmers markets can sometimes be cheap as well.

Hearts_2015

In search, type "budget" and you will see other threads with suggestions for meals on a budget.

Good luck getting a new job.

So true! Recently there have been many wonderful threads that go on for pages with fantastic suggestions from college students to large families of how they manage to eat healthy on a budget. :happy:

shal6594

I'm a college student living the campus life, and I have a low calorie range as of now. I eat oatmeal, the old fashion kind in the big container for like two bucks and it'll last about a month or a little less for me. I eat it for breakfast, and on break at work so j won't have to go buy some high calorie foods. And it speeds up my metabolism. Its very food for its low price.

NerdyTXChick

- Everyone has listed most of my ideas; beans, rice, eggs, oatmeal, frozen vegetables and fruit, but don't forget to check out the store brands, which can be much less expensive.
- Check out your local farmer's market for cheaper produce.
- Canned fruit & vegetables may not be most people's 1st choice, but they are cheap and might help you stretch things out for a while (especially when on sale). And you can try to get the healthiest versions by going with low sodium and low sugar.
- Don't be embarrassed to go to the local food bank if you really need it!

neniplatas

Any large "ethnic" market chains near you? Here in Southern California we have Jon's and Vallarta and the fresh produce is so much cheaper than at the regular supermarkets. I get bulk carrots for .33 cents a lb., a pound of strawberries for $1.50, green onions are 6 for $1.00. You get the idea.

NerdyTXChick

Oh, also, I noticed recently that if you buy nuts in the bigger, more expensive bag rather than the round can, it's only a dollar or two more, but you're getting twice to three times as much. The cans are usually on the shelves at eye level, while the bags are up top where it's hard to see. I don't think that's by accident.

Willowana

I'm always on a budget so here we go:

Meat:
I buy boneless/skinless chicken breasts in bags at walmart. $6-7 Why bother with thighs and other fattier parts of the chicken? You have to eat more to feel full. One boneless, skinless chicken breast will feed me at dinnertime with a can of veggies on the side (Wal-mart Great Value brand canned veggies are usually well under $1)

Fresh fruits and veggies:
If you can find a farmer's market, you will spend a lot less. Fresh fruit is normally cheaper than canned fruit per serving.

Steamfresh frozen veggies. For about $2 or less at Walmart, you can have fresher veggies than canned, and it only takes a microwave.

Buy in bulk:
This is hard to do when you don't have a lot of money, so start with one or two items. Buy your toliet paper and chicken in bulk one week, then when you have money again, buy two more items in bulk. If you stagger things out, it's not as much outlay of cash.

Dollar Stores:
If you have a Dollar Tree (where EVERYTHING is $1.00) near you, take advantage. I buy nearly all my cleaning supplies for only $1.00 each (except certain things like bleach, which you can find at Save-a-Lot or Wal-Mart for under a buck). Same with ziplock baggies and foil. If you can curb the cost of the "miscellaneous" items like these, it frees up more money for food. The Dollar Tree near where I live even has a frozen food section where all items are....yep, only a $1. Including the Steamfresh veggies that Walmart sells for closer to $2. But shop wisely! Make sure the food item is really worth a dollar. For example....tuna. It's only a $1 here, but Wal-Mart has the GV brand for less. One time, they had FiberOne bars there for $1....and anywhere else, they are in the $3-4 range. I stocked up on those for sure!

And always be on the lookout for those free little coupon books some convenience stores have. Browse for coupons online too. You never know when you'll find a coupon for something you needed anyway.

anniefarkle

Many communities have food co-ops which is a great way to get seasonal produce at super low prices. Ask around at health food stores or at a farmer's market.

WeekndOVOXO

~$200 for a months worth of food:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTq87JB3YFM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su8g9efk5Mc

anniefarkle

Also . . . I saw you live in Maryland - here's a link to all of the food co-ops in Maryland. It's a really great way to get a lot of high quality food for less.

http://www.coopdirectory.org/directory.htm#Maryland

Sherbog

I love stir fry veggies.....no sauce or anything...just stir fry veggies....Yum

guacamole17

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