Cheap but healthy?

gel91
gel91 Posts: 309
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I'm moving house soon, and my hours have been cut at work drastically, taking effect next Thursday. So I'll be alot worse of come the end of the month!
I know you can pick up food cheaply enough but I was wondering in your eyes, whats your must haves?

My food budget is gonna be around £50 a week for me and my (almost) 2 year old, and occasionally extras depending on who we have around (maybe once a week an extra 2 to dinner for example).

I was hoping to do just 2 shops a week of around £25 as food does go out of date so quickly, but uptill now I've not had such a strict budget to stick too and my food bill can easily come to £100 or so a week.

I'll be cutting back on fresh salmon and turkey which I love, and pre made low cal salads which I buy because there quick & handy and require no prep when I'm busy.

I wanna stick to the basics untill I'm on my feet & find a new job, so for fruit, say, just bags of apples & bananas & grapes. Instead of fruit pots that I currently buy - 2 for £3.

Does anyone have any tips/ideas and what are you're foods that you can skimp on, even if you choose not too sometimes.

Thanks, I'll appricate any replys!

Replies

  • StephJB1221
    StephJB1221 Posts: 225
    I dunno if you have a Aldi near you but I get soooo much for half the price I spend at the grocery store! Sometimes eggs are .99 cents milk 2 dollars and some change, I get most my stuff there now! My husband actually prefers the milks from there and doesnt want me to get it anywhere else haha
  • littlemissmo83
    littlemissmo83 Posts: 25 Member
    hiya, I am on a mega budget at the moment and currently spend around £25 a week on my shopping for me. I try not to buy any more at work or eat out unless its a special occasion.

    Apart from the obvious of trying to shop the bargain aisles for any meat or special items that are on sale you wouldnt usually get.

    I have steamed fish for dinner and get the frozen bag of white fish from morrisons. You get 5 pieces for £1.97. Frozen spinach or veg is usually about £1 a kilo. Definitely stock up on your greens. As you can make these into anything really.
    Breakfast, i try and have grapefruit and two boiled eggs. Perhaps switch the cheaper eggs until you can go back to free range or organic. An own brand is just as fine. Lunches, try making your own soup. I made a great tomato soup using morrisons own brand ratatouille, tinned tomatoes and some garlic and stock. I think it lasted about 3 days and came to around £1 to make.

    Definitely making soups is a good idea to get lots of meals for cheap. Shop the own brand, do you have a local market? I get the best deals on veg and meat there

    Good Luck!
  • Gwoman2012
    Gwoman2012 Posts: 163 Member
    Don't buy precut produce, pre shredded cheese or meat. You'll save by cutting/shredding yourself.

    Make a shopping list that is centered around what is on sale that week. Make a meal plan and stick with it.

    Don't by processed food.

    Do you have a kitchen aid mixer or a bread machine? I save loads by baking my own bread.

    No juice or soda.
  • thecrass
    thecrass Posts: 79 Member
    Asda frozen section is your friend, get bags of chicken breasts and veg ect, alot more time but well worth it if your saving the cash.
    all the supermarkets have there own bargain brands and they usually arent that bad esepcially if its fresh produce.

    and water goes a long way and own brand supermarket dilute for the little one.
  • TexasSunny
    TexasSunny Posts: 87 Member
    Crock pot soups.... do a search for low-cal recipes. They are easy and cheap and will feed you for a few days!

    Frozen veggies.... cheap and good filler for soups and stews and salads!

    Oatmeal

    Popcorn

    Beans (dried or canned) cheap AND protein! (You can cut down on meat if you find other sources of protein!)

    Eggs (using two egg whites and one whole egg will taste as good w/ less calories)
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    I very rarely eat cheese, unless it's in a panini so that's okay there. Frozen veg, I'll definatly be doing that. Brussel sprouts, brocolli cauliflower peas & sweetcorn. Because there my favs.

    I'm unsure what pre shedded meat is though?

    I don't eat alot of bread, unless I'm round someone elses or out but when I buy it it's usually kingsmill crustless for my son.

    I don't drink juice either, I drink alot of diet coke which is gonna have to stop :( crap. I'll stop buying pure juices and my son will have to be stuck with some sugar free diluted for his bottles for a while.

    Cheaper eggs I can do that, we don't have a local market but seeing as my hours are being cut, I'll have more time to go around to places like that so I'll keep an eye out for a veg and meat stall if and when I can.

    I've never made soup before, I'll try that.

    Thanks for all the info so far people :)
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    Shop sales. Make a "master list" of healthy foods that you can incorporate into your meals (for example, what fruits does your kid like, what might be a good fit for your macros/goals, etc.). Include a wide variety of things that would work. Then when certain things go on sale, go ahead and pick those up. You won't get so dependent on particular foods that you end up spending too much, and you'll be able to know what's healthy and within your budget.

    Also, some staples are just always cheap and you should keep them on hand. I have beans all the time (also broke here but feeding myself and a 6'5" man rather than a child, haha). Get them dry and make them yourself for a fraction of the price of the canned kind (and with a lot less sodium). Black beans are incredibly easy to make; I'm actually making some right now as I type this. Pasta is one of those things to grab when it's on sale because it's super cheap and lasts forever in the cupboard; get the whole wheat kind if you can, and it's also a great way to get kids to eat vegetables (throw in some with tomato sauce and they'll never complain). Finally, save money by buying frozen vegetables rather than fresh; they're often just as (or more) nutritious than the fresh stuff since it's frozen right away rather than having to be driven a hundred miles to the store.

    You have to put in extra time prepping food to save money, but it's worth it in the end (both in terms of your bank account and flavor to boot).
  • AnneC77
    AnneC77 Posts: 284
    I usually make my own soups, they are so cheap to make, my fave is Tomato and red lentil and it literally is only 94 calories a serving!! Small onion, 25g red lentils, tin of tomatoes and water. simple. Or i have things like beans on toast, egg on toast, make your own humus with chickpeas, lemon juice and ground cumin, yum (I don't add oil)m I make turkey and spinach burgers, 1 packet of minced turkey breast makes 8 burgers and I freeze them! Dried pulses and rice instead of tinned or prepared packets, that kind of thing. Good luck on your move and your weight loss journey xx
  • RotterdamNL
    RotterdamNL Posts: 509 Member
    lol they got aldi in the states? Never knew that being it a european supermarket, i go to the aldi alot too here in Holland, i get almost everything there, chicken breast, smoked fish, brown rice, all my veggies, banana's etc :)
  • StephJB1221
    StephJB1221 Posts: 225
    I love Aldi!!!! Best place ever! Lol Im a fan of cheap.. And healthy!
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
    thanks everyone, alot of golden comments. I really appricate it. it'll take a while to get organized but it's just another wall to climb over!
  • littlemissmo83
    littlemissmo83 Posts: 25 Member
    also, another good cheapy is cous cous. i'm not a fan myself as its wheat based but cous cous goes on and on and on - plus is a great option for a lunch. alternatively if you have £5 i would go for quinoa, its a seed/pulse but isnt high on the carb factor, great protein too and swells when you cook it so it goes great in salads or as a crumb to coat chicken or fish instead of breads.

    I've also started buying things like fajita seasons for my salads and veg rather than the full fajita kit too.

    Also, another staple if you need cheap is baked potato with baked beans. Always a winner and less than £1 a serving.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I like to pick up reduced meat and fish from the supermarkets on their best before dates, and then freeze them for later.

    Do you ever go on MoneySavingExpert? They have some good tips and there's some good advice on their forums

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-supermarket-shopping
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=58ee323d6fb5563b19c617139f408a44&f=175
  • JenniferNoll
    JenniferNoll Posts: 367 Member
    Google Healthy Hillbilly Housewife. It's a frugal living website, and it provides lots of inexpensive recipes with nutritional info provided. I find that it cuts my grocery bill considerably. Good luck!
  • casperuk
    casperuk Posts: 195 Member
    1kg chicken thigh and legs = £1.80 from frozen section in larger Asda's
  • catfyson
    catfyson Posts: 26 Member
    Time when you go to the supermarkets carefully too, when I was on a tight budget as a student I would deliberately go to my local Tesco in the early evening when the reduced produce was being stickered up. You get some great deals, especially on veg.

    Just be careful to avoid ready meals. Sometimes they may seem cheaper than buying all the ingredients to make up a meal, but it really isn't!

    Morrisons is great if you're from the UK. Lidl isn't to be sniffed at either - some of the produce is a bit 'odd', but look carefully and they do some good multibuys. The freezer is your best friend when on a budget!
  • KrazyAsianNic
    KrazyAsianNic Posts: 1,227 Member
    I normally shop at like "discount" grocery stores when I was buying food at college. Things were cheaper there, yet they still had a wide variety of veggies and fruit and stuff.
  • Person192
    Person192 Posts: 13 Member
    Well, vegetarian food tends to be a lot cheaper, and it's healthy. Beans and lentils are really good. You will probably be able to get them cheaper if you have an Asian shop near you. Otherwise, kippers and tinned sardines can be really really cheap and quite nice. They're also a really good source of omega three. Remember to buy on bulk when you can (also check the price- some shops try to mislead you) and stock up when there's a good offer.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    You don't have to even buy very cheap foods on that budget. I spend around £10 to £15 a week on food, and I have a healthy, good diet. I eat salmon and turkey and pre-made salads too - I just go to Asda at 7:30pm, when food about to go out-of-date is reduced. I freeze things like meat and fish and bread. The salad and fruit and veg tends to last several days after its date. You can get packs of fresh herbs for 3p each around that time too.

    But with £50 a week, you don't even have to get reduced food - just buy staples like fruit and veg and meat and fish and rice and bread, and prepare meals from scratch. Don't buy ready-made things - they tend to be a lot more expensive. For instance, you can buy 'extra special' fish with a herby butter for twice the price of the same fish without anything added to it. Just buy your own butter - much cheaper. When you buy fruit and veg, look for the cheaper ones - you can buy a bag of apples for £1 or you can buy a bag of apples for £3 - the only difference being that the £1 apples are not so attractive, but they are just as healthy. You could even do your weekly shop at Marks and Spencer with £50 if you are careful about what you select - it doesn't even have to be Asda.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    Also, for things like rice and pulses and spices, it's much cheaper to go to a small Indian or African shop.

    This is a good book, about living well on a tight budget in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrift-Book-Live-Well-Spend/dp/0141038233 It has a good section on buying food.
  • gmichaelguy
    gmichaelguy Posts: 123 Member
    Cheap and healthy. Sounds like two things that make a good date!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Good advice from my mom is thinking about the price per meal, not the cost per pound. So sometimes things like salmon, which are expensive per pound, is less expensive than burger, which is cheaper per pound.

    Beans, always cheap
    A whole chicken feeds more family of four for 4 days. Roast chicken the first day. Second day of chicken pieces. Two days worth of soup from the bones. Chicken salad from the chopped leftovers.
    Cabbage and turnips.
    Baked beats.
    I find it cheaper to buy whole pork loins or chicken breasts and then grind them.
    Buy yoghurt the first time and then culture it yourself
    Buy fish and then make chowder out of it
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    For me I'd stock up on bulk rice/quinoa, and beans (canned or bulk) that way I have a good supply of healthy carbs and protein that is easy to prepare and won't spoil.

    Frozen veggies to bulk up meals, and in season fruit (usually that's cheaper) I'd honestly probably buy a bag of apples and bananas and that's it.

    Eggs are a good option for breakfasts, and snacks.

    Think of things you can make in bulk in crock pot and freeze like chili/stew, you can use potatoes and carrots to bulk up the stew and beans with very little ground meat for the chili, and probably get 8 servings from a batch. Good for quick lunches or dinners.

    I'd buy a big bag of oatmeal for breakfasts, cheap, quick and versatile. Add raisins, cinnamon, whatever else to change it up.

    Make your own salad dressing with apple cider vinegar, and seasoning, it's low cost and way healthier that premade. Then on your salads you could add canned tuna or canned chicken for extra protein or to make it a "complete" meal.

    Buy bread from the discounted bin if your stores have one....usually it's half price where I get mine then I freeze it and take out the slices as I need them. I do this with buns, pitas, english muffins as well.

    Peanut butter, as long as you aren't allergic a jar of PB is great for snacks, breakfasts etc. dip in celery or apples or just as a sandwich.


    Hope this helps!!

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