What are the healthiest, inexpensive foods?
Replies
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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.0 -
20 food stuffs for under a dollar:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22175/52070-twenty-healthiest-foods-1
^^^Loved the article....thanks!!!0 -
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!)0 -
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/0 -
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).0 -
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.0 -
-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.0 -
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!0
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^^^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!0 -
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Organic eggs are 5 bucks a dozen. Read the book The Skinny Bit**. You'll go organic or vegetarian. Ignorance is bliss. I try to eat organic when I can. With a family of five our food bill is crazy. But that's off topic. Just had to post the egg price.0
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bump for later!0
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I think the biggest thing is being a smart shopper. If chicken breasts are a great deal this week - buy as much as you can. As soon as you get home trim off the fat and freeze them individually in zip lock bags that you toss into a gallon freezer bag to keep them free of frost bite. Whole wheat bread can be stored in the freezer. Buy veggies at a local farmers market for super cheap. Chop/blanch/freeze!
Don't buy "instant" foods. Instead of microwave popcorn you just get regular popcorn kernels and put them in a brown paper bag and microwave them! No more nasty fat & additives and so much cheaper. Usually when things are instant convenient foods you can do it yourself so much cheaper. Don't buy 100 calorie packs. Instead buy a large value size and split it into snack size baggies at home. Get the most bang for your buck!0 -
Black Beans
Eggs
Tuna
Carrots
Oatmeal
Romaine Lettuce
Popcorn (not the microwave pop super buttery variety though)
Brown Rice
Frozen Fruits and Veggies
Bananas
Imitation Crab Meat (rich in omega 3s and protein/low fat)
Whole Wheat pasta
Good advice aisgreen:)0 -
bump0
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if you are a sams club member, go online and search emergency. It brings up stuff from a company called augason farms.
Once you get past the food for a year or the other large pallets, there are single 5 gallon buckets of various things. beans, whole wheat, oatmeal. I am sure there are better options for retaining nutrients than freezedried, but if you are looking to make sure you have options when you are dead broke besides falling into the typical americal poverty diet, then having a few of these pails put away somewhere in a closet is not a bad idea.
All prices include shipping. So, in my family of 7, I am starting to shop like this for my staples. It is about the same or cheaper than the grocery store and it comes to my door. My lower cupboards have no shelves, so I can fit them in my kitchen just fine. A smaller family or a single person might have storage issues, though. If you are into preparing for future problems, or for some stuff for camping that is lightweight, they also have stews and meats, fruit, and a lot of interesting things for water storage.
38 pound pail of cornmeal $28.48
43 pound pail of brown rice $37.68
$68.88 this veg assortment:
Up to 20 year shelf life*
222 total servings (plus 24 bonus servings)
4 lbs., 6.4 oz. net weight
Re-sealable pouches
6 vegetable items, plus one bonus item (Dehydrated Chopped Onions)
Easy to prepare: just add water and cook
Packaged in pouches, packed in a 6-gallon pail
Easily storable with a handle for carrying
The Augason Farms Freeze Dried Vegetable Variety Pack contains the following items in pouches, packed in a 6-gallon pail:
Freeze Dried Diced Potatoes (22 servings)
Freeze Dried Peas (30 servings)
Freeze Dried Cauliflower (60 servings)
Freeze Dried Broccoli Florets & Stems (30 servings)
Freeze Dried Sweet Corn (40 servings)
Freeze Dried Green Beans (40 servings)
Dehydrated Chopped Onions (24 servings)0 -
Avocados.
It took me awhile to get out of the mindset of healthy=expensive, because it just isn't that way. I've finally gotten to the point where the majority of my shopping is at the perimeter of the store and I rarely venture into the aisle down the middle. The outer areas have veggies, meats, dairy, fruits. Hit the middle rows and you get foods with additives and preservatives and TONS of unfilling calories.0 -
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
Winner!!!!:drinker: Only two items on this list that I do not purchase weekly and they are radishes and butternut Squash. The rest are in the housz!:flowerforyou:0 -
WOW!! Thank you every single person here!!
This is some awesome info for all of us!! I so appreciate you all and how you jumped right in! I think of the family of 8, or even more and how can they eat healthy! These ideas should help anyone!!
Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much!! Denise:drinker: :drinker:
PS More replies welcome!! Keep them coming!!0
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