What are the healthiest, inexpensive foods?

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

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

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

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).

-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.

^^^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!

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.

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!

bump

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.