Is it possible to eat healthy AND cheaply?

yes. shop smart, buy things on sale, in season, fresh frozen, or grown locally. The whole idea that it is expensive to eat healhty is BS and an excuse in my opinion. I get a 5 lb bag of carrots and stalk of celery for what a family size bag of doritos costs and it provides delicious and healthy snacks all week. I get boneless skinless chicken on sale for $1.88/lb and stock the freezer. You can't get big macs for $1.88/lb. Little debbie crap cakes cost about 50 cents each compared to the same price for an apple or orange.

Anyone, no matter what their diet or preferences, can lower their grocery bills just by following a few simple rules.

Shop around. Visit all the available stores to find out which stores have the best prices on the items you buy. Don't expect to buy everything you need in one store. If the store that stocks your favorite cereal has terrible prices on produce, don't buy your produce there just because you ran out of your cereal.

Shop the sales and use coupons. Stock up on shelf-stable or freezable items when you can get a good deal. Look for websites that match up grocery sale flyers with available coupons to help you plan your shopping (southernsavers.com is one example that covers all the grocery stores and drugstores in the Southern US.) For freezer items, you can maximize freezer space by repackaging items into freezer bags.

Waste not. Try not to throw away ANY food. Get creative and find ways to repurpose leftovers, use up produce before it rots, turn your bones and bits of veg into broth (crock pot is an easy way to do this). Keep a constant eye on your fridge to make sure you're eating things before they go bad. Another great idea is to do an occasional "Eat down the fridge" challenge, when you go a week without buying any groceries to make sure you are using up the items in your fridge, freezer and pantry before they get too old.

i second shopping farmers markets for produce - so much cheaper. also look at some of the meals you eat to see if you could actually make them yourself. eat baked beans - try making them yourself, even though you have to buy the ingredients you end up with 2-3 times as much as you would in just 1 can. love hummus? so much cheaper if you make it yourself. trader joes sells tanini past dirt cheap, a can of chick peas, olive oil, garlic, whatever else you want to put in it and you end up with a jumbo sized container of homemade hummus. make your own granola (bars, balls whatever shape you want).

i also second getting creative with leftovers. definitely helps stretch your money.

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I live in central Indiana and spend, on average, $180 a month on groceries for myself. I buy canned tuna, poultry as well as frozen vegetables/fruit/salmon filets and bread from Sam's Club. Poultry gets divided into smaller baggies with weight and portion sizes written on the outside so I know how much I will be cooking when I grab a particular baggy. All baggies and bread are frozen until I am ready to cook/eat them. Most of my non-perishables are purchased from Amazon on their Subscribe & Save program. If I can't find what I want from Amazon or Sam's Club, I do without it and find available alternatives.

Not that my diet is working all that great, I eat out way too often, but I wanted to know how it is possible to eat healthily and cheaply.

Between my wife and I, we spend about $130 a week on groceries and I would love to find some way to reduce those costs.

Thanks for any suggestions!

From your diary, things like Dr. Pepper, granola bars, frito chips: all add up to a whole lot of money and are worth nothing nutritionally. Lean cuisines etc..packaged meals much mroe expensive than cooking meals at home.

^^ This!
Skip the Soda and the granola bars (3 bars in one sitting, really?!). Instead drink water and grab a pb&j sandwich on whole grain bread, cheaper and better for you!

Yeah. It's called beans.

Beans are the cheapest-healthiest thing out there. Chickpeas are awesome--you can make hummus dip for your veggies, you can spice them a hundred different ways and roast them for snacks, mix them with different veggies for salads...I have a salad in my fridge right now that is chickpeas, black beans, red pepper & cilantro tossed in olive oil, cumin & black pepper. It is amazing, especially with a little crumbled feta...in fact, I think I will go have some right now.

I agree with shopping farmers' markets so you can buy what's local to where you live. It's fresh, healthy and usually a good price. I also stock up on dried legumes. That way, I just soak and cook what I'm going to use instead of opening a can and having them spoil before I get sick of them. I also try to cook things I can freeze (like chili, bean stews and soups) so I'm not tempted to grab something like fast food or crappy frozen dinners.

Also, make friends with eggs! They are cheap, a good source of protein and there are so many ways to fix them.

I agree with everyone. I have a severe gluten allergy and I just rent a room with no kitchen privileges. You just have to be smart about what you eat and what you spend. We eat mostly just fresh fruits and veggies that are locally grown and a lot of fresh meats. My crock pot has been great! I eat gluten free oatmeal for breakfast most mornings and it ends up costing about $1.25/breakfast.

If you have an Aldi's store near they have alot of lower prices. They have fruit, veggies along with a variety of other things. Lately Ive been hitting a flea market/farmets market for cheaper fresh fruits and vegetables- and they are better than the store!

bump

I am eating the bars to save time, actually. Those are expensive but, they are organic! I usually eat two bars and eat a 3rd bar for a snack later in the morning, but I get busy at work and just put my food in at one meal. we've only been buying them on sale, to a tune of about 50% off lately. When I am not eating those bars, I am eating an egg-white, turkey sausage and english muffin sandwich.

with my tree nut allergy, I can't eat so many breakfast foods, in a timely fashion.

I drink the diet dr peppers for the caffeine, since I have never developed a taste for coffee. Additionally, I alternate between frozen meals for lunch and cooking chicken tenderloins and a side salad, which I make at home.

For the past year or so, we've been making a few meals from the I Can't Believe its Not Fattening! Cookbook, but I feel like we're burnt out on those. I guess I need to adopt the workout diet, baked chicken and rice, 5 nights a week.

Just because something is 'organic' doesn't automatically make it good food, or cheap or something you whould be eating. Cut out the frozen meals and cook meals at home in bulk that you can take to work. Buy oatmeal and eat that instead of granola bars--will be cheaper. The quick oatmeal takes like 5 mins to prepare.

Do you really need 2 or 3 cans of dr pepper? everyday? Fritos? All adds up.

And there is no such thing as a 'workout' diet. I certainly do not eat backed chicken and rice 5 nights a week. My diet is quite varied, as I'm sure most people who have lost weight and maintained. There isn't oly one cook book in the world with healthy recipes. Use the internet. I think your biggest problem is that you eat out too much, which you know already. So stop eating out so much and start eating in. How can you assume it's expesive to eat healthy when you don't yet? Also stop making excuses for your choices.

Pretty much everything you need to know on this subject, including recipes: http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/

Things like quinoa go a Loooonnnnngggggg way. 1 cup of uncooked quinoa makes 3 lunches for me. I mix it with salad leaves, feta, beetroot and chicken fillet cooked. It's filling and good for you.

Stir fry veg is cheap and very filling esp mixed with chickpea's.

I batch make food for the freezer: spicy lentil stew, bean soup, chilli. It's so cheap to make all of them, load them with veg and off ye go.

The key is making the food yourself, not buying pre-made 'healthy' meals. Good luck.