Is it possible to eat healthy AND cheaply?

YES.

Buy generic.

Check out the reduced section in produce.

Look for manager's specials in the meat department.

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.

Instead of the granola bars, you could have some 100% whole wheat toast with peanut butter for cheaper than granola bars, even at half off, and just as fast. You could make your own baked oatmeal bars, too, and that would be cheaper and just as fast. Instead of frozen meals, buy some cheap Ziploc containers that are short and square. When you cook dinner, make an extra serving or two and freeze the extras. Much cheaper than frozen dinners, even when the frozen dinners are on sale. Make more casseroles and dishes that use meat as an ingredient instead of the star. Soups, stews and chilis are good, too. Add beans to recipes for more protein and as a filler for cheap.

Honestly, if you really want to reduce your food budget, then cutting out the diet soda will go a long way towards reducing. Not saying you have to do it, because I have my Diet Pepsi instead of coffee, but I just accepted that I will be spending more on groceries than I would like as long as I'm drinking pop.

I think the key thing to eating cheaply is planning.

Earlier this year my income stopped for a while, so I had to save money, & I definitely ate more healthily during that period then normal, but that was because i planned what I was going to eat. I used my slow cooker to make large meals bulked out with loads & loads of cheap veg, then froze the left overs. I made sure that I planned meals to use up all of the stuff I had in the fridge rather than having anything that went off & needed binning.

By using the slow cooker I could use the cheaper cuts of meat with no problem, & frozen veg are cheaper than fresh a lot of the time. I didn't eat anything organic as it is expensive and I bought all of the supermarket cheapest own brands instead of the well known brands - you really can't taste any difference when you are using it in cooking.

Even though I am now solvent again I am still following the same guidelines for food now & I am still saving money.

I spent about $230 on groceries for the next two weeks (for 3 people)... but to be honest, $20 was diapers, $13 was for paper towels... and there were a few other non-food items in that grocery bill.

However, this is what I do and have done since I got married and could grocery shop regularly. I make a "menu" of things to make for the next two weeks (I leave at least two days open to eat out) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually try to find one or two things that I can make in bulk for breakfast (like breakfast burrito's or baked oatmeal) that will last for the week or so. I make a grocery list off of recipes for that "menu". Then I look at the sale papers between two stores (usually Target and Safeway, because I like these stores better and they are closest to my house... you can do more or less depending on your area and what's around you and time you have)... from the sales, I pick out a few items of fresh produce that will last us throughout the week that are on sale and then go from there. Safeway has an app now (at least it does in our area) where you can use your smart phone to load coupons onto your card and take the sales flyer to comparision shop... anyway, I try to not deviate off of the list too much..

But menu planning and using the flyers/coupons is what helps me the most. I will also buy a bit extra meat when it's on sale as well... that way that helps in the future.

Absolutely. We eat extremely healthy at our house. I feed 3 (my guy and my 86 yr old mom) on about what you are spending sometimes a great deal less. I can do dinner for 3 on less than 10.00. With the exception of my breakfast cereal, we don't eat really eat processed foods. I cook everything from scratch (except for whole wheat pasta).

I don't shop at the beginning of the month (first 5 days) because IMHO the prices are always more since everyone has just received their SS checks. I stock up towards the middle and end of the month when stores lower the price. I use coupons when available but generally since I buy fresh there aren't that many coupons. I also plan my meals. A big batch of pasta will feed the 3 of us for 2 dinners.

I shop a couple of times a week. I do one regular grocery shop and then a Trader Joe's shop. I know what items are best at each store and what are good deals. I read the circulars that come out on Tues and shop on Wed/Thurs.

I live in the boonies (UP of Michigan) and can get away with eating super healthy and mostly clean on $100/week for a family of 3. (and I eat 12 servings of fruits/veggies every single day!) I am a deal hound, and I love to cook. I buy our meat in bulk when I can, when its on sale, and portion/freeze. Produce from farmers markets and one-day truck-load sales. I make from scratch granola bars, pizza crust, marinara sauce, muffins, waffles, pancakes, egg sandwiches, etc. and portion/freeze. My crockpot is my best friend! We eat out only on rare occasions. Meal planning has helped a LOT! By Sunday, I know what we are having for dinner every night that week, and we generally have leftovers and salads for lunches. So, yes, it is possible. Its not easy, it takes some work, but in the long run its better for you and better for your wallet.