Impossible to eat healthy when in debt

I find cooking at home to actually save money if I plan ahead -- I buy inexpensive cuts of meat, like chicken thighs or pork shoulder, when they are on sale, and then cook them in the crock pot, which is usually enough for several meals. I make chili with ground turkey and lots of beans, it is delicious, healthy, and you can make a huge pot and freeze some for later. If fresh veggies are too expensive, buy frozen. Cooking Light magazine had a great article this month on making inexpensive family meals, they suggested buying vegetables and bulk foods like rice at ethnic markets where they are cheaper. Also, look for ideas on the web, there are a lot of folks who blog about feeding their family on very low budgets. Good luck!

Really depends on what one considers healthy.
Expensive organic vegetables are 7 to 8 times more likely to make you sick from bacteria. And multiple studies have found they do not have higher nutrient content.

I don't pay attention to "lean" versus not. I need fat in my diet. I have to limit carbs. So that leaves fat because low carb high protein is toxic.
Costco is great for saving money of meat and veggies. Farmers markets are surprisingly affordable for local produce.
Not spending money on junk food snacks saves a ton of money.
I think I'd get rid of our mobile phones before cutting into the food budget.

I used to think this and initially it did seem to cost more to eat healthy but now I have calculated and it is cheaper. We rarely eat out (by choice - because we eat so much better/cheaper at home). Check out various markets. We get some great deals on chicken, fajita meat, etc., at a local mexican market who offers great sales because they have so many customers.

We also have found a great asian market that offers produce at a fraction of some of the big grocery stores. It sounds like a pain to have to shop around, but if you just hit up some various markets you soon realize who has the cheaper of this and that. On Sundays, we usually go grocery shopping. This means hitting up Walmart for basics (bread for kids lunches, laundry soap, etc.) and then we have found two ethnic markets (Asian and Indian) as well as the mexican market! Sometimes we hit up all 4!! It's also a good time we get to chat and visit.

Also, you might try planning some menus where you can stretch your things out. For example. we buy whole chickens when on sale cheap and freeze them. From that, I can boil and chop up and make chicken salad for lunches, chicken & corn soup (a favorite in my house), and many other recipies. We also make fajitas alot too - and corn tortillas are very low cal and healthy with some chicken, tomatoes, onion, cilantro and even guacamole. And most major chain stores have frozen veggies for less than $1 a bag. If you have Kroger nearby, they have their own brand of very nice veggies -- any you can imagine for less than $1 a bag. Asparagus, brocoli, cauliflower, etc. You name it, they have it and you don't have to worry about it spoiling in the fridge - you just freeze them and pull out as needed. I use one of those customer appreciation cards from Kroger and they send me great coupons for stuff I routinely buy all the time. Every month I get a dozen free eggs in my coupon packet. Walmart matches competitors prices if you bring in sale papers from other stores. Some other chains probably do this as well. They don't advertise this, but if you bring them and ask, many do. Every little bit adds up.

I get a bag of chopped romaine lettuce from Sam's club for $3. Eating salad every day, I still end up throwing some away at the end of the week! (NOT cost effective, I know!!). I also like the big bags of Tyson grilled chicken strips or the whole chicken breast fully cooked patties. These are great to heat in the microwave and toss in salad, eat them with veggies, etc. A bag is $10 but there are 16-18 chicken breasts in there so they last a while and are very healthy.

If you like chili -- super easy to make and you can buy dried beans and soak and then toss in a crock pot with some meat or toss in a big pan and cook on high for an hour or so. This always makes enough to feed several people and still have leftovers.

There has to be some sort of middle ground compromise here. We live very simply and feed a family of 4 on $80 a week, sometimes less. The Quinoa meal you suggested would be out of our price range. But, I won't feed my family that $1 burger yuckiness you were talking about either.

I disagree. I've ended up saving tons of money since I've started eating healthy and recently discovered that the farmers market is way cheaper than the grocery store and you get a TON of fruits & veggies. If you plan ahead and shop smart you'll end up ahead. I promise.

Sometimes a liberal investment pays off in the end, especially when it comes to health.

I disagree. I've ended up saving tons of money since I've started eating healthy and recently discovered that the farmers market is way cheaper than the grocery store and you get a TON of fruits & veggies. If you plan ahead and shop smart you'll end up ahead. I promise.

I agree. We now buy bulk lean meat from the butcher and package it up into single servings and buy fruit and vege from the markets and that's our dinners sorted for cheap. Breakfasts for me is just eggs. lunches are salads I make. Now I'm eating out WAY less is saving me a bundle as well as those "nice" dinners (ie high calorie) which we would spend $20 on the ingredients.

Me and my partner would spend like $30 on nice takeaway like Chinese or something and now that would pay our whole weeks dinners. Same with lunches.

I'm also not going to the pub anywhere near as much which is probably saving $50-$100 a week. But I was going out drinking a bit.

I don't know why this irks my nerves so much but it does... I'm not trying to come off mean and annoying like a lot of other posters on here saying "my way or the highway" kind of deal.

But the whole "eating healthy is expensive" is a load of crap.
I'm a college student and am dirt poor. It's CHEAPER to eat healthy.
I just made a homemade soup with vegetable broth, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes that costed me a grand total of $8 to make. And that will last me 2 weeks worth of lunch or a snap. Doesn't even break 50 calories per serving.
It's making both healthy and fiscally responsible decisions.
You can eat healthy without going broke.
But beans in bulk.
Buy meat in bulk (just bought a bag of chicken from walmart that has 10+ breasts in it for $6)
etc, etc.

omg I agree. I make a big batch of beans and big batch of quinoa and I can use it for several meals all week. Don't tell me 'eating healthy is expensive' until really live in poverty people. That's so annoying. Also maybe it's just me, but a bag of salad will make several salads. I guess some people think you have to buy $10 grilled salmon to eat healthy. Guess what, if you don't shop at whole foods you can get stuff super cheap.

I'm not eating healthy yet, because I hate healthy foods, LOL. But, I do know we all choose how we spend our money. If you ever stop for something at a gas station or 7-11 type place, stop! There are so many places we nickel and dime ourselves into debt. I know this from doing it myself!! Beans and rice, Vegetable soups, Unprocessed foods...healthy and very inexpensive. Lots of things can be thrown in the crock pot in the morning so you come home to a yummy meal at night. I make a lot of wraps in tortillas, etc...cheap. My best recommendation to you is to write down where you are spending all of your money....yes I mean ALL. It's amazing where you can cut back and add a little to buy something a little healthier. Good luck!! :flowerforyou: