Impossible to eat healthy when in debt
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No, I am all for eating at home, I am just saying that $80 a week is too low. I need around $160 for 4 people per week. My wife is the take out queen. That's where all this came from. She wants fast meals because time is money and I want home cooked slow food because money can't buy health.
I found I saved both money and time by planning meals, bulk buying products I would usually eat and batch cooking and freezing. Sometimes I spend a whole day cooking and freezing several meals, sometimes I freeze the bulk purchases ie portions sizes of meat etc and sometimes I just double up on what I am cooking that day and freeze a portion for another day.
I do the vast majority of the cooking (but I enjoy it) and we eat very heathily and a lot cheaper than we did and are in control of what we choose to put in our mouths0 -
No, I am all for eating at home, I am just saying that $80 a week is too low. I need around $160 for 4 people per week. My wife is the take out queen. That's where all this came from. She wants fast meals because time is money and I want home cooked slow food because money can't buy health.
I found I saved both money and time by planning meals, bulk buying products I would usually eat and batch cooking and freezing. Sometimes I spend a whole day cooking and freezing several meals, sometimes I freeze the bulk purchases ie portions sizes of meat etc and sometimes I just double up on what I am cooking that day and freeze a portion for another day.
I do the vast majority of the cooking (but I enjoy it) and we eat very heathily and a lot cheaper than we did and are in control of what we choose to put in our mouths
Did I mention that my wife and daughter are "picky eaters"? They are very tactile and taste picky. The variety of foods that are acceptable to eat is very narrow and the flavors that my wife/daughter will endure is very limited. So while a pear is great for it's nutrients and fiber; my wife turned it down last night because it was "sour". And while the skin on a baked sweet potato has tons of nutrients and again fiber; my wife turned it down two nights ago because it "felt like eating a paper bag". And while the veggies on my daughters plate are full of nutrition; she refuses to eat them because "I hate them". And lastly, while there are NO nutritional value in beef jerky other than a burst of protein or in dried fruits (most nutrients are fermented during the drying I think I read); my wife could eat it both of these all day long.
I was thinking of making several dinners and freezing the extras, but I just can't seem to find a good bulk meat, veggie, fruit store!!!!! The closest whole foods is 20 miles away, we don't have a Sam's or Costco membership (costs too much), and Kroger/Meijer/Walmart has some bulk but they are still a HUGE rip off (5 lbs bag of chicken breast is normally $7 on sale - fillets are normally 3 oz. fillets uncooked).
There is some validity to people who believe eating healthy is too expensive. Milk is $2/gallon; but to get lactose free milk it's $3.50/half. Salmon is $6.50 for 2 fillets in the frozen section and 6 oz. each; but to get the wild caught salmon with healthy fatty acids, no added salt, and no preservatives it's $16 for 1 lbs fillet.
I think location has a LOT to do with prices. I live in the middle of suburbia Detroit (no farms for MILES). So everything I have available to buy is shipped in and had several middle men to get to me...0 -
To OP.
I really feel for you having read your post, I also feel for you for the 'picky eaters' you have to deal with. Your wife needs to grow up and face reality, and start helping by being more open minded with food. Honestly she sounds like a spoilt child. I grew up in the 70's and my dad's firm were forced to work a three day week due to the economic climate at the time. Mum fed us health wholesome meals (2 adults 3 children) and we ate them or went hungry. She baked cakes on Sunday afternoons so we weren't deprived at all.
I wish you all the best.
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i totally get this, bad food is so much more expensive than good food and it's had to buy good veg and fruit, i've taken to going out just before the shops shut and buying all of the food that is about to go out of date and they sell fish and lovely food for a few pence. i got 4 big bags of shopping the other day for £3
S xxx0 -
Ok I wanna know how u feed a family of 4 on $80?!? Lol I have a family of 5 and I spend $200 a week
Planning! I feed a family of 4 on about $100 a week. I plan a week's worth of meals and make my shopping list from there. We even splurge on hemp milk sometimes.0 -
I make less than 20K a year. I am massively in debt and was sued in May. I'm able to eat healthy, or at least as healthy as possible while on a budget.
Learn the basics of good nutrition. There are many ways to get quality sources of protein without spending big bucks buying expensive cuts of meat. All it takes is planning and knowing how to shop correctly.
Now duplicate yourself 3 times and feed all 4 of you on that budget.
In 6 months, I will be duplicated... I'm pregnant and I'm pretty sure I can feed myself and an infant on my budget. Again, it takes careful planning. I read every ad for every grocery store, but I find doing bulk shopping at Aldi is still the best bet. And if I can't, then I will get a 2nd job so I can't.0 -
The way to be healthy and not forking out your riches is to buy in bulk. Freeze massive meat portions and have a big bag of oats and rice etc. you don't always need to rely on meat. Sometimes meals cooked just with veg can be delicious and healthy. I bought hugh fearnley-whittingstall's cookbook on veg and its given me great ideas!0
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Ok I wanna know how u feed a family of 4 on $80?!? Lol I have a family of 5 and I spend $200 a week
Planning! I feed a family of 4 on about $100 a week. I plan a week's worth of meals and make my shopping list from there. We even splurge on hemp milk sometimes.
But are you eating healthy? Is your family going over their 1500 sodium daily amount? Are you over your fiber? How about sugar, did you stay within your sugar threshold to keep type 2 diabetes at bay? Lastly, did you hit your micronutrients for the day? Let's face it, $100/week could work if you buy bulk and make every ingredient count; but there's no way you're eating "healthy" and clean like I want to on that budget without finding a local butcher or farmer.0 -
It seems like the issue is all really between you and your wife about spending priorities and values, but I buy organic quinoa for less than 2 bucks a pound, which lasts a while, organic lentils and nongluten grains for that price too,and organic vegetables(even older, halfprice) and stuff bought on sale and all that to make really tasty good stews that go far, especially with organic soups and some patience and ingenuity. Good luck with all of it--0
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Milk is $2/gallon; but to get lactose free milk it's $3.50/half. Salmon is $6.50 for 2 fillets in the frozen section and 6 oz. each; but to get the wild caught salmon with healthy fatty acids, no added salt, and no preservatives it's $16 for 1 lbs fillet.
I think location has a LOT to do with prices. I live in the middle of suburbia Detroit (no farms for MILES). So everything I have available to buy is shipped in and had several middle men to get to me...
I live in Cow Town and we spend every bit of $4/gallon for milk. Check the weekly grocery ads and buy what's on sale. Worry less about whether your meat is "wild" and more about how you prepare it. Don't buy anything that's been cooked for you or sliced/chopped/seasoned for you. If you stick to just buying the meat that's on sale, then build meals around it, you'll save a ton of money.
Also, if you can't get the wife and kids to eat their veggies, then it's more for you, right? That's what I always say.0 -
I'm sure it's already been said but this is so not true. We are on a tight budget and I used to eat all organic but now I just buy non-organic veggies.
We live in a society with in OVER ABUNDANCE OF FOOD. You can eat as healthy as you want and it does not require a lot of money, but it might require some work, buying bulk, preparing your own food, not buying prepared packaged food.0 -
The way to be healthy and not forking out your riches is to buy in bulk. Freeze massive meat portions and have a big bag of oats and rice etc. you don't always need to rely on meat. Sometimes meals cooked just with veg can be delicious and healthy. I bought hugh fearnley-whittingstall's cookbook on veg and its given me great ideas!
I agree and want to try rice (Oats give me a gluten like response) but my son refuses to eat rice and my daughter "hates it" and my wife would eat it as long as there is a sauce mixed in like BBQ sauce or Sirachi... Le sigh...
Meat isn't really the problem (though it is very expensive too), it's trying to cater to everyone's demands (and dietary needs) on a budget.0 -
Your wife needs to look at the big picture: healthy eating may cost more upfront, but it saves so much more when you look at health care costs down the road. If one of you developes diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure - think of the medical expenses for ongoing medication and treatment. I think of healthy food costs as an investment over a lifetime.0
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Ok I wanna know how u feed a family of 4 on $80?!? Lol I have a family of 5 and I spend $200 a week
Planning! I feed a family of 4 on about $100 a week. I plan a week's worth of meals and make my shopping list from there. We even splurge on hemp milk sometimes.
But are you eating healthy? Is your family going over their 1500 sodium daily amount? Are you over your fiber? How about sugar, did you stay within your sugar threshold to keep type 2 diabetes at bay? Lastly, did you hit your micronutrients for the day? Let's face it, $100/week could work if you buy bulk and make every ingredient count; but there's no way you're eating "healthy" and clean like I want to on that budget without finding a local butcher or farmer.
My husband has Type 2 diabetes and Crohn's disease, so he has to be careful what he eats. We shop the sales and build meals around it. I don't buy anything that's already been seasoned, so I know what's in it.
I think you have a different definition of "healthy" than me, and perhaps you are trying to be too strict. Also, for micro-nutirnets, take a daily multi-vitamin to make sure.
If you shop the sales and plan ahead, it can be done. I didn't say it was easy, just that it can be done. It requires setting aside an hour or more per week combing through ads, making lists, revising lists, knowing the prices so that you aren't surprised when you get to the store.
ETA: And NO, we do NOT buy in bulk. We can't afford a Costco membership either. We just make sure to be careful and buy what's on sale.0 -
These posts about not being able to afford to eat healthy used to baffle me. Then I realized that most people just don't realize what it is to really be on a super tight budget (i.e. perpetually broke). When I was a young single mom, there was no decision whether to cook at home or eat fast food. I couldn't afford fast food, not even the $1 menu.
When you are really and truly pinching pennies, you buy cheap food at the grocery and prepare meals. Premade dinners, whether frozen or from fast food, are just too expensive. You don't eat quinoa, because that's expensive, but you can still eat heatlhy foods like dried beans, canned tuna, pasta, cheap white fish, frozen vegetables, peanut butter and whatever fresh fruits and vegetables are on sale or priced for quick sale.0 -
This is what I do to conserve money on the grocery bill especially when I have 4-5 hungry teens at my house every day.
1) Don't buy junk food if you want cookies or brownies make them
2) make 1-2 large meals on the weekends freeze part of them for quick dinners
3) get a crock pot it can cook all day when you are work
4) cook meals that your can recreate into a meal the next night or for lunch
5) buy lots of vegetables and learn to make different dishes with them, such as spaghetti squash with marinara
6)Meat is expensive and you don't need it with every meal there is protein in lots of foods that are not always meat
Experiment and watch for sales you can get out of debt and eat healthy . In reality cooking at home can be cheaper than the dollar menu which leaves you hungry later and has not the best nutritional value. While working on being debt free set up the grocery budget and stick to it. It does work0 -
Ok I wanna know how u feed a family of 4 on $80?!? Lol I have a family of 5 and I spend $200 a week
Planning! I feed a family of 4 on about $100 a week. I plan a week's worth of meals and make my shopping list from there. We even splurge on hemp milk sometimes.
But are you eating healthy? Is your family going over their 1500 sodium daily amount? Are you over your fiber? How about sugar, did you stay within your sugar threshold to keep type 2 diabetes at bay? Lastly, did you hit your micronutrients for the day? Let's face it, $100/week could work if you buy bulk and make every ingredient count; but there's no way you're eating "healthy" and clean like I want to on that budget without finding a local butcher or farmer.
Yes there is, it's called eating little or no meat. If you only eat meat once a week, you can afford that expensive wild-caught salmon you keep going on and on about. But this isn't really about that, you have an excuse for every single well-founded piece of advice people have offered. A good example is how you ask about fiber in your response to this post, but then in a previous post argue that because you have celiac you can't eat high fiber foods. At least make up your mind how you are going to argue. As others have already said, you have issues well beyond food that need to be addressed.0 -
I feel for you OP, having a limited budget and having dietary restraints/requirements is a tough row. I too know the "joy" of a picky spouse when it comes to food. No oatmeal, beans, greens, fish, most red meats (unless its the expensive cuts of course) some fruits (I've recently grown to love pears, for her they're "too mealy"), so while I could easily feed myself on the cheap, because I like all of the above, I have to take her into account because I'm not going to let her just eat bread and pasta (about the only thing she will eat in any form).
Anyways, my suggestion is to experiment while also bringing everyones expectations down a little. You seem to want healthy, really healthy, well you can't, for a variety of reasons that you already know, so you need to compromise a little on that. Don't go all wonder bread and salt and salami sandwhiches, but you may have to buy frozen corn instead of Certified Organic Corn Picked by Naked Native Americans who are also crying because of the Environment brand.
You are also going to have to work to find healthier solutions to your family's habits and pickiness. Meaning a lot of experimentation in product and cooking method. Your wife is going to have to compromise on this and be willing to try things, possibly a few times, before just getting to the point of can't take it anymore, and well your daughter, well she's your child, she'll just have to suck it up and be hungry like the rest of us were as children when we refused to eat dad's "Macaroni Tuna Surprise". But try different methods of preperation, foods can take on entirely different tastes and textures with different cooking methods. Find out what they don't like about a food and then figure out a cheat around it.
Just keep it up and plugging at it, and you'll find your balance that best fits you and your family.0 -
excuses excuses. I do all the shopping and buy only healthy stuff so there is nothing else to cook except healthy food. Simple. Being healthy saves in the long run. Free will is a ***** but we are definitely responsible for our own choices. Beans and brown and wild rice are cheap with frozen veggies and it can go a looong way. So are whole graines quesadillas. Use your imagination, print out recipes and experiment. Where there is a will there is definitely a way.0
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Why do you give your children such a huge choice in what's for dinner? I think most people my age or older were raised without the option of eating things that weren't prepared by our mothers. The two choices were eat what I made or go hungry. I think on top of working on your financial differences, you and your wife need to work on some solidarity for getting your kids to accept what is made for dinner and to eat it whether or not they want to. Your children are excessively picky about eating because you allow them to be so in your home. Your son refusing to eat rice sounds to me less of diet issue and more him exerting his will over you. He shouldn't be the one in charge.The way to be healthy and not forking out your riches is to buy in bulk. Freeze massive meat portions and have a big bag of oats and rice etc. you don't always need to rely on meat. Sometimes meals cooked just with veg can be delicious and healthy. I bought hugh fearnley-whittingstall's cookbook on veg and its given me great ideas!
I agree and want to try rice (Oats give me a gluten like response) but my son refuses to eat rice and my daughter "hates it" and my wife would eat it as long as there is a sauce mixed in like BBQ sauce or Sirachi... Le sigh...
Meat isn't really the problem (though it is very expensive too), it's trying to cater to everyone's demands (and dietary needs) on a budget.0
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