Healthy on a budget?

sonjavon · February 2010

I'm a stay at home mom who is rather... frugal. Since giving up my career a few years ago I feel it's my "job" to make sure that we get as much for our money as possible. I clip coupons, shop sales and do my best to cut costs where I can. I went grocery shopping today and spent $250... what I normally spend for about a months groceries (minus weekly trips for dairy products and lunch meat). I'm certain the groceries I bought won't last a month... I didn't even buy much meat. Now... I did buy Olive Oil and I splurged on Debbie Meyer Green Bags (my mom swears by them and I figured with all the produce I was buying... might be worth it).

I bought a lot of dry beans - so that I can fix them and not have the high sodium that's in canned beans. I got a lot of fruit and veggies and plenty of yogurt (my son loves yogurt)!

Does anyone have ideas for eating healthy on a budget?

armymil · February 2010

Stay far away from soup in a can. Those are very high in sodium. Even as I have noticed the reduced sodium is not really reduced at all!

The only thing that works for me is to buy for the future. The more you make of a food, the more excess you will have. Thus you have dinner/lunch or whatever for the next couple of days. It is cheaper to add just a few more oz of food with the same ingredients of home cooked meals than to cook small meals. I don't like to throw out food so I eat my food.

Tibur86 · February 2010

I usually try to plan my meals around what is on sale. I figure out what I'm going to make for the week and buy what I need to make my meals. When things that won't spoil, or that can be put in the freezer, are on sale I stock up. I usually spend about $75 a week for 2 people. I only buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale that week since they spoil so fast, and just get enough to last the week.

MelsaEstel · February 2010

Prepare your own food for use. Buy veggies in their whole state. I buy bags of carrots and peel and chop them. Yes, it takes time, but it saves a lot. The bag of "rough" carrots costs less than half the "baby cut" carrots. Same with salads, cheese (grate it or chop into smaller pieces), whatever you can buy in bigger chunks.

Don't forget the freezer. I make a full batch of almost every recipe, then I have at least half of it to freeze for later. I have probably 5+ dinners ready to be thawed and heated. It's great for lazy or rushed days, and it means that you can buy less your next shopping trip because you already have a meal or two ready to go.

MacMadame · February 2010

When you first start switching over, you may have to buy a lot of basics, but that settles down with time. When I first started cooking more meals and eating less frozen dinners, I had to buy all sorts of spices and ingredients and every grocery trip was expensive. But now I have most of that stuff and only have to replenish what runs out.

I've also had to compromise. I would buy a lot of fruit and veggies and have to throw a lot out. So now I buy less fresh and more frozen so I'm not wasting as much food. I also buy cheaper cuts of meat for meals that are made in the slow cooker instead of always buying the best of everything. I buy a LOT more of the store brands too. Not when you can tell a difference in taste, but for things where you can't tell or the store brand might even be better.

There are a lot of web sites and articles devoted to eating healthy on a budget. You might get some good ideas from them and also some good recipes.

imdamom · February 2010

I too am a sahm. We are a family of 6. I find that buying in bulk helps a lot. I will buy a whole lean pork tenderloin and then cut it up into smaller pieces. One long tenderloin usually gets us at least 4 dinners. Don't always buy fresh fruit and veggies. Sometimes frozen is a better deal. Plan one left over night. I usually do ours on Friday nights. I also do one "breakfast for dinner" night. Eggs are a cheap source of protein.

EmilyStrick · February 2010

i don't know what kind of time you have, but i try to buy produce twice a week...only enough for a few days so that i never have to throw anything out. we don't eat much meat anymore, which brings costs down A LOT!!! frozen veggies can be cheaper if they're not in season when you're buying. maybe try gardening a little...start by planting 2 things like tomatoes and lettuce in an above-ground garden. shop around for produce prices...we have a grocery store where i live that is typically about a quarter the cost of other grocery stores in the produce section....i can get 2 avocados for $1 there (granted i live very close to mexico....)! i find that trader joe's (if you have t.j.'s) has far better prices on things like bread, crackers, cereal, (a huge box of "joe's o's"...cheerios...is only $1.99), peanut butter, etc. than any other grocery store chain if you buy the t.j. brand stuff (and it's healthier too). i normally end up going to 3 different stores each week, but i have the time and enjoy it. you just have to research prices and get creative and lay off meat a few days a week and buy mostly plant foods!

Behavior_Modification · February 2010

I totally can relate. I started w/ a nutritionalist and they gave me a grocery list that would have been WAY more than what I usually spend. I divided the items up into 3 and had a list for Wal-Mart, Aldi's, and Pick N Save. I know that at Wal-Mart I can buy the cheapest nuts and protein replacement meal bars there. Also I love the 80 calorie chocolate fat free pudding snacks and they are the cheapest there too. At Aldi's I know i can get the cheapest frozen fish, cheese, and produce (when it is of good quality). Aldi's has good lowfat yogurts too. And then I would buy the other stuff at the regular grocery store. I am a total coupon queen and bargain hunter so I would rather go to 3 different stores and save $50 then buy it all at the regular grocery store and spend the $. I have more time than $ right now...don't we all?

Take good care,
Diane from WI

EmilyStrick · February 2010

i also wanted to add something that i heard a while back that made a lot of sense to me: i can't quote it exactly, but something to the effect of "spending more money on healthy food pays off in the long run when you don't have to spend money on medications and doctor bills". and, in the end, doctors and pharmaceuticals cost exorbitantly more than healthy foods!!!

gabi_ele · February 2010

Since you are in Ohio you should have a Krogers near you? I buy their pork loin on sale (under $2.00) and cut it up in cutlets( use them the same way as pork chops) or larger cuts for pork roast ect.It is a very lean cut and you have no waist (bones, fat...) I also get their frozen veggies ( this week on sale for $1.00 each 10 to 12 oz)
I also love Aldies, they have good prices on staples like chicken breast,frozen fish and shrimp, spices, flour and produce. I don't buy canned goods anymore except tomatoes ,since they are loadet with sodium. I just shop around a lot and I cook and bake a lot from scratch( I make my own whole grain bread). We eat very well and I spend about $75.00 on food a week (I always have stuff in my freezer to hold me over when I am a little short on cash)
hope that helps... By the way I'm in southern Ohio ...

ebh1024 · February 2010

I am a SAHM too...and eating healthy does get expensive! The other day I bought "ground chicken" on sale like $1.69, great price. So I cooked it in the skillet, then sauteed zucchini, onions, broccoli slaw added a garlic/herb seasoning mixed together, and it was very good. Maybe something like that too would be good.

Also, I like to shop at Wal-mart super store too and went the the ALDI store the other day for the first time, really good deals. But if you buy things like Oatmeal, brown rice those items can go along way too. I try to go once a week (there are 5 of us) and it does get very expensive. I like the frozen veggies just as well, defintely less sodium!

Good luck, try to buy what you can afford. It doesn't have to be "organic or from some special store. Always try to remembe to shop the "perimeter" of the store. That way you stay away from the "bad" stuff and only get the "better" more natural stuff!

I agree with Imdamom, breakfast for dinner great idea!! Make a vegetable soup with frozen veggies, that goes along way too!

Good point Emilystrick!

Sunsh1ne · February 2010

One tip I learned from my mom is to keep an empty milk carton in the freezer. Whenever you come up with the veggie ends, put them in the carton. When it's full, make and freeze vegetable stock. Cheaper than stock in a box, and a lot lower in sodium.

If you can, grow veggies yourself (obviously not right now) and instead of trying to eat it all, blanch and freeze part of your harvest for later. Barring that, look into farmer's markets and CSAs in your area. I bought almost all of my family's produce at farmer's markets last summer, and as long as I stuck to produce (and avoided the artisenal breads and cheeses) it was generally cheaper and better than the supermarket stuff. It's fresh, local, and pretty much always organic, plus there's a huge variety of stuff, which was always inspiring me to try something new.

Sunsh1ne · February 2010

By the way, keep in mind that stuff with "organic" on the label doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means... it just means that the company that owned the farm has the time and money to keep up with the paperwork required to get that label, and there are some (but not as many) pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that are dangerous but still allowed under organic label regs. Most of the time, you're better off saving your money at the grocery store - and I can't plug farmer's markets and CSAs enough because then you get to know the people growing your food, so you know for sure how it was grown.

Healthy on a budget?

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