Money and eating right. How do you do it?

Options
Wickedbookworm1977
Wickedbookworm1977 Posts: 162
in Chit-Chat
The two do not go together. Buying fruits and veggies, and food that actually nourishes my body is off the charts expensive. Prohibitively so. Even frozen vegetables have gotten expensive, and going to the farmers' market does not save me any money. Their prices are on par with the local grocery stores. How does everyone do it? Eat healthy on an extreme budget?
«1

Replies

  • Windy_
    Windy_ Posts: 1,012 Member
    Options
    I don't know I bought an apple for 32 cents and a banana for 25 cents yesterday. Twinkies were 1.29...before they went of business :sad:
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
    Options
    Go to your local farmers market on the weekend and stock up. I buy a weeks worth of fruit and veggies for around $20.00.
  • capnlizard
    capnlizard Posts: 73 Member
    Options
    I am pretty much psychotic about sales. I wait until lean proteins go on sale, then buy in bulk and freeze them. Ditto for frozen fruit and veggies, or virtually any other food item that is both healthy and has a long shelf-life (or freezer life). Most chain grocery stores have online circulars, so you can also plan your weekly grocery run around what is on sale, which is actually a good way to eat healthy, since the sale items are also usually the seasonal ones. Get a store card for whatever major grocery store is near you and that helps.

    And, frankly, when I am super broke and starving, I know that I can always defrost some chicken breasts, pan saute them in a tablespoon of olive oil with some spices, and throw it over a big bowl of spinach or some whole wheat pasta with olive oil and lemon zest. Both options have a lot of fiber and can fill you up.

    Or, eggs and wheat toast :)
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
    Options
    8 bananas cost about the same as a whopper jr.
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
    Options
    I found on junk, I and my family was eating twice the food. On the healthy stuff, not so much. Fresh stuff is higher, especialy if you buy stuff with the word "organic" on it. Just focus on fresh.
  • Katie320
    Katie320 Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    Aldi's.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Options
    Frozen veggies are $1 per bag (4-6 servings)
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
    Options
    Doritos are $3.50 a pound...apples are 1/3 that.

    Pound for pound, most healthy fresh foods are cheaper than junk foods.

    If you mean how can you beat a $3 frozen pizza...try piece of tilapia with a side of grilled green beans and a half a sweet potato for the same cost.

    And if you are trying to beat a bag of ramen noodles...brown rice with lime juice is better for you, lower calories and costs about the same by weight/filling effect.

    Of course the healthy alternatives are just not as easy as the junk.
  • crazytreelady
    crazytreelady Posts: 752 Member
    Options
    I don`t know where you live... But buying fruits, vegetables and non-premade, pre-packaged food is a lot cheaper for me than the ladder where I am...
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    Options
    Focus on getting a few inexpensive staple items and learn to do a lot with them. I buy frozen chicken breast, brown rice, dried beans, instant mashed potatoes (you can get whole, I'm just lazy), eggs, milk, frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower), cabbage, yellow onion, carrots and garlic (minced in jar). I always have these in the kitchen ready to go. Along with some flour (if you eat flour) and oil I can make an extraordinary variety of food with this and none of it is expensive.

    I do mix it up and get other special times for fun or specific recipe if I feel like it, but I could easily leave them out if budget were a restriction.
  • glittersupernova
    glittersupernova Posts: 91 Member
    Options
    Sometimes I have to be realistic and only buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale/avoid the ones that are not...until they Are on sale. Also...I check the clearance section...sometimes they have riper fruit out for Very cheap. I know sometimes it's not desirable to eat an over-ripened fruit, but you can Definitely incorporate them into healthy, homemade fruit juices, smoothies, and even use bananas for whole wheat banana bread or something :).

    It's not easy...I know. I am a college student, lol. Good luck w/ your shopping though :)
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
    Options
    I don't get it when people say it's more expensive to eat healthy. A bag of apples costs the same as a bag of potato chips here. Now if you're gonna buy organic or out of season stuff, sure, You'll pay 7 bucks for a watermelon in December. I try to stick with in season or on sale fruits. As far as veg goes, frozen stuff here is a little more than a dollar a bag but...2 bucks a bag maybe? Some people spend two dollars on candy every day.

    The value of the food far outweighs the cost of it. I.e. Yes I can spend 3 dollars at McDonalds and eat 800 calories but it's all processed trash and has a pretty low nutritional value. Or I could eat 2 pieces of wheat bread with peanut butter and a serving of strawberries and have a good dose of unsaturated fat, fiber and 1.5 times the RDA of Vitamin C. For about 3 dollars and 350 calories. And feel more satiated.

    At any rate, Idt my grocery bill has gone up a bit since I quit buying soda, cookies and potato chips and started spending that cash on my fruit and veg.

    Now if anyone wants to cry about the price of meat, I'll lament with you.
  • AuddAlise
    AuddAlise Posts: 723 Member
    Options
    When I buy healthy food I always pay less than if I buy crap. Veggies/fruits are cheap compared to chips/candy/soda.
  • AuddAlise
    AuddAlise Posts: 723 Member
    Options
    Now if anyone wants to cry about the price of meat, I'll lament with you.

    Ugh, meat IS expensive! Plus we have 6 in our family. Out of the $32 bill from the grocery yesterday $12 of it was for meat. Oh, and I got 4 bags of groceries.
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
    Options
    Now if anyone wants to cry about the price of meat, I'll lament with you.

    Ugh, meat IS expensive! Plus we have 6 in our family. Out of the $32 bill from the grocery yesterday $12 of it was for meat. Oh, and I got 4 bags of groceries.


    $32? I spend that just on four rib-eyes.
  • sovannac
    sovannac Posts: 445 Member
    Options
    I don't get it when people say it's more expensive to eat healthy. A bag of apples costs the same as a bag of potato chips here. Now if you're gonna buy organic or out of season stuff, sure, You'll pay 7 bucks for a watermelon in December. I try to stick with in season or on sale fruits. As far as veg goes, frozen stuff here is a little more than a dollar a bag but...2 bucks a bag maybe? Some people spend two dollars on candy every day.

    The value of the food far outweighs the cost of it. I.e. Yes I can spend 3 dollars at McDonalds and eat 800 calories but it's all processed trash and has a pretty low nutritional value. Or I could eat 2 pieces of wheat bread with peanut butter and a serving of strawberries and have a good dose of unsaturated fat, fiber and 1.5 times the RDA of Vitamin C. For about 3 dollars and 350 calories. And feel more satiated.

    At any rate, Idt my grocery bill has gone up a bit since I quit buying soda, cookies and potato chips and started spending that cash on my fruit and veg.

    Now if anyone wants to cry about the price of meat, I'll lament with you.

    THIS!
  • tisha_rae
    tisha_rae Posts: 216 Member
    Options
    I don’t know what you mean by “extreme budget” so it’s a little harder to offer suggestions….

    But I can tell you a little of what’s worked for me.

    Preparation is key –

    I’ve had to spend much more time thinking ahead and planning but it’s worth it.

    I shop what is on sale each week – fruits, veggies, and lean meats. – I buy very little in cans/packages anymore, I shop pretty much only the outside isles of the store.

    When I get home (or a few days after) I prep everything – last week bell peppers, strawberries and bananas were on sale – so I had a ton.

    I cut them all up at the same time put in baggies and freeze them.

    Pork chops and chicken breast were also on sale.

    So I also separated them ( I cook for two) into individual bags and put in the freezer.

    So that I don’t get bored with my diet I’ve started researching different meals – when I do this I search for things with minimal ingredients or ingredients that I already have ( myfridgefood.com) Is a great site where you can log what you have at home and it will give you recipes for the things you already have – you can also filter your results – for low carb/low sugar/ or meals with a certain amount of calories.

    This past week some of my meals have been – sweet n sour pork chops, pesto chicken pasta, chicken salad, pork tacos, chicken fajitas
    I’ve made smoothies and fruit salad with my bananas and strawberries and other fruit I had frozen previously.

    It took a long time for me to get use to having to plan out my means and do all the prep work and once – but it has been well worth it! So I use sales, prep & freeze a lot in advance, I try to use minimal ingredients & search out new recipes. I try to make various meals from the same things, I don’t really buy anything that I can’t use for more than one meal.

    I hope this helps you out some!

    Good Luck 
  • SweetSailor
    SweetSailor Posts: 81 Member
    Options
    The two do not go together. Buying fruits and veggies, and food that actually nourishes my body is off the charts expensive. Prohibitively so. Even frozen vegetables have gotten expensive, and going to the farmers' market does not save me any money. Their prices are on par with the local grocery stores. How does everyone do it? Eat healthy on an extreme budget?

    Every time I see this type of post, I get really curious as to what the OP is eating.

    Check the major grocer ads, google whats in season in your area, buy in bulk. If it's that extreme, look into a food bank or church food assistance, they often give bags of very healthy foods.

    There have been extreme times in my life where I lived on various frozen veggies and eggs. I was in phenomenal shape and learned to become quite a good chef.
  • ton40orbust
    ton40orbust Posts: 155
    Options
    In the produce section, let the prices guide your purchase. Anything out of season is going to be really expensive, and generally the cheapest produce is going to be the best quality and last the longest.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Options
    No it's not... it's only how you see it... but it's not actually true... pound for pound fresh food is much cheaper than their junk food alternatives... and serving to serving made from scratch food is much cheaper than their prepackaged nemesis... Try finding a farm co-op or a CSA co-op... where you can get fruit and vegetables that were locally grown for not much.... a co-op around here costs around $25 every two weeks and you can get an abundance of in season locally grown produce.

    Use your sale papers and preferred customer cards... prepare your produce when you get home... a friend of mine SWEARS by a vinegar soak that helps keep her produce fresher longer.

Categories