I can not afford to eat healthy :(

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RobinsonDawn
RobinsonDawn Posts: 40 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello, well recently my money has been cut and I have only 30 pounds a week which roughly 10 pounds is on baby stuff so I am left with 20 pounds to get healthy things and there is no way I can do it. It is so much cheaper to go to iceland and just get a freezer food which will last for longer, I need to support 3 people on 20 pounds a week and I just can't do it. I have cried over it as I really feel as though I need to lose this weight! Sorry for the rant

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  • weatheredcheese
    weatheredcheese Posts: 112 Member
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    have you tried buying fresh food in bulk, make up the meals and freeze them yourself? We do this even for our little one, helps with portion size also
  • xxTracey
    xxTracey Posts: 85 Member
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    You can get lots of frozen veg in iceland, just stock up on some different spices, which you'll only have to buy once & then they'll last for ages and then things like tinned tomatos, frozen fish. You can get lots of cheap healthy frozen food :). Try not to get yourself upset, even iceland have healthy frozen options :). Some might say its not as good as fresh but i prefer frozen, i think alot of fresh stuff ends up going to waste whereas frozen you can just use what you need and it goes back into the freezer to be used again next time :). x
  • Elegra2006
    Elegra2006 Posts: 144 Member
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    I'm so sorry that you're in a stressful situation at the moment, here's some suggestions that might help:

    go to Aldi or Lidl - no you won't find the same thing each week but the fruit and veg is super cheap. There's nothing wrong with tinned veg either, it'll last and is also really cheap.

    look out for bargains in Poundland or Poundstretchers - yes, they do sometimes have healthy stuff in there ie. brown Warburton thins, snack a jacks etc.

    go to the supermarket when they do the reductions usually about 5-6ish, buy stuff and put in freezer.

    soup is a really, really cheap healthy alternative - costs pennies, just whack in a load of veggies plus beans etc - the weather is still freezing so soup's a good filler

    do you like to cook? how about making your own bread - costs little, same with making own pizza with own dough etc, make your own biccies, scones etc - again costs little compared with shop bought

    Hopefully you're able to make some wee tweaks that'll make things a little healthier for you.
  • RawCarrots
    RawCarrots Posts: 204 Member
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    That is a tight budget for two adults and a baby indeed, but I've always found cooking it yourself works out cheaper than buying ready-made frozen meals. As the poster above suggested I'd look for buying veg and meat in bulk, cooking and freezing in portions. All supermarkets here would do a deal on veg, one has diff veg reduced each week, the other would have 3 for fiver offers.

    I used to have a link to a great online book about cooking on a tight budget, will see if I can find it think it was BBC.

    Good luck, you can do it!
  • HannahsHealthKick
    HannahsHealthKick Posts: 11
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    There are healthy foods available for low prices, they just aren't always fresh! Bulk purchases of potatoes, eggs. Perhaps frozen chicken fillets rather than fresh. Frozen vegetables. I'm constantly shopping in the value range for products! Although Iceland is renowned for being money-friendly, they're unlikely to offer the deals which larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Morrissons have.

    It's not the easiest thing to do, but it is possible, it's just a case of planning meals ahead, thinking of different twists you can make to regular foods.

    http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/inspiration/family-meals-on-a-budget.html <- Just a quick google search came back to me with this.

    I know that it's 100% easier to do the healthy meals etc on a bigger budget , but it is definitely possible. Chin up! I'm always trying to think of cheaper meals. Feel free to message me if you like :)
  • RobinsonDawn
    RobinsonDawn Posts: 40 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the support! :) I will keep to try and buy frozen healthy food! Hopefully my hubby will get a new job to help us with the budget :)
  • paulbuxton
    paulbuxton Posts: 12 Member
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    Ouch that is a seriously tight budget!

    Definitely worth looking at using more frozen veg. Beans and pulses can be quite cheap. For meat you can often get buy 1 get 1 free on whole chickens in the supermarket. You can then stick 1 in the freezer and joint the other one and probably get 2 meals for the family from it.
    Chopped tomatoes are great, throw in some curry powder, veg (frozen or fresh) and either some meat or pulses and some brown rice and you have a good healthy substantial meal for the family. Drop the spices and add garlic and herbs and change the brown rice for wholemeal pasta and you have italian!

    Sorry you are in a tight spot, but try and persevere through it, good luck!
    Paul
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    It's not that you can't afford to eat healthy. Rather, you need to change your definition of "healthy."
  • gublercullen
    gublercullen Posts: 89
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    I'm so sorry you're in this situation, I'm the same, I'm a student so budgeting for healthy food every week is hard. I hate when people say that it isn't more expensive to eat healthy, because it is! If I do a £30 weekly shop and most of it is fresh, I end up having to do another mini shop at some other point through the week. It sucks.

    I've started getting frozen fruit from tesco and all my frozen veg from aldi, I buy all of my meat or fish as part of the 3 for £10 in Morrisons too, or I get some of the frozen salmon fillets or chicken breasts. I really feel your pain, although I'm managing on a little bit more than you each week, it's really difficult. Stick in there and give all the frozen fruit and veg a go, it's easier than having to buy fresh a lot of the time. Chin up!
  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
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    Eat smaller portions or exercise to make the foods you eat fit within your calorie goals
  • rickholden9
    rickholden9 Posts: 9
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    Buy local food that's in season, that should lower your cost, and then make meals and freeze or can/jar them, that's what we do and it has dropped our cost dramatically. Good luck.
  • RobinsonDawn
    RobinsonDawn Posts: 40 Member
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    Eat smaller portions or exercise to make the foods you eat fit within your calorie goals
    I cant exercise for three weeks due to operation
  • pennydreadful270
    pennydreadful270 Posts: 266 Member
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    I lived as a student on as little as possible for so long, and I fell back onto the white bread and jam more often than not. It really is tough.

    But some choices in iceland are not so bad, like I know they do frozen chicken breast/legs/strips, they do fillets of fish, prawns. They have spinach, mixed stir fry veg, peas, sweetcorn. Tins of baked beans, mushy peas are ok, just watch the salt in the rest of the meal.

    Basically I would stay completely away from the pizza, ice cream and ready meal section.
  • abelthephotographer
    abelthephotographer Posts: 127
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    You've got my sympathy - student teacher here ...

    I have found cooking in bulk absolutely the way to go. I've a large cooking pot and over the last couple of weeks I have made outrageous amounts of Quorn Chilli and Vegetable Curry - 6 decent portions each time costed out at under £1-25 per portion. This is how I costed out my Quorn Chilli, everything bought at Sainsburys, and nothing reduced because of short life. The ingredients with a * are reasonably approximate prices, where I've forgotten how much I paid for items that have been in the house for ages. Here goes:

    500g Quorn Mince - £3.00
    Small tin sweetcorn (basics) - £0.20
    6 cloves garlic - £0.13
    Green Pepper x 2 (basics) - £0.67
    Red Pepper (basics) - £0.33
    * 2 x oxo cubes - £0.20
    3 cartons of chopped tomatoes (basics) - £0.93
    6 x finger chillies - £0.20
    1 large onion - £0.35
    * 3tbsp olive oil - £0.25
    1 carton kidney beans (organic!) - £0.79
    * frozen spinach 100g - £0.20

    Total £7.25, or £1.21 per portion x 6. I was quite shocked by just how much food this turned out to be, and you can eat as much rice as you want with it. Does this help?

    The 'basics' chopped tomatoes are a godsend at £0.31 each. Add one of those to some pasta with some herbs and a little garlic, and you pretty much don't need anything else, maybe a chilli or two :)

    Good luck!
  • Nottoobadyet
    Nottoobadyet Posts: 4 Member
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    Go to moneysavingexpert . com forums and use the Oldstyle board - they are the absolute experts at eating healthy on a budget. Yours is very, very tight indeed but they will be the best, with lots of recipes and very sensible advice on meal planning etc.
  • ingies2011
    ingies2011 Posts: 127 Member
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    Buy dried chickpeas and kidney beans and cook them yourself, they are healthy and cheap, can be added to lots of meals, casseroles, salads etc to increase the protein content of meals.
  • nekoface
    nekoface Posts: 149 Member
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    You can buy frozen veg, fruit and chicken breasts from Iceland. I love Iceland, it's like a pound shop for food.
  • gel91
    gel91 Posts: 309
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    Iceland do a big bag of frozen diced chicken for £5 and i know it's a big chunk from your budget but I also feed 3 people and I always get one of those bags on the occasion I go there it does go far :-)

    Also maybe you could spend £3 a week on bags of vegetables, brussel sprouts sweetcorn parsnips 1 week, then the next week another 3 & you'll soon be stocked up, because of the variety you'll have you won't be eating the same stuff all the time and it'll stretch further. It's £3 for 3 ready meals, or £3 for some healthy ingredients too last you a while!

    I second own brand tin tomatos aswell with some ownbrand pasta, which you can get for about 20p with your chicken veg pasta and tomatos you could make some different meals if you have your own spices!

    Rice is good to pick up and will last ages in your cupboard, you could make your own bread, it will also eat into your budget a bit for the first week or so picking up the yeast and flour ect but after that it's just topping up and that's alot easier.

    I have recently bought a fruit & veg & salad box for £20 from a local delivery service, I got tons and tons of food for the money and it was all super fresh so maybe that's an option for you if you can find one in your area. Plus you help out your local family owned shops/market stalls.

    Local strawberry/berry picking if you have access too!

    I don't envy having a tight budget I've been there many times and I hope things pick up for you again soon.
  • iwillbetinytea
    iwillbetinytea Posts: 264 Member
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    Buy frozen vegetables (peas and sweetcorn tend to be the cheapest), dried beans (and then rehydrate), DRIED soya mince (£1.50 something for 500g which is equivalent to almost 1.5kg when hydrated), cheaper freash veggies like carrots, cauli, broccoli, cabbage.

    Make meals which will last several days. Invest in a slow cooker. Plan your meals each week. Go to the store late at night for reduced items. Don't buy brand named foods. Freeze anything you don't eat. Take the little bags they give you to put vegetables in home so you can use them to put meals/soup in and freeze.

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