Eating Healthy on a budget!

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andeeinevansville
andeeinevansville Posts: 98
in Food and Nutrition
I have a husband and 3 kids 9,8 and 4 at home and we have a weekly food budget of $60-$70..It has been very difficult for me to shop and buy healthy foods for myself..I shop to make meals, and usually it is stuff that stretches, like spaghetti, meatloaf, etc..My husband is a picky eater and does not support my healthy eating at all. I am lucky to get my skim milk and a few things of yogurt to snack on.
I feel like I am starving alllll day because everything is fattening...I would like any ideas/ suggestions for snacks, meals that i could make that are not too expensive.. Now that the kids are out of school for the summer, I would love some low fat snacks for them to enjoy..Any and all help would be appreciated..
If you would like to add me as a friend, that would be great too because I have NO support at home..
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Replies

  • missymakayla
    missymakayla Posts: 309 Member
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    Tuna fish, hard boiled eggs, celery w/ cream cheese or PB, salad mixes, buy at your local market when things are on sale...
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Bulk oatmeal, rice, beans..
  • jqh23
    jqh23 Posts: 311 Member
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    I would try swapping out white grains for whole wheat ones, using ground turkey instead of ground beef. Buy in bulk if you can.. it should be cheaper. We usually buy 20 lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breast, 3 lb bag of tilapia and 5 lbs of ground turkey from Sams Club for around $60. this lasts about a month.

    Huge salad mixes are around $5-6 and should make several salads. Can you grow your own veggies? Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes are fairly easy...

    Big bags of brown rice are cheap and better than white rice..
  • jarelary4
    jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
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    I too have a picky husband, but I finally had to have a chat with him about both of our unhealthy eating habits - I mean you BOTH do want to be around for your kids right?! Let him know that you will be changing to a healthier version of a old favorites once or twice a day until you all get used to new things. We swapped out whole wheat bread (store brand of course) for white, brown rice for white, cheap fresh veggies for a side dish with dip (carrot sticks with do it yourself light ranch dip to go with baked chicken nuggets and baked "fries"). Eggs are cheap and added to lettuce with light cheese and light ranch is is a tasty salad for almost everyone and a great side for any meal. On my budget which is the same as yours, I buy bone in chicken breast usually on sale for under $1 a pound, ground beef (regular 73% fat) which after browning and draining, I rinse under hot water to get rid of the rest of the fat, this makes it as healthy as very low fat ground beef - also very cheap and works for every taste. I use it in a taco casserole. Combine drained and rinsed ground beef with tomato sauce or diced tomatoes canned, whole wheat pasta elbows, do it yourself taco seasoning (chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano and a little cumin), add a can of corn and mix - put into casserole dish, top with light cheddar cheese and bake - everyone in my house loves it, it is healthy and no one knows I use light or healthy versions of each ingredient. Be sneaky if you have to! If you can't get hubby on board, then at least change your kids meals to reflect your own - let hubby cook his own meal once or twice and he may get on board. Eating healthy on a budget can be hard, but it is do-able! Check your local store for discounted, soon to expire veggies, cheese (freeze for longer life), milk (also freeze if expiring soon) and meat, my grocery store has bags of apples, oranges and bananas for $1.49 several times a week, we get them and use them first for fresh fruit. Also if your store has a salad bar, get lettuce there - our store charges $4.99 a pound for salad items - a pound of lettuce goes a long way and it is cheaper than buying bagged. Hope this helps some - good luck!
  • rhogr000
    rhogr000 Posts: 126
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    Eating healthy on a budget is not hard at all, I've done it for a long time: chicken breasts, frozen Talapia filets, frozen veggies, brown rice, fresh fruit, etc etc isn't too terribly expensive.
  • jarelary4
    jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
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    Great kids snacks - bananas, apple slices, carrot sticks and dip, pretzels, cheese cubes cut from bulk cheese - cheaper than string cheese snacks, rolled up sliced deli meat with cheese inside or veggies, PBJ cut into squares - cheap and fo some reason the squares make it more interesting! If you do not purchase fattening snacks then the only options for everybody will be healthy stuff. Can you start a small container garden? We are super busy and a large garden is just not do-able for us, hard to keep weeded, but we find 5 gallon buckets for cheap of for free and we grow tomatoes, lettuce, green beans ( bush kind is easier ), and squash. If this is an option for you, then a garden, however big or small can help with the cost and availability of fresh veggies.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    For snacks:

    The bulk popcorn kernels (not in the bags!). You can season them with cayenne pepper or herbs or Old Bay to keep it interesting.

    Small white potatoes or sweet potatoes. You can microwave them and add healthy toppings like a tablespoon of yogurt or you can cut them up into "fries" and bake them in the oven. Potatoes are especially nutritious if you eat the skin, too. I find a potato really satisfies me and fills me up and they're inexpensive.
  • Its_My_Time
    Its_My_Time Posts: 156 Member
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    Great ideas! I'm also on a budget, thanks so much for asking :)
  • MKCD123
    MKCD123 Posts: 86 Member
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    Think portion size, so you can still eat what the family eats sometimes. Turkey dogs are low cal and cheapo and my family likes them too :) Also, try switching out the side dishes with whatever veggies are on sale and steam them if the family will eat them that way. As for snacks, if you like popcorn the kernals are cheap and last a long time, carrots and celery (if you cut them up and have them easy to eat it helps) - good luck
  • Keegansmum6
    Keegansmum6 Posts: 193 Member
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    Do you have an Aldi near you? That could help solve the budget issue...We are on a low budget also and for those weeks it has been super low it has helped.
  • jarelary4
    jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
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    Try chicken broccoli casserole - 2 cooked and chopped small chicken breasts, 2 cups of brown rice, cooked, 1 can of healthy version of cream of chicken, mushroom or celery soup, 1 bag of frozen broccoli cuts (cooked and drained), crushed whole wheat ritz style crackers or bread crumbs and 1 cup (or more to taste) of shedded bulk cheese (cheddar, colby or whatever yellow cheese is on sale) Combine chicken, rice, broccoli and soup in a casserole dish, sprinkle on however much cheese you want, sprinkle top with bread cumbs or crushed crackers and bake at 350 for about 20 - 30 min or until bubbly. Healthy and yummy! This is how much I make for my family of 4 and we always have a lot left over - very filling and a little meat goes a long way.
  • iWillGetCrowSomeday
    iWillGetCrowSomeday Posts: 311 Member
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    I love making my own soups. You can freeze them in portion sizes for later, too, so they won't go bad. It's gazpacho season! Try buying stuff in bulk- buy peanuts (dry roasted, unsalted) stick them in a blender and pulverize, then use them to make peanut butter (you can reconstitute with water for a super low fat version at a 2(peanut):1(water) ratio - I usually do 2 Tbsp:1 Tbsp). Buy chickpeas and tahini and make your own hummus. Buy bread in bulk and freeze it, or make your own and freeze it (sliced). Thaw slices on the counter for 10 minutes. Pickle your hardboiled eggs (beet pickled eggs are actually fun for kids! They turn pink!) Canned tuna, canned chicken, canned sardines, canned salmon - all go a long way and are full of healthy fats. Frozen berries, frozen veggies, frozen fish, all can be stretched.

    If you're the one in charge of shopping, tell the hubby that you'll be buying healthier options from now on. If he wants junk he can get a supplemental job to pay for the junk. Remind him that as the parents, you are both responsible for your kids' nutrition and responsible for providing them with good nutritional role models.
  • iWillGetCrowSomeday
    iWillGetCrowSomeday Posts: 311 Member
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    Even better- involve your kids and husband in the meal prep process. Teach them the nutritional education you're getting. Let them help. Make it quality family time.
  • jarelary4
    jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
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    I looked at your food journal and one reason you feel hungry all day is you are not eating enough calories - Try whole grain bread to fill you up and add lettuce, tomato and veggies to your sandwiches. Try pretzels with it. snack on raw veggies all day, low calories and filling. Add another snack or just eat more at meals
  • andeeinevansville
    andeeinevansville Posts: 98
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    Thanks everyone for the ideas and advice :smile:
  • AthenaArcher
    AthenaArcher Posts: 41 Member
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    If you don't have a garden or a place for one at least make your own salad bowl if you have a dollar store around this will cost you about $3.20 to buy new.Get a plastic strainer and a bowl that it fits in snugly.Grab some potting soil and a package of lettuce seeds while you are there. when you get home pore the potting soil into the strainer with the bowl under it what you are doing is making a self watering bowl you add the water to the bowl so the soil soaks the water from the bottom. Sprinkle the lettuce seeds on top it takes about two weeks to grow lettuce. youtube has some really great videos on self watering containers and if you want organic or heirloom seeds check out http://www.heirloomseedswap.com/ were you can get some for free.This is a great project to do with kids and if they are the ones who grow the veggies they are more likley to eat them.Also if you grow herbs like parsley and basil you can add it to your greens and you dont need the salad dressing for flavor.A lot of gourmet salad mixes do just that and then charge you $5 to $10 a pound.
  • MaggieSporleder
    MaggieSporleder Posts: 428 Member
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    My husband is a bit like this himself. If switched us to ground turkey, or chicken, which is not only much better than ground beef, it is also almost always a little cheaper. And mine never even noticed the change.
    Do you have an Aldis where you are from? They are my go to store for everything, and the are CHEAP! :)
    i know its not much but maybe this can help you a little. :)
  • newata
    newata Posts: 75 Member
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    You could get a bag of apples and a big tub of peanut butter and put a little on an apple slice. Also the celery as someone mentioned..
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    It can be done but it will mean a lot of repetitive things, which I find I do anyway because its easy to just keep tracking the same stuff.

    Is chicken breast cheap there? I buy a whole heap of it & then cut it into individual portions (120gms), I boil up brown rice & bag them in freezer bags so I can grab 1 out to have with the chicken, then I boil up some frozen veg & make a lemon sauce to go with it. Cheap, easy.

    FR coming your way
  • iWillGetCrowSomeday
    iWillGetCrowSomeday Posts: 311 Member
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    If you don't have a garden or a place for one at least make your own salad bowl if you have a dollar store around this will cost you about $3.20 to buy new.Get a plastic strainer and a bowl that it fits in snugly.Grab some potting soil and a package of lettuce seeds while you are there. when you get home pore the potting soil into the strainer with the bowl under it what you are doing is making a self watering bowl you add the water to the bowl so the soil soaks the water from the bottom. Sprinkle the lettuce seeds on top it takes about two weeks to grow lettuce. youtube has some really great videos on self watering containers and if you want organic or heirloom seeds check out http://www.heirloomseedswap.com/ were you can get some for free.This is a great project to do with kids and if they are the ones who grow the veggies they are more likley to eat them.Also if you grow herbs like parsley and basil you can add it to your greens and you dont need the salad dressing for flavor.A lot of gourmet salad mixes do just that and then charge you $5 to $10 a pound.

    This! Yes. I have to say, unfortunately for myself, I could kill a fake houseplant. But if you've got the green thumb- go for it!

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