Eating healthy on a STRICT budget....

cut the processed foods. anything you buy that's "just add water" or "microwave for __ minutes!" and trust me, i love hot pockets. but, $3 for 2 of them is way to expensive for a microwave sandwich. take a good look at your processed foods and figure out what they are exactly. hamburger helper is pasta with dehydrated sauce. you still have to add everything else. you're paying for convenience and packaging.

apples bananas and oranges are usually the cheapest fruits, but look for the seasonal ones too like peaches.there are truckloads of them around right now. look for the roadside produce stands. watermelons are also starting to appear.

check out the bulk sections of your grocery stores for beans, grains and nuts. and check out their weekly fliers too. and compare the stuff that you want. i made that mistake this week. overpaid for blackberries by about a dollar.

sometimes nuts are cheaper in the baking aisle of the grocery store. sometimes canned fruit and vegetables are cheaper and easier to manage than fresh. make your own call. i get canned beans because i do not have enough of my sh** together to remember to soak them. maybe one day. and i don't own a crock pot.

i roast a whole chicken on sundays. i have found them for around $2.75-$5.75 depending on the store and how it's packaged. It feeds my and hubs for about 5 meals and we each get about 3 or 4 ounces at a time. it takes about an hour and a half at 375 degrees. you can also throw in some rice and veggies and have a whole meal in one pot that will last a few days. it can also make a very risch and tasty soup.

the freezer is your friend. i freeze quinoa (i make a big pot at one time) and when i'm ready to use the rest of it, tah dah! defrost. it can be sweet or savory, go in soups or salads, and is wonderful topped with chicken and veggies.

greek yogurt is my favorite staple. i eat it for snacks and light meals. you can make smoothies if you have some fruit that needs to be eaten, and you can also put it in the freezer if you have left over smoothie and make frozen yogurt out of it without doing anything special. great value (walmart brand) is the cheapest and to me, has the closest flavor to fage.

turkey bacon is half the price of regular at walmart. sweet potatoes are dirt cheap and absolutely yummy. one of my favorite go-to quick cheap easy recipes- microwave a sweet potato. but a can of black beans rotel tomatoes on to warm. add cumin, coriander, maybe a little turmeric and some chipotle. microwave a serving of turkey bacon. smother the sweet potato in a serving of black bean/tomato mix top with crumbled turkey bacon and add some cheese on top if calories allow.

PACK YOUR MEALS TO TAKE TO WORK. I can't tell you how much money this has saved me over the last 8 months. it makes me facepalm on a regular basis. hope this helps at least a little.

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