Eating healthy on a very tight budget

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laytheaub
laytheaub Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
We struggle with money and after bills are usually left with little to nothing for food. We don't qualify for food stamps. In the past we would load up on stuff that was cheap and filling, the most bang for our buck. Frozen pizza, hot dogs, frozen fries and nuggets etc. Well I am trying to eat healthy now and it's hard when you're broke. Can someone give me ideas on cheap but healthy meals?
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  • foot1647
    foot1647 Posts: 92
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    Raw fruits and veggies are a lot cheaper per pound than frozen pizzas and hot dogs. I can fill a cart with fruits and veggies for $50, or I can fill a cart with a bunch of frozen and boxed stuff for $150.

    Yogurts are cheap, you can get 6 Tillamook or 6 Yoplait yogurts for $3 at Fred Meyer right now. Try to avoid boxed stuff and get whole, raw foods and make your own meals. It will taste a ton better and you can make it however you want with seasonings and spices.

    I make a vegetarian (I'm not vegetarian, just sometimes I don't want meat) spaghetti with 100% whole wheat noodles. I pan fry red, yellow and green sliced bell peppers, a yellow onion, red jalapenos and minced garlic in some olive oil with red pepper, Cayenne and a pinch of sea salt. Put on top of noodles with a small splash of Sesame oil and eat with a piece of dry toast, I like Sriracha sauce on my toast.

    Make a bunch of it and put into a resealable container in the fridge and heat some up for a snack or lunch next day.
  • Sunitagt
    Sunitagt Posts: 486 Member
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    Slow cooker meals are always great, you can use a lot of canned items and make great food. Here is a link I found on the forums a while ago:

    http://saksfamily.no-ip.com/crockpot.html

    Frozen fruits and veggies can save money and are great in a lot of things. Meal planning is key, make large batches, and eat your leftovers are all things I recommend.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
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    Have you ever heard of the show 10 Dollar Dinners? it's a Food Network show (that I think they took off the air because she started another show), but it's Melissa d'Arabian and she has GREAT tips and tricks to stretch your dollar and keep it healthy. She has a book out too. Also keep things frozen, as was said before. And as a personal tip, try to go vegetarian a few nights a week. This has really helped me out since meat is expensive. I'll make cheese ravioli or rice with veggies so that we can still feel full, but don't have to have that expensive meat. Also, try growing a few things. You Grow Girl is a great site that offers a lot of ways to grow you own food without spending a fortune. Even if you only have a window.
  • LexiAtel
    LexiAtel Posts: 228 Member
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    I do monthly shopping every month, with a stop here and there for stuff that wont make it through the month like cottage cheese and fruits.

    You need to SHOP around, it's called shopping for a reason. Make a list on what your family needs/consumes then spend a day or so price checking stores (within a 40 mile radius), if you live in a rural area, you will benefit far with this, but if you live in a city, you can pretty much so like a 5-10mile radius.

    Document all your prices you found. You are looking for stuff that IS NOT on sale that way you can get a rough idea on what stores you will visit every month.

    For example, when I first did this I had 6 stores to go to. Walmart, Town and Country, Richard Brothers Supermaket, Country Mart, and Aldi's. I made my list of things I needed, then visited each store, and next to the item, I marked the price.
    I found out that Richard Brothers and Town and Country in my nearest town of 3,000 people were ripping me off on about 90% of the items I needed. I also found out that the quality was 100x as worse as the other stores. When I went to the Walmart in the 3,000 population town, I found out I just didn't like going there, it was just TOO small and crowded of people (it wasn't a Super Walmart). Next, I went to a town (city) 40miles from my home to check out prices, I found the prices in that city of 10,000 people were much better than the one of the smaller town. So the gas was worth it. The quality of the meats and produce was better too.

    It is 3 years later, and now I only have 3 stops every month. Country Mart for my meat, cereal, lemon juice, and an occasional ting here and there. Aldi's for most of my boxed items and all of my produce/dairy products, and then Walmart for my toiletries and non food items.

    So, invest a little time at it, and you will get the savings you need, then keep an eye out for the deals. I also suggest not to shop at the end of your stores restocking cycle (they restock here on Wednesdays, so the freshest food is Wednesday-Friday), and probably not at the beginning of the month because that is when most welfare people get their checks, and you should see a price difference than that of in the middle of the month. It's terrible... ripping off poor people like that.

    I live in Missouri. I feed 2 people who are dieting on $145 a month (this includes the extra shopping I have to do for things that wont last through the month). We have a lot of fruits and Cottage Cheese (we use like 5-8 tubs of cottage Cheese a month, lol).

    I do not have access to coupons so I do not use them.

    Copied my post from
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032601-tips-for-saving-while-grocery-shopping-family-of-3

    Check out my food blog for ideas. (Please skip over the last 3 days, I have been a little "naughty")
  • sealevels
    sealevels Posts: 123
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    If you have a local farmer's market, lots of them do some sort of "sale". We have a market here that bags things that may need to be used ASAP, but are only $1! A lot of them have cheaper produce than the grocery store. They're also tastier, as they've been picked within the past few days, not a week or weeks and can be local too.

    I don't buy produce at the grocery store if I can help it. If I'm that poor, I'll buy frozen. All the vitamins, but cheaper.

    I also tend to only buy in season fruits and veggies. It's cheaper to buy a pint of blueberries in July than December.

    I tend to eat oatmeal in the mornings. A box of 10 packets last me ten days. That's $5 for breakfast for a week and a half as opposed to 2 boxes of cereal at $4-$5/box. It may not be the most imaginative, but it lasts.

    If you like salad, you can get romaine heads (or spinach) for ~$2, give or take $.50, each. One head of romaine and one big bundle of spinach costs me $5, and that's a week's worth of salad. A cut hard boiled egg, tomatoes (sliced), and some cucumber...that's $10 for a week of lunch! You can make your own dressings, too.

    I stock up on basic sides like rice or pasta. If you're not starch adverse, potatoes are really cheap by the pound. So are yams.

    I talk a lot. :x
  • laytheaub
    laytheaub Posts: 12
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    Thanks, all really good ideas.
  • mcoy1201
    mcoy1201 Posts: 17
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    Egg burritos are good for breakfast...tuna salad for lunch....soups for dinner. :)
  • jerrybrittain
    jerrybrittain Posts: 10 Member
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    I completely understand your pain. My wife just went back to work. We have been living off just my income with 5 kids. We just moved back here again in march. We were in Arkansas for a year. We was lucky enough there to live in the country and had 1/2 acre garden and grew all our own vegetables. Unfortunately in Palmerton they don't want you to grow edible food in the soil because of the zinc problem from years ago. Our plan was to build a large planter in the back yard and grow some of our own vegetables but we just never had the money to do it in time. Looking forward you might think about growing some vegetables your own. It a little bit of work but the cost is very low. Any help I can offer let me know. Best of luck and great job on what you have done so far.
  • phurst00
    phurst00 Posts: 100 Member
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    If you have a local Farmer's Market you'll likely pay a lot less for produce, deli and milk than you will at a regular grocery store. If you have an Aldi's Grocery store nearby, check it out! They have a nice variety of healthy items, a triple money back guarentee if you don't like anything you buy, and their food is cheap.

    I like to buy frozen veggies for the most part because the nutrients are locked in upon freezing and I know they won't go to waste, plus there are almost always bags for 99c each week at pretty much every grocery store out there. I also always buy canned tuna when it's 88c or less as I usually eat only half a can in one meal. If you're on a super tight budget, you can buy chicken leg quarters super super cheap (like as low as 59c per pound) - cook them all in the crockpot with some onion, seasoning and water, then let it cool in the fridge once done. After that, you'll be able to easily pull out any bones/fat and have plenty of meat leftover. If you can afford it, stock up on boneless/skinless chicken breast any time it's $1.99/lb or less.

    I always also try to keep an eye on quantity when I'm comparing prices, many times a sale will look great until you realize the item right next to it for less than a dollar more has more than double the amount as the sale item.

    Hope this helps!
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
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    we skip dive going in grocery store dumpsters for fresh food that gets thrown away (theres a lot of it) i would check your local churches for any kind of food shelf they might have. they usually organize by city.
  • aloranger7708
    aloranger7708 Posts: 422 Member
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    I would focus on buying versatile foods; things you can cook/prepare in multiple ways. Things like:

    -Spinach
    -Peanut butter
    -Chicken
    -Rice
    -Bags of frozen veggies
    -Eggs
    -Pasta
  • TMcChamp
    TMcChamp Posts: 165 Member
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    Do you have a yard? is it possible to grow food?

    Tinned tuna is spring water is cheap, healthy and high protein, add soem to rice with some other frozen vege quick cheap easy dinner/lunch/
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    Dried beans and lentils are cheap and packed with nutrition. If you have a crockpot you can set up chili or dal or any number of soup recipes in the morning and have dinner ready with next to no effort, too. I googled awhile back and came up with some articles about which vegetables were cheapest canned/frozen/fresh. I mentioned them in a fairly recent blog post here, if you want to look into them.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
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    We are also on a super tight budget here. I grow a lot of my own vegetables like string beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, peppers (sweet and hot) and tomatoes. I just cooked a stir fry for less than the cost of chicken nuggets and fries. Most of our meals are very inexpensive. If you like, I could send some recipes your way with cost estimates.
    If you have the space for a vegetable garden, its definitely worth the effort that it takes to grow your own.
  • TMcChamp
    TMcChamp Posts: 165 Member
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    We are also on a super tight budget here. I grow a lot of my own vegetables like string beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, peppers (sweet and hot) and tomatoes. I just cooked a stir fry for less than the cost of chicken nuggets and fries. Most of our meals are very inexpensive. If you like, I could send some recipes your way with cost estimates.
    If you have the space for a vegetable garden, its definitely worth the effort that it takes to grow your own.

    Can I have some recipes?!? (Purely becuase I am on a mission to save for a holiday!)
  • laytheaub
    laytheaub Posts: 12
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    I wish I could grow my own fruits and veggies but we live in an apartment complex so it's not possible. I will be checking out the farmers market.
  • madmiya
    madmiya Posts: 66 Member
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    man, if i was single i'd go back to being a raw vegan again. great skin, great teeth, cheap grocery bill, and i never had to cook. i just bought whatever fruits and veg and nuts that were on sale, organic if there was an awesome deal. soak everything in a cap of vinegar and cold water, wrap in fridge and just pop it out and eat as i got hungry. was easy and i looked great.

    also you can container grow some amazing fruits and veg cheap. go on pinterest and search container gardening. there are these amazing guides to super-high-yield plans. 120 cukes in a season from one pot. potatoes, etc. good luck.
  • tuathanari
    tuathanari Posts: 38 Member
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    Cheap. Easy. Healthy. Generally you can only get two out of the three. Cheap and healthy are your priorities right now, so you're going to have to spend more time shopping sales/prepping to get that.

    Eat seasonally

    Buy frozen when cheaper (very similar nutritionally to fresh)

    Going vegetarian 1-2 nights a week is healthy and a budget saver. :) Meat is expensive. I use it more as a "seasoning" than as the main item when I'm cooking.

    Soups are usually healthy, filling and inexpensive.

    Watch the circulars and plan your meals around what's on sale.

    If something you use is on super sale and you have any extra money at all, try to stock up a bit on it to avoid paying more in the future.

    Learn to skin/debone a chicken breast (suuuuuper easy once you get the hang of it, and bone-in chicken is so much cheaper than boneless skinless. plus, you can cook the bones down for stock)

    Couponing has a steep learning curve but pays off (literally) in the long run.

    How much time do you have to cook at home? I can tailor a more specific response if I know that. :)

    ETA: also, how comfortable are you in the kitchen?
  • cranium853
    cranium853 Posts: 138 Member
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    Look up Angel Food Ministries on google. They are a non-profit that sells food at about half off and are all over the county. They don't require that you "qualify" to buy a box of food.
  • tuathanari
    tuathanari Posts: 38 Member
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    Look up Angel Food Ministries on google. They are a non-profit that sells food at about half off and are all over the county. They don't require that you "qualify" to buy a box of food.

    I believe angel food ministries was closed down due to fraud.

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