Low Budget Help

triscuitsmom08 · October 2010

I need help plotting out low budget meals that incorporate fresh veggies and fruit...we eat too much processed

and its making my stomach reflux come back. :frown: So here's my question how do you eat healthy on $200 a month give or take, and/or $8-10 a week. (our $200 for the month is already gone so its back to living on the $8-10 a week sometimes 15 for us). Do you guys have any tips that could help? I know someone said there were other posts here with info on it but I Can't seem to find them so I'll ask. :ohwell: I just wanna eat better ya know?

Two weeks ago I was doing the green smoothie thing and despite a lot of people thinking they don't work they worked for me. My digestive system actually worked better and I felt better. But since a cut in my hours (from 25 to 12 hours a week) Were living tightly here

fiftyandfit · October 2010

soups are a great on a budget. i make mine in the crockpot and leave it to cook all day.

HazelDiva1913 · October 2010

Yes Soups are great. Another great thing is to make a main meal for the week. Like Sunday Do a Chilli for m-5 or a veggie soup (cheaper) Then you can do turkey sandwiches for one of your meals. Also buy the lesser priced fruits. Stay away from berries grapes melons. Very overpriced. Especially when out of season. Bananas, Apples, Oranges are usually very affordable. Good Luck. Its ridic how unhealthy foods are so cheap.

krisdw · October 2010

We live on $80 every two weeks, so $40 a week ($160 a month). What we do is, we plan out all the dinners and make meals big enough so that there are left overs for lunch the next day. That takes care of 14 meals. Then we buy a bunch of fruit and veggies like apples, strawberries, banana's, carrots and celery and we eat those for our breakfast, mid-morning and mid-day snacks. Then every so often we'll buy some 100 cal snack packs or popcorn to have snacks after dinner.

It works out great for us! We're vegetarian so this doesn't include costs like chicken or beaf, but we do eat canned tuna and plan out dinners with hearty ingredients like beans (very cheap).

Send me an e-mail if you want me to send you the excel worksheet we made to help us keep track of our meals for the week. On one tab it's all the meals, and on the other tab it's all the ingredients we have to buy in order to make those things.

saychzzz · October 2010

Do you guys have an Aldi nearby? They have really good prices on fresh and frozen produce. That's how I feed my family of 5 on $400 a month. And that includes diapers.

serenayang11 · October 2010

If you can find a Trader Joe's of asian supermarket near you, you can get some fruits in super cheap. Much less expensive than major grocery stores.

I know you don't want processed, but one thing that I used to do was get some Lean Cuisines on sale, and a big bag/box of mixed greens. I'd take the LC out of the package onto a plate and put the salad next to it. It made it feel like a full meal - much more satisfying, plus I got some greens in. I only mention LC because at my grocery store, they'll often have sales like 5 for $10.

Good luck!

garedds · October 2010

def. soups.
Also tuna and rice cakes. I make my own bread so that saves tonnes of $$. I just make 5 or 6 loaves on one day and it lasts about a week (I have a family of 6).
Also cook a whole turkey and then make turkey pot pie/sheperd's pie, turkey sandwiches, turkey veggie soup, turkey "pizza pockets" (just add mayo, and cheese to turkey; wrap inside dough and bake), turkey wraps. If you don't want to do a whole turkey you could use a chicken instead. Also use the bones and skin, ect to make a great soup boullion. Just put it all in the crock pot with spices and celery and carrots, cover with water and cook all day. You can also do it on the stove for a couple hours. Then drain the broth to keep and toss the rest. After it cools, I skim the fat off that has hardened on top too.
Other cheap ideas-spinach and cottage cheese salad for lunch-fills you up, low in cal, and healthy.
I will post any more if I think of them. For the 6 of us we live on about $400-$450/month for groceries.
I have found you save money if you stop buying any treats or junk. Like a coffee out might not seem like much money, but it adds up over the month.

barbarella · October 2010

Beans & brown rice with fresh or packaged steamed veggies..... add meat of your choice! :drinker:

eabrown1 · October 2010

I swear by the freezer. Make enough for more than one meal then ziploc and freeze. I regularly buy frozen fruits and veggies. I'm single and become wasteful if they aren't frozen. Also, you can buy fruits/veggies that are out of season at a reasonable price.

-Whole wheat pasta is cheap, and baked into a ziti or something freezes well, prepare with spinach and it instantly stretches to several meals.
-Stir fry is a cheap one also, frozen veggies, soy sauce heat in wok and you can have a huge meal.
-Eggs can go a long way....fry up a little rice or make an omlet with any left overs you have in the fridge.
-Pancakes are cheap and easy....whole wheat flour, nuts and fruit make them healthier. And who doesn't love breakfast for dinner!?
-Baked potato bar- 5 lb bag is cheep, top with salsa (sooo good) serve with some brocoli and cheese
-and my favorite veggie sandwiches...you can grill seasonal veggies, add a slice of cheese and its so good, or go classic lunch box with a lettuce tomato and cheese sandwich. If you have a little garden... tomatos and some fresh basil and other spices go a long way!

Hope this helps. I totally know how you feel, I've lived in expensive cities on dollars a day. It's rough, but can be kind of a fun challenge.

And don't forget coupons!!!!

sbusarah · October 2010

You may want to check to see if there is a co-op in your area to help you save money or grow a garden if you have land. Also if your hours have been cut down that much you may qualify for food stamps which would help you out. Sometimes we need those things. Also look into food banks or local church pantries. Another great resource is Angel Food Ministries which sells resteraunt grade food for a lot cheaper than food at the store. There website is www.angelfoodministries.com. Treasure Box is a similiar program but they dont have as many choices as AFM. There website is www.thetreasurebox.org.

Hope you find something that works for you.

melodyg · October 2010

bumping to answer tomorrow when I have more time

katerinab · October 2010

I love the idea of Angel Food Ministries but it never ends up working out to be cheaper for me because the packages always end up including more than one thing I can't use, and that subtracts from the savings.

My best tip is to find out if and when your grocery store does the "reduced for quick sale" type thing in the meat department. Unless it is ground beef (which cycles through the store fast enough where it never gets clearanced) or something I need immediately for a recipe, I NEVER buy meat full price. My regular grocery store is SuperTarget. The fresh chicken breasts there are 5.99 a pound. One day I went and they were 3.74 a pound, PLUS each package had a $2 coupon on it. 1.74 ended up being a great price per pound - I got 3lbs for 5.22 whereas the frozen bags are usually 8.99 for 2.5-3lbs. And the quality of the breasts were better, too. Anyway, checking for reduced meat is a great way to save on the budget and still get some meat in your diet.

MzBug · October 2010

When you are truly eatting on a budget you make the most of what ever you have! The AFM may include some things that you would not normally purchase, but that gives you the opportunity to try something new! The best web site I have found for cooking with what is in the kitchen is supercook.com! You can enter what you have in the kitchen and it will search the web for recipes that contain those items (and those that ask for more). One other thing, while you are in the meat department of the grocery store, look at the dates on the packages....if it is a "short date" as in use today or tomorrow, talk to the butcher or meat department manager....they will usually discount the package! Never hurts to ask!

triscuitsmom08 · October 2010

thanks guys so much for giving us ideas, several are very very useful that we will be trying this week! At my store I know the meat guys and they always point out whats going on sale next or what's marked down, I normally get an 6-8 pack of lean chicken breasts for about $5 so we do eat a lot of fresh chicken

and ground turkey is usually on sale (I refuse to eat red meat usually)

darcibean · October 2010

We spend $250-$300 a month for a family of 3.
I always buy a 6lb bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts when it's on sale, so it ends up being around $2 lb. I like to marinate 4-5 chicken breasts in Italian dressing and I will grill it out, we usually will eat one breast for dinner, and then save the rest for chicken wraps, salads, and chicken salad. We also bake them with a lemon pepper seasoning on them.
I buy frozen veggies for $1 a bag, broccoli florets, brussel sprouts, green beans, cauliflower and we have one of those with a meal.
I also buy a 3 pack of romaine hearts and make salads with tomato, green pepper, onion, cucumber, and some Italian dressing. Don't buy the bagged salads as it's more money because it's already cut up. Cut your own veggies. Try to buy whatever veggies are on sale and you can revolve your meals around that.
I usually buy a big box of cereal that's healthy and skim milk.
I buy tuna and make tuna salad sandwiches with Sara Lee 45 calorie bread. I stock up on whole wheat or veggie pasta when I can get a good deal on it, I take a can of fire roasted tomatoes and make a sauce out of it with garlic, onion, zucchini and serve it over pasta.

Low Budget Help

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