How do you lower your grocery bill eating healthy..
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Had to look at your profile - saw you live in the US - priorities there the opposite to most countries. The US spends the LEAST amount of money on food as a proportion of household income IN THE WORLD. Time to re-look at the priorities... http://wsm.wsu.edu/researcher/WSMaug11_billions.pdf
Do what my husband & I do here in Canada: buy what is on sale that week, shop local, if you are in rural area of NY - pick your own veg/fruit, use coupons, go to as many stores as it takes to find the bargains. I shop every other day (as in Europe) and pick up the markdown meats/yogourts/cheeses that I can use within a couple of days or to freeze. There isn't anything wrong with the food, it just means the store has a new shipment in and must put it on the shelves.
A friend of mine buys for the week thinking of recipes she wants to make first - so often she misses out on the deals... I cook and find recipes according to what is on sale that week and have a way lower grocery bill compared to her.
I must eat gluten free and yes I buy quinoa, amaranth, whole grain brown rice etc. and my bread costs me $8.00 a loaf which I use sparingly - made fresh by a local lady. I try to buy organic fruits & veg when I can. I do notice when visiting the States that crap food is way cheaper than good food, kind of the opposite here.
Last words... your health and that of your family is the MOST IMPORTANT thing. I bet some families spend more each month on their cell phone bills or TV satellite subscriptions, etc.
True.. It hurts to hear it, but it is true. We also spend less proportionally than in the past. Health really should come before material purchases.0 -
Some great suggestions on here, here are some of my tips/tricks:
-Plan ahead: I not only go in with a list but I know what we`re having for every meal and usually plan my week knowing what I need to use up that’s already in the fried.
-buy dry not canned: For beans and lentils I buy dry and soak them myself, it’s a little more time but a huge cost saver and we use a lot in our house because they`re cheap and nutritious.
-Used up everything: this is mostly true for meats but in general throwing away food makes me upset. So instead of getting chicken breasts get the whole chicken, use all the meat in more than one dish I’m sure then make broth (so you don’t have to buy some) and use it in yet another dish. I also buy fresh greens (spinach, kale, etc…) for my smoothies but to avoid them going bad before the week is up I blend them up and freeze them in ice cube trays so that it lasts longer.
-Eat seasonally: buy what’s in season, and if you can buy it in bulk to freeze for when it’s not in season.
-buy in bulk: items that are pre-packaged for one serving are handy but more expensive. For example; instead of those little yogurt packs get the big one and separate it in small Tupperware containers so that you still have it on the go.
-And the biggest money saver….. Don’t eat out. Ok, so everyone does so occasionally, but if you want to save money cutting out those Starbucks coffee`s and bringing a Maxwell house travel mug instead, or not spending half your weekly grocery budget on a night out at a nice restaurant.0 -
I find that we eat less when we're eating the right things (because we feel more full), and it results in a lower grocery bill.
I feed a family of 5 (3 kids under age 5) on about $100-120 a week in North Carolina.
We eat the produce in season, and alot of it. Big bags of potatoes are sides for 3 days. Rice, beans... Frozen veggies when they're on sale, fresh veggies. We eat alot of yogurt, eggs, milk, orange juice...more veggies. In the summer, I'll be gardening and we'll make trips to the farmer's market.
For meat, I buy in bulk and on sale. We have a club-card for BJ's (like Sams club) and I'll spend $14 on a pack of pork chops and then split it up for 3 meals + leftovers. Same thing with ground beef and chicken.
I stock up on hams and turkeys after the holidays.0 -
Just another thought.... even if you live in an apartment in the middle of Manhattan (not likely if you are complaining about food costs lol) you can grow food in pots indoors - lettuce, tomatoes, etc. You can even do it in the middle of winter when fresh veg are higher in price. Google indoor gardening to get some ideas.
Also learn to cook international meals - they usually are lower in the amount of meat needed for a recipe and often use rice &/or beans. Way cheaper to slice up chunks of two steaks in a stir fry, than plunk down a steak per person, for instance.0 -
The biggest thing was adjusting my expectations of portion sizes when I switched to healthier/fresher foods. For a while I tried to volumize my meals with tons of veggies, etc. and while that was certainly more satiating it was also more expensive (and not really necessary). Scale back to normal portion sizes, even of fresh vegetables and lean proteins, and you'll find the expense easier to bear than if you're making salads with entire bags of greens and rounding out a small dinner with four cups of broccoli (or whatever).0
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I'm not being snarky. I don't understand these posts. eating fresh is so much cheaper than eating premade crap food. A whole chicken is less than $5. After you eat it, you cook it and make soup and add left over, and almost spoiled veggies and stuff. You have a few more meals.
It's so cheap to eat better, but I think there's a learning curve because everyone does it wrong for a while. It takes a while to figure out what healthy really means. And, then, it takes even longer to figure how that translates into savings.
Edited to add that frozen veggies are extremely expensive. I go to buy them and cringe, and then go buy fresh. I'm not paying in excess of $8 a bag. It's crazy expensive where I live, or where I shop, I don't know.
I am with you. I don't understand how everyone says eating healthy is more expensive. I spend $80 a week for 3 on produce and meats for dinners and stuff to make 3 lunches a day. When I bought processed foods I spent almost $200 a week.0 -
Frozen produce is just as healthy as fresh. When cooking use frozen when it works. Frozen greens and dried beans, both incredibly healthy foods, are usually best bargain in the store. You will pay about 10x the price for enough fresh greens to cook down to a $1 bag of frozen.
Build your menus around whats on sale at your grocer, rather than planning a menu and then buying expensive out of season foods to fit the menu.
Stock up on non-perishables (dried, canned or frozen foods) when they are on sale.0 -
I'm not being snarky. I don't understand these posts. eating fresh is so much cheaper than eating premade crap food. A whole chicken is less than $5. After you eat it, you cook it and make soup and add left over, and almost spoiled veggies and stuff. You have a few more meals.
It's so cheap to eat better, but I think there's a learning curve because everyone does it wrong for a while. It takes a while to figure out what healthy really means. And, then, it takes even longer to figure how that translates into savings.
Edited to add that frozen veggies are extremely expensive. I go to buy them and cringe, and then go buy fresh. I'm not paying in excess of $8 a bag. It's crazy expensive where I live, or where I shop, I don't know.
I am with you. I don't understand how everyone says eating healthy is more expensive. I spend $80 a week for 3 on produce and meats for dinners and stuff to make 3 lunches a day. When I bought processed foods I spent almost $200 a week.
I don't understand what you guys don't understand. Food prices vary a lot depending on where one lives. The further from a major centre or food growing region you are, the more expensive fresh things will be. Processed foods have the luxury of slower forms of transport because the won't spoil. They don't need insulated trucks, because processed food won't perish if it gets too warm or too cool.
I live on an island in the North Atlantic. Fresh produce has to come from a *long* way away at this time of year. Many things aren't imported at all, so all of our chicken, eggs, dairy and some other meats are produced right here, in large part because it's just too expensive to import a lot. As a tree hugger, I think this is awesome because it's sustainable and more ethical. But it also means we don't see the cheap prices that factory farms, massive slaughterhouses and their ilk provide many people elsewhere on the continent.0 -
A tip for people who have a hard time getting provide in the winter, I go through phases when I sprout lentils and alfalfa (I did a lot of research and I didn't find any home spouters who had bacteria problems). They only take a few days and are really inexpensive. Great for adding to all kinds of stuff.
You can also make farmers cheese from milk by just bringing it to a boil, adding vinegar, and straining. It's pretty yummy and you can add herbs and stuff if you like.
tamales: these aren't traditionally the healthiest things, but i use olive oil instead of lard. I make a huge batch once a year and then guys have something fast to microwave for awhile. It gets me out of buying fast food and is less expensive (and tastier) than frozen burritos or something.0 -
I thought that by eating healthier our bills would go up: not quite. Once we got our methods figured, I figure we're spending less on food than ever (approx $200/two week cycle between groceries and eating out).
Shop the sales - we make a game out of how much we can save, then plan meals around what you end up with. Patronize small local businesses - we buy our tortillas and chips from a local taqueria about $4 for a dozen homemade tortillas and huge bag of chips, we try to get our eggs from local producers too. We're vegetarian(ovolacto) so meat is not an issue, but when our soy favorites come up on sale we stock up. Clip coupons and use them. I've also had to do a lot of research for veg meals that don't include a lot of frou-frou spices and hard to afford ingredients (I mean really, why do some vegetarian cookbook authors think you need and extravagant expensive spice list for every single dish!) but if a meal that costs $5 to make and is dinner plus left overs, I've won. Admittedly, it's not easy, but if you work it is very doable.0 -
As a single, I purchase, cook and freeze in big lots so its cheaper. I'll cook 2 quarts of slow cooking oatmeal, and scoop out 3/4 cut daily and nuke it with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for breakfast and top it with flax seed. I'll cook a gallon of quiona and store it by 2 cups work in freeze bags, squashed flat. When I want some I'll pull it out of the feeze and break some off. 'lll make mini or fish meat loafs and freeze all and pull them out as I want them. I buy bags of veggies and pull as much as I want and nuke them. I normally shop at Sam's club or the Dollar Tree. I also made an excel spreadsheet of items I shopped for and their cost per ouch or item at various stores. Sams and Dollar Tree pretty much beat out everyone. I don't drink anything but water, and don't eat prepared food which is expensive, full of salt and trans-forming you into a corpse fat.0
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I shop for meat and produce at Sprouts and the rest at Safeway. Feed a family of four between $100-$130 weekly.0
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Today for lunch I had 4oz of chicken breast, 1/2 cup of beans (from scratch, bulk/dry), and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and 1/2 an avocado. Total cost...$2.30....my wife had exactly the same...so both of us ate a solid, nutritious meal for $4.60.
I seriously don't understand all of this "nutrition is more expensive than crap food" stuff that always comes up on MFP. I think people just have a very skewed view of "healthy" and don't really know how to shop. My guess would be that there's also some picky eating nonsense going on as well.0 -
I'm fortunate that my grocery store (Safeway) provides generic coupons, club specials, and personalized discounts based on how you shop. I generally get apples for $.79 a pound, or a 10% discount for buying fresh meat (among many, many others). There are 4 of us in my home and we spend an average of $160 a month. Best part is every $100 we spend is a $.10 gas discount. And I like to plan my meals based on what sort of deals they have going.0
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Today for lunch I had 4oz of chicken breast, 1/2 cup of beans (from scratch, bulk/dry), and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and 1/2 an avocado. Total cost...$2.30....my wife had exactly the same...so both of us ate a solid, nutritious meal for $4.60.
I seriously don't understand all of this "nutrition is more expensive than crap food" stuff that always comes up on MFP. I think people just have a very skewed view of "healthy" and don't really know how to shop. My guess would be that there's also some picky eating nonsense going on as well.
Youre right, I dont know how to shop. Thats why Im asking for help.0 -
I am in a very similar situation except with 5 people. I was thinking about this today and I thought I if we would all stop being so picky we could probably life off of eggs most of the week as well some garden stuff and things made from scratch.
I have 6 pet hens that give me about a half a dozen eggs a day.0 -
One thing I do is that I always bring a calculator with me when I food shop. I have a set budget I need to stick by and I round everything up to the nearest dollar. You'd be amazed what you can actually get and how much you save, It makes you more aware of what your spending and forces you to look into other cheaper options. I have a family of three however my husband is in the Army and has a HUGE appetite along with my daughter. I make a normal meal for all of us, limit my portions and we always have left overs in the fridge for future meals.
Good luck! :-)0 -
Per a friend's recommendation, I started shopping at Aldi... they don't have everything a regular grocery store carries, but I am able to buy most/all of my weekly items there. I was spending about $110 or so per week at a local grocery store and cut that to about $70 or so at Aldi. It may be worth checking out if you have one nearby!
ETA: I generally buy fresh food and not a lot of frozen items. At Aldi I have been buying produce, dairy, as well as meat. I really like their produce and dairy and have been mostly happy with their meat. I've heard of others not loving their meat though.
I love Aldi's. If I were trying to eat.healthy and buying from a regular grocery store I would just be out of luck.0 -
Today for lunch I had 4oz of chicken breast, 1/2 cup of beans (from scratch, bulk/dry), and 1/2 cup of cooked rice and 1/2 an avocado. Total cost...$2.30....my wife had exactly the same...so both of us ate a solid, nutritious meal for $4.60.
I seriously don't understand all of this "nutrition is more expensive than crap food" stuff that always comes up on MFP. I think people just have a very skewed view of "healthy" and don't really know how to shop. My guess would be that there's also some picky eating nonsense going on as well.
Youre right, I dont know how to shop. Thats why Im asking for help.
Staple foods...
- dried beans, lentils, split peas, etc
- rice, oats, other grains
- potatoes
- cabbage (and other hardy veg like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc...but cabbage is super cheap and nobody every thinks of it...and it's pretty darned good, but I was raised on the stuff)
- eggs
- butter
- full fat dairy products (fat isn't the devil and less processing is going to be cheaper)
- staple fruits like apples and bananas...nothing exotic
- "less desirable" cuts of meat...i.e. tougher cuts and fattier ones...personally I find them more desirable and due to the fat content you don't have to eat as much. A good brisket will serve my family of 4 for about a week at around $20 - $25...you just have to find some cooking time as it is a very tough cut (I often use the crock pot). There are a whole host of options here that won't break the bank.
- whole chickens and/or chicken parts rather than already processed, boneless, skinless stuff. If we feel like having a grilled boneless skinless chicken breast, I'll buy a skin on bone in split breast and remove the bone and skin myself...then I cut that thing in half because it's usually around 8 oz...so one breast serves 2 people...
etc, etc, etc, etc. Also keep an eye out for sales...buy fruit and veg in season and don't buy into, "you have to have X, Y, or Z" because it's the latest and greatest in "healthy" eating. The above staples are staples in my home...they were staples in my parents home when I was growing up...and staples in my grandparents home before that.0 -
I recently lost my main source of income and for the first 3 months of my diet I was living off of $20.00 a week grocery money. It was not as hard as it sounds to make it. I shopped at mainly the Dollar Tree-for my frozen vegetables (including spinach),frozen pineapple, mixed berries, and mango, green tea, cheese, eggs, oatmeal, and salsa. Then I would buy whatever was left over for my fish and poultry. Of course, I am only shopping for one person, not a family-but hopefully this will give you some ideas on how to budget.0
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