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Help Me Make A Shopping List

JessicaWhosit
JessicaWhosit Posts: 38
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I'm looking for a little help here. I'm a lover of all foods but am obviously trying to get fit and healthy. Unfortunately, my husband and I are on a very fixed budget.We usually try to do all of our shopping 1-2 times a month. We try to buy ahead of time and freeze whatever we can.

What are some good not too expensive items to get that are freezable, have long shelf life, or last a while on the fridge? We buy a lot of our veggies fresh but I'm looking for other ideas of things that we can buy that will help build healthy recipes.

All help is appreciated.

Replies

  • NancyKhuu
    NancyKhuu Posts: 87 Member
    This is right up my alley... :)

    I'm a college kid who lived on an extremely tight budget. Have you heard about the "food stamp challenge" - where people would try to survive on $30 a week - the amount that is given per individual on food stamp. Well that is my food budget per week, and let me tell you I am never hungry. I win that challenge each and every week. Lol

    Here is my rules (per person):

    $7 meat
    $6 vegetables
    $5 fruit
    $4 dairy or eggs
    $3 carb
    Total: $25
    $5 stables

    Suggestions:
    - meat: chicken breast when it's $1.99 per lb. pork would be around $3.50 per lb. go for some "rare" protein sources too like chicken gizzard - only $.99 per lb or canned tuna.
    - veggies: things like lettuce, cabbage, celery and carrots are always cheap - less than $2 a package. Looks for things that are in season.
    - fruits: same with above. Banana is always cheap. Buy apple in the 3 lbs bags is cheaper than buying the "loose" ones per lb but they are smaller - doesn't bother me anyhow.
    - buy eggs as a source of protein, cheese + cream cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.
    - carb: bread, cereal, dry beans and the like
    - I save $5 per weeks for stable like oil, sugar, salt, rice, etc

    It takes a lot of planning but not impossible. Also, save the ads they send to your house every week. If there is a thing cheap from any store, take advantages of the ads match program at Walmart. To example: my local Aldi's is having 50 cents per mango but their mangos are wilted and too small, I matched with Walmart and night jumbo mango for 50 cents each. Win!

    Hope this helps.
  • JessicaWhosit
    JessicaWhosit Posts: 38


    It takes a lot of planning but not impossible. Also, save the ads they send to your house every week. If there is a thing cheap from any store, take advantages of the ads match program at Walmart. To example: my local Aldi's is having 50 cents per mango but their mangos are wilted and too small, I matched with Walmart and night jumbo mango for 50 cents each. Win!

    Hope this helps.

    I didn't know Walmart would price match on food also. That's an awesome tip! I have the same issue with Aldi a lot...good prices but hard to find the best quality veg and fruit wise.
  • mistermama
    mistermama Posts: 4
    I don't remember the exact prices, but these are some common items my family buys. I try to eat low-cal and we are definitely on a budget :)

    - Chicken thighs! Much cheaper, and actually tastier than chicken breast. Thighs are really versatile and flavorful. Plus, I find the smaller thigh portions easier to keep track of calories. *If I do get breasts, I get them frozen, literally 1/3 price.

    - big canister of instant plain oatmeal, and then mix in brown sugar.

    - family size quart of soy sauce.

    - diet pop / fresca (if its on sale) / crystal lite

    - cans of soup, as they go on sale (3 for $5), usually progresso or campbell's has low-cal flavors

    - cheap fresh veggies we get are onions (red, white, green), cabbage (green, red), mushrooms, and carrots.

    I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of.

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