Eating healthy on a budget!
Options
Replies
-
Breakfast: Oatmeal (don't get quaker oats pay a little more and get stoneground/rough oats) $3.00
Lunch: If you need you can get PB $2.50 Jelly $1.00 Bread $1.00 (use one slice of bread if low carb)
Dinners/Lunch:
I purchase a bag of (5-6) frozen tilapia $3.00, container of (6) chicken breast $4.00 (typically can get buy one /get one free)
Bag of Rice $1.00 (typically at least 4 servings if not closer to 5-6)
Frozen Vegetables (brocolli, cauliflower,etc) $1 dollar each (each bag has 2 servings)
So for under $20 dollars you can eat at least 3 meals a day and still have a little for snacks (apples, crackers, etc)
Other's have mentioned beans which is a great source of protein and is cheap as well.
Where do you live? These prices are so low! :-/
Agreed. Frozen veg here for a small bag is over $5
lol you must not live in ny!0 -
I'm a big fan of buying in slightly larger quantities and freezing. Make friends with people who garden and have a surplus of fresh fruits and veggies. When there is food around, I like to make other quick meals you can freeze and then just microwave or throw in the oven to heat up. Ditto on the oatmeal, I prefer steel cut oats!0
-
I am a huge crockpot fan and a devout brown-bagger. With black-eyed peas, I cook ham, which I eat for lunch and dinner all week. It is great with a little okra, crushed red pepper, onion, and vinegar. With black beans, I crock chicken (any part, fat spooned off) and add jalapeños, spinach or mustard greens (whichever is cheapest), onion, and a ton of Tabasco and Louisiana hot sauce. I buy the onions in bulk as well as whatever meat is on sale.
For healthy breakfasts, I make corn tortilla tostadas. Take 2 Mission thin style tortillas (around 90 cals) and pile onto each: chopped tomatoes, chopped green bell pepper, chopped onion, and one slice of turkey bacon (30 cal each) per tortilla. I then place a teaspoonful of mozarella onto each tortilla over all the veggies. (To hold the concoction together.) then broil in the oven or toaster oven till crispy golden brown. I cover them in lemon pepper. That breakfast is very filling, around 210 calories total, and the ingredients are pretty inexpensive but make a lot of meals.
It also helps me budget when I plan my meals the weekend ahead of time.0 -
Boiled eggs!! No carbs an good protein
Cucumber and radishes thin slice with a lil dressing for dip
canned Tuna in water
celery with a lil peanut butter
light yogurt
canned fruit in all juice
No salt or low salt canned spinach or collard greens0 -
http://studentrecipes.com
i know i was always broke when i was in college (**** i still am out of college), this site has a lot of recipes0 -
Healthy is debatable since it's high in sodium, but a frequent meal for me is:
3oz of brown rice
+1 cup frozen broccoli
+1/2 cup frozen carrots
+1/2 soup cube
2 eggs (on the side)
1 cup almond milk
Plenty of fiber, calcium and vitamins C and A, fairly balanced macros and the price is:
rice is 3$/1lb box, so 3oz is ~0.50$
frozen veggies are 2$/~4 cups, so ~0.75$
soup cubes are 1$/8 cubes, so ~0.06$
eggs are 2$/12 eggs, so ~0.67$
almond milk is 4$/2L, so 0.50$
So a total of 2.50$. I often eat that for breakfast and dinner, and with the money saved I can afford to eat out for lunch. Back when I was a student, I had a weekly budget of 40-60$ (more often 40 than 60) for food, beer and going out, not sure I could do it again now.0 -
Interesting. So different from what we make in this part of the country.[
quote]
I am a huge crockpot fan and a devout brown-bagger. With black-eyed peas, I cook ham, which I eat for lunch and dinner all week. It is great with a little okra, crushed red pepper, onion, and vinegar. With black beans, I crock chicken (any part, fat spooned off) and add jalapeños, spinach or mustard greens (whichever is cheapest), onion, and a ton of Tabasco and Louisiana hot sauce. I buy the onions in bulk as well as whatever meat is on sale.
For healthy breakfasts, I make corn tortilla tostadas. Take 2 Mission thin style tortillas (around 90 cals) and pile onto each: chopped tomatoes, chopped green bell pepper, chopped onion, and one slice of turkey bacon (30 cal each) per tortilla. I then place a teaspoonful of mozarella onto each tortilla over all the veggies. (To hold the concoction together.) then broil in the oven or toaster oven till crispy golden brown. I cover them in lemon pepper. That breakfast is very filling, around 210 calories total, and the ingredients are pretty inexpensive but make a lot of meals.
It also helps me budget when I plan my meals the weekend ahead of time.
[/quote]0 -
Haha, arabianhorse! It occurred to me as I was typing that I ought to say I'm in west Texas! Loads of spicy foods are cheap around here. But definitely different around the country.0
-
Do you have an Asian super market at your disposal? I have one up town from me and they have a ridiculous variety of things that are affordable and healthy or low calorie or BOTH!
I like seaweed, so I have that for snacks.
Yogurt parfaits with almonds and dried cranberries or blueberries or raisins - whichever was on sale at Bulk Barn when I went.
Quinoa/Rice/Past can all be bought in large portions for a relatively decent price here and you can make them into all sorts of dishes which makes lunch a variety and therefore something I look forward too.
My grocer also has amazingly priced tofu which I have learned to love.
I buy whatever veggies are on sale during the week, cook some pasta and tofu, then mix it all together in a stir fry. I don't even add oil most days, just a little teriyaki sauce or something.
I don't know if it's available in your area, but Checkout 51 is an app that gives you cash (well, they mail you a check) when you take pictures of receipts with products they're advertising and send it to them. Most weeks I have coupons for the products so I save quite a bit that way.
If I shop at a regular grocery like Loblaws, I always price match and use coupons. It saves me having to go to multiple stores.0 -
Bump!0
-
bump for perusing later0
-
My husband and I joined the 20 Fresh, it is an online service where you pay an annual fee and then they send weekly shopping list and five meals you make from those list. Group on often has discounts for their annual fee. They have a lot of choices in menus, traditional, gluten free, vegetarian and so on. We get the vegetarian one. They have recipes for single people too. We spend about 60 a week for a family of three this is just food items. Also, not sure if you have one in your area but Winco and Grocery outlet are good deals. When my husband started going to Grocery outlet I turned my nose up at him. I imagined dented cans and expired boxed food. But they do have some good stuff there. Good luck0
-
Chicken BBQ-Stuffed Potatoes (from Cooking Light)
Roughly $3 per serving with ingredients on sale
Ingredients
• 4 (6-ounce) baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 green onions, finely chopped and divided
• 1 1/3 cups shredded barbecue chicken (such as Lloyd's)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Preparation
1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange in a circle on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at HIGH 10 minutes or until done, rearranging potatoes after 5 minutes.
2. While potatoes cook, combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons onions; set aside.
3. Place chicken in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Remove potatoes from microwave; place chicken in microwave. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
4. Slice potatoes lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side; fluff with fork. Top each potato evenly with chicken, sour cream mixture, cheese, and remaining onions.
Nutritional Information:
Amount per serving (4 servings per recipe - each serving is 1 potato, about 1/3 cup chicken, about 2 tbsp sour cream and 2 tbsp cheese)
• Calories: 367
• Calories from fat: 22%
• Fat: 9g
• Saturated fat: 5.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.4g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g
• Protein: 16.5g
• Carbohydrate: 57.6g
• Fiber: 4.2g
• Cholesterol: 43mg
• Iron: 3.2mg
• Sodium: 619mg
• Calcium: 117mg
I love these! For my family of five, I make the entire recipe for one meal. But you could just make one at a time, and have dinner planned for several days. Hope this is helpful!
0 -
Grocery Outlet is AWESOME!!! I always shop them first I can fill a cart for about 1/3 of the regular grocery store. Meat is always fresh and excellent quality too. We have a $3/lb. budget for meat and G.O. has plenty to choose from for under our budget.0
-
Bump for later0
-
Chicken BBQ-Stuffed Potatoes (from Cooking Light)
Roughly $3 per serving with ingredients on sale
Ingredients
• 4 (6-ounce) baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 green onions, finely chopped and divided
• 1 1/3 cups shredded barbecue chicken (such as Lloyd's)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Preparation
1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange in a circle on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at HIGH 10 minutes or until done, rearranging potatoes after 5 minutes.
2. While potatoes cook, combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons onions; set aside.
3. Place chicken in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Remove potatoes from microwave; place chicken in microwave. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
4. Slice potatoes lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side; fluff with fork. Top each potato evenly with chicken, sour cream mixture, cheese, and remaining onions.
Nutritional Information:
Amount per serving (4 servings per recipe - each serving is 1 potato, about 1/3 cup chicken, about 2 tbsp sour cream and 2 tbsp cheese)
• Calories: 367
• Calories from fat: 22%
• Fat: 9g
• Saturated fat: 5.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.4g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g
• Protein: 16.5g
• Carbohydrate: 57.6g
• Fiber: 4.2g
• Cholesterol: 43mg
• Iron: 3.2mg
• Sodium: 619mg
• Calcium: 117mg
I love these! For my family of five, I make the entire recipe for one meal. But you could just make one at a time, and have dinner planned for several days. Hope this is helpful!
These sound and look so good!0 -
Grocery Outlet is AWESOME!!! I always shop them first I can fill a cart for about 1/3 of the regular grocery store. Meat is always fresh and excellent quality too. We have a $3/lb. budget for meat and G.O. has plenty to choose from for under our budget.
Wish there was one of these around here!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 939 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions