Healthy Diet, On a BUDGET!

Eating breakfast does not make someone healthy. It is o.k. to skip it. All that matters is how many calories you ate in the 24 hour period.

Make your breakfast before you go to bed. Oatmeal and boiled eggs are easy peasy.

As for everything else, look at your weekly grocery ads. Plan your meals around the cheap cuts of meat and veggies. If something is a particularly good sale, stock up and freeze it. Even most veggies can be blanched and flash frozen.

Aside from that, buy rice and beans/lentils in bulk and include them as much as possible into your diet.

oh yea i always try and make lunch the night before... as far as breakky goes it will have a shake and then some toast a few hours later. (im pretty lucky we have a kitchen at work) so this might not apply to you.. if not take some nuts and fruit in.

Brown rice, healthier than white rice. Eggs, healthy and inexpensive.
Fresh veggies since you probably only have to feed yourself. Asparagus,broccoli, etc.
Carrots & peanut butter to snack on. (Carrots lose a lot of nutrition cooking them) Peanut butter-protien.
Different beans to cook. (No canned)
Chicken is healthy, watch for sales.
No white bread if u can avoid it.
There's a couple meals there. Omelets, chk and rice, beans chicken & or rice.
Watch for trans fat, of course all high fructose corn syrup avoid like the plague.
Beets are good for you.

Brown rice really isn't much/at all healthier than white rice. White bread is fine. HFCS is fine as well.

The rest of it I agree with. :flowerforyou:

Provided you don't live in a food desert (like I do - that's a place where a lot of lower middle class and poor people live, that doesn't have many options for fresh foods, and most of the options for food are chain stores that don't have many options or are expensive, gas stations, or discount stores like Dollar tree - and since people are lower middle class or poor, transportation to the city is hard), avoid chain stores and discount stores when doing your shopping.

Farmers markets tend to have the best offers for fresh fruits and vegetables. We have exactly one nearby (but I can't get there unless my sister comes by to give us a ride), and we can get lbs of fruits and vegetables for a dollar or so. Sometimes less, if it's bruised or something. And some fruit is fine bruised, like bananas.

Shop frugally. When buying meat, shop around a lot. Buying it by the bundle is often cheaper. I haven't been able to buy any at all (the past few months I've been surviving off less than 100 a month ), but when I can buy it.. I always buy bundles. It works out to where you save up to ten bucks or more.

Don't be afraid of frozen fruits and vegetables. They last longer (don't go bad as quick as fresh ones), so you can buy them in bulk when you have the money and they're a bit healthier than canned (though less so than fresh). Canned works in a pinch for the end of the month, when everything else is low.

Oatmeal is cheap. Rice is cheap. These make great sides or breakfasts. Brown rice is pricier than white... and they're both, actually, fairly healthy. Eggs are a cheap source of protein. Peanut butter is cheap and filling. And don't be afraid to experiment. Part of living on a budget is learning to make the best with what you have! One of our favorite meals growing up... was a simple pot of potatoes, sausage, and onions. My mom made it at the end of the month... literally using the remains of our food that hadn't been used. We, also, loved when she made white rice with burger.

If you have the space (and the patience), try starting a garden.

Benefits: exercise, fresh fruits and veggies. You don't even have to start from seeds; you can get some plants at the stores.
Downsides: weeds.

Also, if you have a card for someplace like Costco, that is good for SOME things in bulk.
I also have store loyalty cards (for the local grocery stores); these give me special prices for different things (check the store ads).

I agree with many of the suggestions above me.

I, too, am on a tight budget. Right now I am living at home (finishing school), and my family is relying on one income right now. It can be extremely, EXTREMELY hard and very stressful.

I recently discovered the wonder that is WinCo. They have a bulk section that is really amazing... others rec'd getting beans/etc. in bulk, and you can do that at WinCo. They also have spices, nuts, pasta, and more... even some candies. It's great. I looked at your profile to see where you live, and you do have a WinCo in your city! http://wincofoods.com/about/locations/california/


If you like salad, WinCo stocks Bolthouse Farms' low-calorie line of dressings. I REALLY recommend the Caesar Parmigiano yogurt dressing (no anchovies!), and the Miso Ginger dressing.

Homemade vegetable soup. (Scientifically proven to be more filling than the same food not made into soup.) Very easy to make large batches and freeze portions. Very low in calories and very cheap if you buy vegetables which are in season.

My trick to guarantee that the soup always tastes good is to use Marigold Vegetable Bouillon for the stock - always turns out delicious whatever veg I use. Also, I like to make soups that look good - bright colours - so I tend to stick with one or two veg at a time, eg, carrot (flavour with coriander), pea (add a little spinach for a real health kick and to make it a real vivid green). Always start with a white onion (you can soften it in oil first but obvs that adds a few calories), then add the chopped veg and the stock. Bring to the boil, simmer until veg is soft, then blend.

Happy blending!