Value brands? healthy on a budget

Honestly the majority of foods my husband and I buy to cook/eat are generic brands, not name brands. But part of that is we don't buy many foods that come in cans, boxes, etc. So there is less chance of there even being a "leading brand"...for example, tons of produce, lentils, beans, rice, etc.

The bread we prefer is a regional brand called Ozark Hearth and it's about 1/2 the price of similar brands. Best Choice is a cheap supermarket brand here too, and their staple items are excellent. I know they are sold at Food 4 Less, Price Cutter, etc...but I know that probably doesn't help you if you're outside of our area. Kroger has good staple items in their store brand as well.

We are big on ALDI. If you have their stores in your area I would highly recommend their Greek yogurt (plain), cheeses, unsweetened almond milk (we like the shelf stable boxed Simply Nature kind they sell, but Friendly Farms - their dairy brand - is good too), nuts, beans, hummus, Sandwich Skinnies, etc. They also have good affordable produce. While we don't buy a lot of canned stuff, theirs is pretty good (veggies, refried or black beans, etc). They have a line called Fit & Active that is pretty good too, although I would be cautious of the frozen meals since they're loaded with sodium and preservatives just like other name brand meals.

Good luck to you as you move out!! May I ask, which foods are current staples that you feel help you in healthy cooking and eating? This might help us to provide you with alternatives or similar cheaper products.

I think you can do well at Trader Joe's if you have one?

I don't know how it is in England, but in the US it's the same factories that make store brands and named brands... so they are often pretty similar. There's a lot of trial and error though, there are some named brand lunch meats that I can't stand, for example, while some are great.

For frozen produce, here from what I've seen they don't add anything, and yes that's a place where buying store brand is definitely worth it.

Pearls of wisdom, Mao, that's why you're on my friends list I have to agree wholeheartedly. If it's got a brand on it, it's probably something you'd want to avoid unless found in fresh produce e,g, Chiquita bananas.

I used to be such a brand snob but I got fed up of Tesco taking the mick with their prices so I tried Lidl, best thing I did. All sorts of brands and they are really good quality and most taste better than the brands I was so loyal to. For example Tesco smoked salmon, £5 a pack, Lidl £2.29 a pack.

It seems alot of people are doing the same as Tesco's profits have fallen and they are being forced to put their prices down. I'll stick with Lidl, the markets and local butchers though.

Need I say more?!

We usually choose the store brands. There is a noticeable difference in flavor, we find it acceptable. Frozen veggies are relatively cheap because there is zero waste. They are very convenient, especially for one person.

Well, sure, if you have the time to make everything for scratch like pasta or bread (or oatmeal?). I don't

If eating healthy is as important as keeping to a budget - then don't eat pasta or bread, also making bread doesn't take up a lot of your actual time:

Mix the dough - 5 min
Go about your normal day
Get back to it when you can after it's risen - further prep if needed, if not into the oven.

Also oatmeal doesn't take ages either - put the oatmeal to soak in the fridge over night. If you haven't got three min tops to do that, then you also don't have 10 min to wait for a readymeal to microwave.


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Something I forgot to put in my earlier post - now, and then when needed - I go to farmfoods, and do a massive shop, I can pick up a freezer's worth of veggies, meats, and berries - some pre-prepped, others not (prepped in this case only meals sliced/cut) It costs around £60 to fill my freezers, and it all seems to last 1-2 months feeding two people.

Sainsburys basics salmon is a favourite. Offcuts and different sizes, but cheap.