I want to eat healthy but I have a very low income. Guidence if you can, please. :)
Options
rede383
Posts: 7 Member
Hi!
Much like the title says, I'm on a notoriously low income yet I still want to try to eat healthy.
Usually, I live off pasta, tinned goods and rice.
The most I can spend a month on food is $70/$17.50 a week. So one meal a day has to equate to approximately $2.50.
I will be starting to try to grow my own food soon, Just waiting for the Australian heat wave to come and go as we've almost finished Spring here.
Any help would be very welcome! I'm kinda new here. ^_^
Much love,
Rede.
Much like the title says, I'm on a notoriously low income yet I still want to try to eat healthy.
Usually, I live off pasta, tinned goods and rice.
The most I can spend a month on food is $70/$17.50 a week. So one meal a day has to equate to approximately $2.50.
I will be starting to try to grow my own food soon, Just waiting for the Australian heat wave to come and go as we've almost finished Spring here.
Any help would be very welcome! I'm kinda new here. ^_^
Much love,
Rede.
0
Replies
-
Hi Rede,
I really recommend Jamie Olivers book save with Jamie
His meals in this book range from 60p - £2 per portion so in the ballpark of what you are wanting to spend.0 -
Rede what is in the tins? Sounds like you may be high to the carb side depending what is in the tins? Does your government have any food assistance programs where they pass out peanut butter, cheese, powered milk, etc?0
-
Good for you for starting this! I know for the $, one of the cheapest and healthiest things I make is lentil soup. One bag of lentils here (US) costs about $1.50 and it will make two large pots of soup--enough for 8 big bowls a pot or so. I fry up an onion, garlic and a few chopped carrots, put in half a bag of lentils (rinse them first in a strainer), fill with water to about an inch over the whole bit and simmer for maybe 30 minutes. Then add salt, pepper and maybe some tomato paste if you like, stir and keep cooking until its done. Same idea works for dried pea soup (LOVE this). I'm sure there are better recipes on the internet though and you can take that basic idea and run with it. It is low fat, high protein, and tastes good. (Actually good with pasta in it too.) Otherwise, I also eat a lot of black beans and rice or black beans on corn tortillas. Those combinations have lots of protein too. And for breakfast I eat oatmeal--very cheap here, not sure if so in Australia. I usually avoid sugar on mine because I am avoiding too much sugar and use a dollop of apple butter (jam). I definitely hear you though in general--sometimes healthy eating can be made very expensive. I don't think it has to be though and sometimes it seems to me like all the money people spend may not bring great health either. (Like all that protein loading by meat and protein powders?? Not good for you IMHO.)0
-
cottage cheese can be got fairly cheaply 4 or 5 ounces packs a huge punch nutritionally. calcium and protein wise and is quite filling. I like to add cucumber and onions to mine wiht garlic and pepper. there are all kinds of veggies that are great mixed in though. I find it keeps me full for hours and is a cheap meal.0
-
The best answer I know is Jack Monroe http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/
She has been there. She has been on the breadline, very little income and a (then) two-year old to feed. She has the real life experience. She's walked the walk so to say
Jack doing a lot better now but her recipes are still about cheap, tasty and healthy food including taking into account the cost of preparation (electricity/gas etc) and available for free on her blog and in the guardian.
0 -
0
-
Simple portion control is great for reducing the amount of calories in the foods you usually buy cheap. Adding some veggies (home grown or what's in season from the farmer's market) will help keeping you full
Making big batches and freezing single servings for the entire week is also a good way to keep the prize tag smaller then when you're cooking single meals every day. Soups and stews are cheap and great to make big meals of!0 -
I second oatmeal - you can even make cookies with it! The recipe was on the fitness pal blog (healthy something) last week - 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 large banana (or 2 medium), dot each cookie with chocolate chips, the bake for 15 minutes at 180c. That makes breakfast for like 3 days. Also, I'm tempted to try peanut butter instead of choc chip!
Dieting websites are great because all the recipes listed tend to have a short ingredients list (so they're cheaper to cook!). I have a wonderful cookbook called 'Three Good Things' which I use all the time for the same reason. Other healthy / cheap meals include fruit from the marketplace + natural yoghurt for breakfast. Nuts, when found on sale, are great because there's so much in them (calorie / nutrition wise). I also love a boiled egg and toast in the morning, very cheap!0 -
Double vote on lentil soup. Lived on it in college, and I'm sure it was healthier than the ramen that seemed to be standard fare even back then. You said you are going to grow your own food, which is great. When you need to supplement that, grab whatever's on sale in the veggie/fruit aisle and skip organic. Frozen veggies are fine if you have freezer space -- there's nothing magic about fresh spinach rather than frozen, save maybe some texture issues. Better the carrots and celery you can afford than the kale and arugula you can't: it's still veggies. Fresh garlic and onion are cheap, and make almost everything taste better. Can you find someplace, a co-op or natural food store, that sells herbs/spices in bulk instead of the pricey jars at the supermarket? They're super-cheap at ours and add a lot.
Meat more as a flavoring agent than a main course -- at least here, chicken's typically cheapest, especially if you go for the leg quarters instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Just strip the skin, trim the fat off, use it in moderation and it's fine. Check the mark-down, last-day-of-sale meat bin -- it's fine if you cook or freeze it quickly. Save bones and make your own stock from it.
I've found eggs and peanut butter to be good, cheap sources of protein. If you can, which can be tough, try to set some funds aside so you can stock up on staples when they go on a good sale -- canned beans, canned tomatoes & sauce (here, salt-free is no more expensive than regular), tuna. The more you can home-cook, the better off you'll probably be, but sometimes I think we all need some fast convenience foods to manage our lives -- hence canned/frozen. Sometimes I've even found whole-wheat pasta for no more than the regular. Home-popped popcorn for snacks instead of the microwave kind or pre-packaged chips. Don't feel the need to buy an air-popper. Even popping it in oil doesn't add so many calories that it's some forbidden thing. We add nutritional yeast for flavor. This may sound over-the-top, but we've saved a lot of money over the last 20 years baking our own bread.
I think the one thing a lot of people struggle with trying to eat healthy on a budget is that you really have to cook to make it work. If this is a barrier for you, don't be scared off by all the elaborate foodie recipes with exotic ingredients you might find online. Learn a few basic dishes and remember that food is pretty forgiving -- you can tweak and substitute a lot on recipes and still have something tasty.
Good luck! You can do it!
0 -
michaelachallis wrote: »Hi Rede,
I really recommend Jamie Olivers book save with Jamie
His meals in this book range from 60p - £2 per portion so in the ballpark of what you are wanting to spend.
Wow! Looks very interesting! I'll definitely give it a chance!.
Thank you!! ^_^GaleHawkins wrote: »Rede what is in the tins? Sounds like you may be high to the carb side depending what is in the tins? Does your government have any food assistance programs where they pass out peanut butter, cheese, powered milk, etc?
The tins I purchase are usually vegetable soup. I purchase those along with poor cuts of scrap meat to turn into stews with the slow cooker my sister gave me. Will it is sort of healthy and definitely delicious, it does have a incredibly high sodium count. Some of the other tins are tuna in springwater and beans.
I am already receiving my countries form of Government benefits and I dislike asking (and receiving the current assistance) for more assistance unless I am literally starving or I am chronically malnourished. I have been searching for work for over the past year, sent out 43 resumes the past week. I hope I hear back from someone soon. My sister mentioned a gender bias due to the fact my housemate (whom is male) has only recently started sending them out has received 8 call backs in total within the past 72 hours or so of sending them out. I certainly hope that isn't the case though.misskittyninja wrote: »Growers market!!! Shopping at coles compared to a growers market the savings were around $40. Wish i could find the picture i posted here about a year ago. But seriously when it comes to fruit and vege, supermarkets are robbing people, so buy direct and in bulk
I found even seafood, noodles and rice where also cheaper buying this way. Shop around and find a place where you know you'll save.
Wow! I never thought of that. >.< We have a few markets like that close by. One of the fortunate things about living in a semi-rural area! ^_^ I'll definitely try to put money for a bus ticket aside to check it out.Change_Agent wrote: »Good for you for starting this! I know for the $, one of the cheapest and healthiest things I make is lentil soup. One bag of lentils here (US) costs about $1.50 and it will make two large pots of soup--enough for 8 big bowls a pot or so. I fry up an onion, garlic and a few chopped carrots, put in half a bag of lentils (rinse them first in a strainer), fill with water to about an inch over the whole bit and simmer for maybe 30 minutes. Then add salt, pepper and maybe some tomato paste if you like, stir and keep cooking until its done. Same idea works for dried pea soup (LOVE this). I'm sure there are better recipes on the internet though and you can take that basic idea and run with it. It is low fat, high protein, and tastes good. (Actually good with pasta in it too.) Otherwise, I also eat a lot of black beans and rice or black beans on corn tortillas. Those combinations have lots of protein too. And for breakfast I eat oatmeal--very cheap here, not sure if so in Australia. I usually avoid sugar on mine because I am avoiding too much sugar and use a dollop of apple butter (jam). I definitely hear you though in general--sometimes healthy eating can be made very expensive. I don't think it has to be though and sometimes it seems to me like all the money people spend may not bring great health either. (Like all that protein loading by meat and protein powders?? Not good for you IMHO.)
Is there a way to make lentai soup to have a very fine texture? I have Aspergers Syndrome and one of the main issues is taste sensitivity. While I'm perfectly fine eating most food, lentai soup causes me to gag uncontrollably when it's in a weird chunky paste form (which is the only form I've ever seen it take) it does smell rather delightful though ^_^
I usually mix rice and 4 beans (from a tin) together with some tinned tuna and it tastes lovely! I have the same issue with oatmeal, weetbix are pretty cheap over here (Basically little 4 inch long wheat bricks) and I've started acclimatizing myself to there texture, I still shudder when eating them every now and then, but that is definitely better than no breakfast at all!cottage cheese can be got fairly cheaply 4 or 5 ounces packs a huge punch nutritionally. calcium and protein wise and is quite filling. I like to add cucumber and onions to mine wiht garlic and pepper. there are all kinds of veggies that are great mixed in though. I find it keeps me full for hours and is a cheap meal.
Cheese is quite expensive in my area. Roughly $7 - $13 for a 500G to 1KG block. Don't even get me started on the price of shredded cheese. It's a disgrace. Do you think food markets might sell cheese cheaper? What does cottage cheese taste like? What is it's texture like?dutchandkiwi wrote: »The best answer I know is Jack Monroe http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/
She has been there. She has been on the breadline, very little income and a (then) two-year old to feed. She has the real life experience. She's walked the walk so to say
Jack doing a lot better now but her recipes are still about cheap, tasty and healthy food including taking into account the cost of preparation (electricity/gas etc) and available for free on her blog and in the guardian.
Oh wow! I will check out her site. I find it really interesting that she has accommodated the gas/electricity prices into her recipes preparation.felblossom wrote: »Simple portion control is great for reducing the amount of calories in the foods you usually buy cheap. Adding some veggies (home grown or what's in season from the farmer's market) will help keeping you full
Making big batches and freezing single servings for the entire week is also a good way to keep the prize tag smaller then when you're cooking single meals every day. Soups and stews are cheap and great to make big meals of!
That's what my plan was with my slow cooker. Make in bulk and freeze the portions I wasn't planning on eating tonight, only issue was the storage containers to put them in. I'll be picking some of those up on Friday this week. ^_^
0 -
kendalslimmer wrote: »I second oatmeal - you can even make cookies with it! The recipe was on the fitness pal blog (healthy something) last week - 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 large banana (or 2 medium), dot each cookie with chocolate chips, the bake for 15 minutes at 180c. That makes breakfast for like 3 days. Also, I'm tempted to try peanut butter instead of choc chip!
Dieting websites are great because all the recipes listed tend to have a short ingredients list (so they're cheaper to cook!). I have a wonderful cookbook called 'Three Good Things' which I use all the time for the same reason. Other healthy / cheap meals include fruit from the marketplace + natural yoghurt for breakfast. Nuts, when found on sale, are great because there's so much in them (calorie / nutrition wise). I also love a boiled egg and toast in the morning, very cheap!
Ooo, I haven't tried oatmeal in cookie form. I think I will try that and see how I handle the texture! It sounds pretty yummy! ^_^ I think I'd feel rather naughty for having cookies for breakfast but then again, what else is adulthood for? Hahah
I will look into the book you mentioned that you have. I love reading (especially lately since I'm going stir crazy from not having work) so any material is good material! ^_^
I can understand the appeal of having eggs with toast for breakfast. I personally prefer to make soldiers out of my eggs. ^_^ You know, you boil the egg insides its shell for a few minutes so the yolk is still runny, then you cut your toast into strips and dip them into the yolk once you've cut off the top. It's so good. ^_^Double vote on lentil soup. Lived on it in college, and I'm sure it was healthier than the ramen that seemed to be standard fare even back then. You said you are going to grow your own food, which is great. When you need to supplement that, grab whatever's on sale in the veggie/fruit aisle and skip organic. Frozen veggies are fine if you have freezer space -- there's nothing magic about fresh spinach rather than frozen, save maybe some texture issues. Better the carrots and celery you can afford than the kale and arugula you can't: it's still veggies. Fresh garlic and onion are cheap, and make almost everything taste better. Can you find someplace, a co-op or natural food store, that sells herbs/spices in bulk instead of the pricey jars at the supermarket? They're super-cheap at ours and add a lot.
Meat more as a flavoring agent than a main course -- at least here, chicken's typically cheapest, especially if you go for the leg quarters instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Just strip the skin, trim the fat off, use it in moderation and it's fine. Check the mark-down, last-day-of-sale meat bin -- it's fine if you cook or freeze it quickly. Save bones and make your own stock from it.
I've found eggs and peanut butter to be good, cheap sources of protein. If you can, which can be tough, try to set some funds aside so you can stock up on staples when they go on a good sale -- canned beans, canned tomatoes & sauce (here, salt-free is no more expensive than regular), tuna. The more you can home-cook, the better off you'll probably be, but sometimes I think we all need some fast convenience foods to manage our lives -- hence canned/frozen. Sometimes I've even found whole-wheat pasta for no more than the regular. Home-popped popcorn for snacks instead of the microwave kind or pre-packaged chips. Don't feel the need to buy an air-popper. Even popping it in oil doesn't add so many calories that it's some forbidden thing. We add nutritional yeast for flavor. This may sound over-the-top, but we've saved a lot of money over the last 20 years baking our own bread.
I think the one thing a lot of people struggle with trying to eat healthy on a budget is that you really have to cook to make it work. If this is a barrier for you, don't be scared off by all the elaborate foodie recipes with exotic ingredients you might find online. Learn a few basic dishes and remember that food is pretty forgiving -- you can tweak and substitute a lot on recipes and still have something tasty.
Good luck! You can do it!
Ah yes! Ramen. Here, we have a type called Mie Goreng. It's really cheap, like 50cents a packet. You can get a pack of 48 for $11:50 near my local train station. I lived off that for a while but I ended up quite unhealthy. >.< I do have frozen vegies that I use sometimes.
That's what I do with chicken and meat. Since I usually use it to make stews and and soups, I purchase off cuts of meat, rough cuts, almost expired, barely there cuts and chicken with skin on it. I don't understand why skinless chicken exists personally, It's not hard to skin a chicken T_T
With my area, salt free is usually 50cents to $2 more expensive. I've thought about baking my own bread before. Never done it though. Is the process difficult?
Thank you for the wishes! ^_^
Sorry for the massive wall of text. I like to reply to everyone if I can. ^_^0 -
michaelachallis wrote: »Hi Rede,
Is there a way to make lentai soup to have a very fine texture?
If you can find them, red lentils. They don't have the seed coats and they cook up to a smooth texture. A little different taste than the brown -- milder. Around here (realize I'm half a world away...) the cheapest I've found them is in the East Asian grocery where they're one of the staples for Indian dishes. They make a fantastic soup on their own or with sweet potatoes and/or canned tomatoes or sauce. One of my favorite soups is sweet potato and tomato -- the sweet potato flavor blends in and takes the place of the sugar you usually have to add. Sometimes I have to add just a pinch, but not much. Adding red lentils ups the protein.
Bread is easier and a lot more forgiving than you'd think. I have a breadmaker we use to throw the dough. You don't need one, but it makes life easier and you can sometimes pick them up for a song. Otherwise, check around for instructions on kneading the dough and giving it time to raise -- it's been so many years since I've done it by hand that I wouldn't even want to start giving you instructions! Takes a few hours, but most of that is hands-off time. My basic recipe for a loaf is:
1 1/2 cups water (sorry, non-metric measurements)
A couple of tablespoons oil
(Optional) A tablespoon of sugar or honey -- helps it rise more than anything
4 cups flour, some combo wheat/white. I've found it really hard to get a loaf to rise enough with all whole wheat, so I usually do a combo
1/2 tsp salt
yeast.... about a tablespoon? I don't really measure it, just pour it into my hand until it "looks right" so you may want to check around for measurements.
Here, yeast comes in either the wee little packets (expensive!) or big, blocky packages (per unit, pretty reasonable.) There's no difference in the yeast that I can tell, other than the price. We keep it in a jar in the fridge to keep it fresh.
Flour amounts will vary a little when you start kneading it. Your dough should end up just barely sticky, like a post-it note or play-dough -- enough that it sticks, but doesn't feel wet or come off on your fingers.
Forgive me for giving you advice you were already following! Sounds like you have an arsenal of tricks already and are on the right track.0 -
misskittyninja wrote: »Growers market!!! Shopping at coles compared to a growers market the savings were around $40. Wish i could find the picture i posted here about a year ago. But seriously when it comes to fruit and vege, supermarkets are robbing people, so buy direct and in bulk I found even seafood, noodles and rice where also cheaper buying this way. Shop around and find a place where you know you'll save.
I wish that was true in my area. Our growers markets are about 2x supermarket prices! Plus buying fresh fruits and vegetable in bulk for an individual creates other problems.
Recent article on centenarians in China. They eat primarily corn and potato. Cheap and good for you. Rice and beans from above is good.0 -
Do you have coupons out there? I rely on coupons to stock up on staples, so I can save my money for meat and produce!0
-
I can definitely empathize - I'm a college student who lives entirely off of a living stipend from my university, so I'm on a pretty tight budget.
-
Stir-fries are a godsend for me - you use a lot less meat then you would if you just made the meat by itself, and I generally stick to cheap veggies. Rice is wonderful thing - it adds bulk to the meal, and as long as you keep your portions reasonable, you won't overdo it in the carb department. I come from a low-income Hispanic family, so we largely lived off of stews, soups, beans and rice when I was growing up.0 -
Budget muesli is a great breakfast. My local supermarket sells 1kg of muesli for £1.18, and 1 serving is 50g, so that's 20 breakfasts, at about 6p per breakfast.
Frozen chicken breasts are 5 for £3, so that's 60p each. Add in some cheap vegetables like onions (16p each) carrots (8p each) birds eye chillies (about 0.5p each - and full of flavour) with garlic (about 3p per clove) and you can get a lot of taste and nutrition for very small amounts of money.
Stir fry is easy and can be made with whatever vegetables you have in. Mix in beansprouts (30p per serving) for fibre and to help you feel full.
Eggs are about 22p each and go a long way; you can make omelettes for breakfast, spanish tortilla (great with onions and sliced potato) for lunch and quiche for dinner.
Frozen garden peas work out about 8p for a 100g serving and go great in simple dishes like egg fried rice. You can cheaply and easily season a chicken breast with garlic or paxo stuffing and serve with peas for a healthy dinner.
Home made burgers are tasty and cheap too. 750g of mince beef costs £3 and makes 8 large burgers, making them less than 40p each, and they're delicious if ground up with onions, chili and garlic.
Mix it all together with cheap fruit - apples are about 30p each - and use milk to get your dairy and protein and it's not difficult to eat great food cheaply. In fact, I notice I always eat better when I'm a bit broke, as I can't buy take aways and convenience food, I have to cook everything from scratch!
Hope this helped :-)0 -
Buy your veggies at the market instead than M&S. Stick to local products. Cook everything from scratch. Apples and broccoli are pretty cheap.0
-
I watched an Asian family harvesting watercress from a water-filled ditch one time. I couldn't believe they were eating that, but at least it didn't have pesticides. If you live in a rural area, there are many foods that can be foraged from nature. Many people pick mushrooms, dandelion greens, and other foods in nature. There are probably pictures and guidance online. It could become a fun hobby to supplement your meals with these fresh items. Also, you could buy seeds and grow some greens and vegetables in containers.
I would check to see if there are any local food pantries, and go as often as they allow. The grocery stores here mark down food when it's getting old. I would scan the store for those items too.0 -
Processed/convenience foods are not the enemy budget-wise, especially if you don't already have flour, sugar, spices etc which are a costly investment if you buy them all at once. You want to buy those ingredients in bulk when they're at their lowest price, probably not at the same time. Sure, pre-made foods are not the healthiest option, but if you're really strapped for cash and you just need calories you shouldn't write them off altogether. It all depends on what is available or on sale.
Is there an ethnic foods store in your area? One of my favorite meals is pot-stickers from the chinese grocery store served over rice with frozen broccoli/carrots/cauliflower and soy sauce. It comes to under 2 USD and has enough calories to feed me for the day. You can also mix peanuts in the rice for more protein.
If you're really serious about making your own food from scratch, you might want to join a grain co-op and grind your own flour for bread. It's not difficult and is much less costly than buying flour, not to mention that whole grain flour goes rancid pretty quickly but the actual grain lasts forever, so you won't have to keep looking for sales0 -
Hi I would suggest, fresh vegetables and fruit, eggs and lentils. These are relatively inexpensive. Stay away from prepackaged goods, that are high in sodium, low fat items (as a general rule of thumb, what is taken away in fat is often replaced as sugar). My experience is to by 2% fat opposed to 3% (or high butter fat). Watch the yoghurt that is has the fruit bottom to it (high in sugar). Ricotta cheese is a good source of protein.
If you have an allotment in the community join it to grow your own veggies in the Spring. I am not a nutritionist but have been studying the subject since a teenager now middle aged. We must realize that no one is alone in our journey to wellness and health, I want to wish you all the very best. Take one day at a time, have one day that you have 'after puddings' (desserts) and be proud of your small achievements. Vanessa0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 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
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 913 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions