I can't afford to buy the right food...
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budgetbytes.com0
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jodi_fletch wrote: »I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?
you said it yourself... it's easier for you to buy a cheap pizza, and not put thought and energy into a healthy meal.
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/06/buffalo-chicken-pizza/
this is a recipe for buffalo chicken pizza. i like this blog because she lays out how much the whole thing costs as well. and inputting it into the MFP recipe builder is a snap as well.
it comes out to two slices a person, and that is 534 calories each, a Total Cost of $5.04, and Cost Per Serving: $1.260 -
jodi_fletch wrote: »I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?
Yes. But where in the world is frozen pizza and fish cheaper than frozen vegetables, dried beans, pasta, eggs and rice?0 -
thecraftinista wrote: »budgetbytes.com
Great website.0 -
jodi_fletch wrote: »I do like rice but I never know what to put it with
Add a little fat and seasoning, a bag of frozen vegetables and cooked dried beans and you have a healthy cheap one dish meal.0 -
Not sure if these stores are near you but I check out 99cent store and Sprouts first. Very affordable fresh produce. Even try Smart & Final, they're good on meat prices & frozen vegis too.0
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- Yeah ran into this last night. I do all the cooking. My wife wants something tasty so I am measuring stuff very carefully bearing in mind it still has to taste good and keep ME under my calorie goal. No more free pouring ingredients means I have to get creative with the seasonings. Hey we still enjoyed yummy crab ravioli.DemoraFairy wrote: »Even if you have to buy the cheaper, unhealthier stuff, you should still be able to stick to your calories. I have the opposite problem - I stuck to my calorie goal at uni by eating microwave meals all the time, it was easy. Now my boyfriend wants to cook properly and every home-cooked meal seems to be twice the calories of its microwave equivalent!
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Chicken breast is usually pretty cheap if you buy the bigger (5# and larger) packages. I usually pay $1.99/pound for boneless/skinless. I can make a meal with chicken, frozen veggies, rice or pasta and some kind of sauce or marinade cheaper than a decent frozen pizza.
Check the circulars at different stores and stock up on what's on sale. A lot of times, at least one of the three shops I go to regularly have BOGO sales on basics like bread or english muffins, sometimes buy one get two free. Freeze what you won't use immediately. Buy store brand instead of name brand. One of the local shops has store made frozen chicken nuggets for $.99 - $1.59 a pound. I get a five pound bag for less than a one pound bag of Perdue. (The buffalo nuggets are so good on a salad!) Check for the "day old" bargain bin produce and bakery items.0 -
I make a LOT of crockpot meals. One of my favorite sites for meal ideas is http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ I make all my own beans and lentils. A can of black beans is $.95. A 1lb bag is $1.15 and I can get 5-6 cans worth of beans from one bag. I cook them and freeze them in cottage cheese containers. I do this for black beans, pintos, chickpeas, and lentils. I do a lot of price-matching with my local ads at Wal-mart. I can often get bananas for 33 cents a lb and grapes for 99-1.68 per lb. Frozen veggies are usually about 90 cents a bag. I shop meat sales too but if you have a deep freezer another option would be going to Sam's Club or Costco (if you don't have a membership perhaps a friend would take you there. Here we can get chicken breasts and pork loing for $1.89/lb ).0
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A cheap pizza on sale is about $5 where I live. For that amount I can buy a few cups of split peas, an onion, head of garlic, a couple of carrots and some potatoes. Throw all those ingredients into a slow cooker with whatever spices you currently have OR cook on low in a regular pot and you've got a delicious split pea soup.
Try searching for budget friendly meals. Pinterest is a good place to find cheap and healthy ideas. It's not impossible to eat healthy on a small budget (I've been there many times in my life!) It just takes practice and some home prep, which you can do in whatever limited free time you have. I know, I have 2 kids too but we still manage. You have to put the work into searching for the recipes and making the food. There are very few "quick" and effortless meals that are cheap AND healthy.0 -
Rice, beans, tuna, frozen vegetables, and sales make eating well not as expensive as many people think.
Rice is a filler if it's not long grain it has little nutritional value_dracarys_ wrote: »jodi_fletch wrote: »I think the problem is I live in a little village and rely on public transport
ive done the steamed veg and stuff and I love fruit and pasta 
I think the answer to my problems is to bulk by the beans and pasta stuff then I can keep it for weeks at a time
Don't you have to take the same public transport to get frozen pizza and cheap fish fingers? I don't get it.
I think she's saying she needs to buy things that keep for quite awhile such as frozen or canned goods so she makes less trips.
frozen vegetables are not expensive OP and they are just as good as fresh or so close is negligible.
The main thing for weight loss is calories in vs calories out what makes what you eat matter is nutrients. More nutritious food keeps you full longer and fuels your body better but you can lose weight eating any food if your calories out is higher than your calories in.
Just remember to weigh and measure and particularly if you go by mfp's calculations only eat back about half your exercise calories.
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Leanne Brown wrote a cookbook specifically for people who are looking to eat healthful food on a super low budget like yours. The book is called "Good and Cheap" and it's completely free online. Obviously I don't really know much about your situation, but if you're having a hard time getting real food on your budget I would consider applying for SNAP benefits. I know some people are hesitant to do so, but it really exists to make sure that families are able to provide nutritious food for their loved ones. This is particularly important with children. Just a thought!0
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Second this. Great site for ideas for cheap meals that aren't boring. Two of my favorites are the Italian Wonderpot and the Hearty Black Bean Quesadillasthecraftinista wrote: »budgetbytes.com0 -
Th3Ph03n1x wrote: »
Nonsense.0 -
I actually feel the exact opposite. Because of our schedules right now, my boyfriend and I are relying on frozen foods like pizza, fish sticks, hot pockets (LOL), etc. for us and his 14 year old. The problem is that while they may be cheaper, they aren't as filling so you run through them faster. I bought a box of bagel bites because his daughter loves them. It was one of the giant boxes. I came home and she had half the box for a snack
. And she's a string bean. I cringed at the amount of money I spent on it thinking it would last a while.
Cooking with the suggestions others have made ends up being cheaper plus the added bonus of lasting far longer. Avoid the fresh fruits and veggies (unless something is on sale) and rely on the frozen stuff or canned veggies. Nothing wrong at all with a can of green beans. I can eat the whole can for under 100 calories and low sodium. Buy them in bulk and give keep them in the cabinet. Buy meats in bulk and freeze them. One of the good things we do manage to eat is a ton of eggs. Eggs are eggs to me. I just get the cheapest ones I see and call it a day. One thing I want to start doing is buying bulk meat and cooking in the crockpot.
I also agree with the suggestion of pasta. Pasta itself (even the generic white kind) isn't actually high in calories. it's the creamy sauces we add. Do a good bolognese sauce from a large quantity of meat and it'll last a while for cheap with cheap dry pasta.0 -
I use a website called budgetbytes.com
She has pretty tasty recipes and gives the number of servings and the cost.
Also step by step instructions with pictures0 -
I usually go to the hispanic and asian markets in my area to buy my meat. Pretty cheap there. Like others have mentioned grains, beans, frozen and can veggies you can buy in bulk. My Publix here has bogo offers too on that stuff sometimes.
Maybe you should start researching cheap recipes (poverty meals sometimes called) that you can make for your family. There are so many, especially slow cooker meals. They go a long way sometimes. Make vegetarian dishes on some days, so that you can purchase less meat.0 -
This sounds like it would be cost prohibitive.Springfield1970 wrote: »Go to Iceland and get the deals on frozen fish and meat.
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In the fall many hunters clear out their freezers to make room for a new harvest. If you know any you may score some free/cheap deer burger. Also where I'm from, many hunters donate the meat to feed the hungry type programs. (Not wanting to start any PETA discussions here - just offering another source of good protein as an option.)
Also you could fish - good activity with your kids too!0 -
I'm sure these have all been said, but I'll add my 2cents. Buying in larger quantities and as close to whole as you can is cheaper. Rice, dried beans, pasta, frozen veggies and fruit are all fairly inexpensive and easier to work with than you might think. Also, buying a whole chicken is cheaper than boneless, skinless breasts. It also provides you with a lot of meat.
Google inexpensive or cheap recipes and I bet you'll have more recipes than you'll know what to do with. One of my favorite sites is www.justapinch.com. Not all of their recipes are inexpensive, but you can do a search by what ingredients you have on hand and go from there.0 -
I havent read most of the responses here, but here is my two cents... I think that it is cheaper to buy healthier stuff in some instances. I can get a bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts for around $5-$7 depending on if they are on sale, and that can make multiple meals..Or I look at what meat is on sale, sometimes chicken legs/thighs are 99cents a pound. I also go to my local produce store and buy a whole bag of fruits/veggies for $19.99, they change up the bags every week so you get a really good variety. This as well makes several meals/sides for the week. My local produce store also has a meat/deli section in that also has a meat bag for $29.99 with a good variety of meat for the week.
I think that frozen pizza is way too expensive. I think the fact isnt that you dont have the money to buy good healthy foods, but maybe you are just too busy to prepare food from scratch.. if that is more of the issue, then you should check out Pinterest for some quick and easy healthy meals.. I can cook really good cheap and healthy meals in less than a half hour.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »jodi_fletch wrote: »I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?
Yes. But where in the world is frozen pizza and fish cheaper than frozen vegetables, dried beans, pasta, eggs and rice?
This^^ I am in a financial crisis too, and can't *afford* cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers or ready meals of any kind - it's so much cheaper to cook from scratch. Perhaps you never learned how to or don't have the habit? The sites above seem like a good place to start.0 -
I also like the recipes on the budgetbytes site.
Buy things like potatoes, carrots, onions, lentils, dry or canned beans, rice, pasta, canned tomato, frozen vegetables, peanut butter, bread, apples, oranges, oatmeal, cereal, eggs, garlic, chicken. Basic things like flour and spices.
What to have with rice- meat, beans, vegetables, eggs
Buying ingredients and cooking is not easier than buying a frozen pizza every day but actually you will get more for your money if you do it most of the time.0 -
DianaLovesCoffee wrote: »In the fall many hunters clear out their freezers to make room for a new harvest. If you know any you may score some free/cheap deer burger. Also where I'm from, many hunters donate the meat to feed the hungry type programs. (Not wanting to start any PETA discussions here - just offering another source of good protein as an option.)
Also you could fish - good activity with your kids too!
Thanks for the advice hun but I live in England and hunting is very frowned upon by most people including myself I appreciate your comment though 0 -
Leanne Brown wrote a cookbook specifically for people who are looking to eat healthful food on a super low budget like yours. The book is called "Good and Cheap" and it's completely free online. Obviously I don't really know much about your situation, but if you're having a hard time getting real food on your budget I would consider applying for SNAP benefits. I know some people are hesitant to do so, but it really exists to make sure that families are able to provide nutritious food for their loved ones. This is particularly important with children. Just a thought!
Thanks so much definitely going to check that out 0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »jodi_fletch wrote: »I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?
Yes. But where in the world is frozen pizza and fish cheaper than frozen vegetables, dried beans, pasta, eggs and rice?
We'll see I as a live in a TINY village in the middle of nowhere we have asda which to most people is wall mart. Pizza is a quid (about $2) frozen veg packs are a quid ($2), then you have to buy the extras so it doesn't taste like *kitten* and water like most frozen veg does so yes pizza is cheaper and more convenient in the one shop I have 0 -
Great ideas here. It really does take some thought, time, and a little creativity. In the long run a frozen pizza may be "cheaper" but the toll on your bodies may not be worth it - if you are not getting enough nutrients to keep your body healthy.0
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eat the same food you always did, just less of it. that way you eat less calories and save money due to eating less food.0
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Great ideas here. It really does take some thought, time, and a little creativity. In the long run a frozen pizza may be "cheaper" but the toll on your bodies may not be worth it - if you are not getting enough nutrients to keep your body healthy.
I like that it does make me awful but sometimes I'm just exhausted.... I'm going to start doing my meals in advance and see how it goes
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