I can't afford to buy the right food...

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  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    No.

    Cheap pizza: $8 for one meal OR you can spend $8 and get a couple days worth of dinners like rice/beans/eggs/frozen veggies.

    I've saved so much money eating healthier. Processed foods and sodas are so expensive.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    I spend about $2.20 per meal eating healthy. On the flip side, I spent $3.30 per meal eating "unhealthy."

    Although it does depend on location, too.
  • DEEPU91
    DEEPU91 Posts: 74 Member
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    you live in village it is more beneficial for you to maintain your health
    you could do agriculture of healthy vegetables and cereals and pulses and can spend time for little exercise
    but all you have to just keep motivated you self and keep inspired yourself
  • kim_m_kk
    kim_m_kk Posts: 61 Member
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    aldi for vegetables - might not have as big a selection but so much cheaper
  • ladybuggnorris
    ladybuggnorris Posts: 276 Member
    edited February 2015
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    My husband and I invested in TWO deep-freezers; one apartment-size in the house and a BIG one in the garage. We started shopping sales on frozen foods to fill them up. we also bought a pig and a half-beef from a local farmer (way healthier and cheaper than store bought). The freezers are both now full. In fact, we have started planning our meals from the contents because we have food sitting on top that does not fit inside and this will only work until spring thaw...lol. I plan all my meals for a month at a time. We go grocery shopping at Costco every Sunday and spend about $75. This is for eggs, dairy, and fresh produce. Everything else is coming out of those freezers. Typically vegetables are much cheaper in summer because they are in season (even frozen ones). We will eat a lot more fresh in summer and continue to stock up for winter.

    We have saved sooooo much money by just having planned menus alone. We are not buying anything unnecessary and nothing spoils and gets thrown in the garbage.
  • ladybuggnorris
    ladybuggnorris Posts: 276 Member
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    Another thing that has happened since we started meal planning, is that we pretty much do not buy any aisle food at the grocery store any more. It is all outer walls. (Dairy, Meat, Produce)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Oh my goodness, what a little perspective can bring. I lived in a remote town, population six thousand, one grocer. The next closest shopping was five hours away by car. I shopped like the locals, making one large expedition to civilization for my bulk goods to fill my freezer and my pantry.

    I think you are more tired than poor. Cooking from scratch is much cheaper and healthier. Put aside the money you save from one sale towards a bulk purchase down the road. The more bulk staples you have on hand, the more flexibility you will have in your food choices.

    Cooking basics include how to make a roast and how to make a soup and stew from the roast leavings and drippings. There's several meals hiding in a single roast.

    Knowing how to make a basic white sauce so that dressing up rice or pasta is no longer a mystery.

    The other great skill is working with dried beans and lentils; soaking and simmering in endless ways. A cheap, fibrous, and protein-filled way to fill out your menu.
  • kozinskey
    kozinskey Posts: 176 Member
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    http://www.budgetbytes.com/
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    jodi_fletch wrote: »
    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


    A couple Brits were arrested for poaching near me last year but alright. I think it's much more humane to take a deer that's been in the wild its whole life versus a chicken or cow that's kept on a feedlot.

    That said, I thought you all had more of a social net? If you're struggling with food, can't you call your council and try to get assistance? Whole foods are pretty cheap (especially compared to frozen pizzas), but if you're struggling to put food on the table, you should not be ashamed to ask for help.
  • MindySaysWhaaat
    MindySaysWhaaat Posts: 401 Member
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    When I have rice, I basically put anything and everything with it. I've scrambled eggs, put ground beef, chicken, pork chop...usually it is some kind of meat. If you don't eat meat, I know you can put stir fried veggies or tofu with rice and it pairs pretty well.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    "Easier" and "can't afford" are two completely different things.

    It sounds like you need to learn to cook on a basic level.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    jodi_fletch wrote: »
    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

    Can you get online deliveries where you live? We do Sainsburys online shopping. I don't live in a tiny village though.
  • 9bars
    9bars Posts: 40 Member
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    https://web.archive.org/web/20130525131953/http://cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

    Prices will be out of date now,but this is a cheap UK family meal planner. A girl called Jack blog would be another one with free cheap recipes.

    http://agirlcalledjack.com/
  • jodi_fletch
    jodi_fletch Posts: 9
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    wizzybeth wrote: »
    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
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    "Easier" and "can't afford" are two completely different things.

    It sounds like you need to learn to cook on a basic level.

    I can cook! I do Sunday roasts, pasta dishes, fish dishes but they all seem to be high calorie and the ingredients I use aren't something I can just pop to the shop for near me
  • jodi_fletch
    jodi_fletch Posts: 9
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    Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »
    No.

    Cheap pizza: $8 for one meal OR you can spend $8 and get a couple days worth of dinners like rice/beans/eggs/frozen veggies.

    I've saved so much money eating healthier. Processed foods and sodas are so expensive.

    Not sure where you shop but I have never ever paid that much for a pizza unless it's from a take away place or restaurant. Frozen food vs a £1 bag for f frozen veg is a lot cheaper
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    It's a British blog but you can get some inexpensive ideas here: http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/

    She's a woman who learned how to feed herself and her child on next to nothing and still stay healthy.
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
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    We tend to pricematch and occasionally some coupons. Its convenient for my family as we also take public transit. Pricematching has saved us the most in terms of time (only have to go to one store) and money (not having to pay full price for most things). We save a minimum of $50 per week doing this and we get to eat healthier. Apples can run as high as 2.69/lb here. There are always apples on sale somewhere for .99/lb (sometimes even less.. I got them a couple weeks ago for .67/lb), I bring my flyer and I pay that price instead.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    Potatoes are quite cheap, you could do homemade potato wedges, or jacket potatoes, or make a shepherds pie with loads of veg in it, or sausage and mash and veg.

    Also you could make a big stir fry with chicken and get cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts etc. You can get frozen stir fry veg in Sainsburys, but I'm not sure if it works out any cheaper.

    We often do a chicken stew with kale, carrots, onions, sweet potato, parsnip etc. It lasts a few days and we also purée it for our baby. You could do soup too. I've made minestrone before, it's nice and filling.

    Risotto is also nice, just add loads of veg again.

    I personally don't think healthy eating is more expensive. Even when I was at university I didn't eat unhealthily and I didn't have loads of spare money to spend on food. Probably because I'd spent it in the bar lol.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    Mmmm beans and rice
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I can't imagine any roast or pasta dish that would be higher calorie than a pizza slice. Unless you are going off on the portions somehow. Yeah, potatoes as someone else mentioned are inexpensive and easy to prepare. Smaller portions means more (cheaper) meals out of the same cut too. Small remote village means more planning when you go out of town for your big shopping trips. Small bargains adds up to more bulk buys as you go along.

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