How to shop healthy on a budget?

Graceraeg
Graceraeg Posts: 84 Member
edited November 13 in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone. I am having a hard time planning healthy meals that fit my budget. My family mostly has been eating chicken and I'm getting so tired of it. I have two kids and my husband. My husband does not tolerate pork or a lot of red meat. He can't have very much dairy either.He has ulcerative colitis and it seems those foods give him problems. I have a hard time planning meals that have enough protein to hit my daily target. I'm just getting so tired of eating plain yogurt and chicken! Does anyone have any advice? What does your weekly shopping list look like and how much do you spend?

Replies

  • DsAdvocate
    DsAdvocate Posts: 93 Member
    There's a website called Budget Bytes that's pretty good. Just don't go crazy on beans because they're cheap. Trust me, you can eat too many beans.
  • Graceraeg
    Graceraeg Posts: 84 Member
    I usually buy beans to go with dinner a few nights a week. My 14 month old likes beans!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited February 2015
    Too bad your hubby can't tolerate pork, that's usually where I turn when I need a break from chicken :(. How about fish? Eggs? I eat a lot of omelets and hard boiled eggs. I also find using very tasty sauces on chicken can ease the chicken boredom. Like stir fried chicken breast with ginger and soy sauce one night. Then honey barbeque sauce basted baked chicken thighs the next. I hope you get more suggestions!
  • iwantmydenimback
    iwantmydenimback Posts: 194 Member
    If your kids like beans, you might want to try lentils too! They're super dirt cheap and you can use them in a zillion ways. Soup, burgers, 'meatloaf,' etc. Especially if your husband can't do a lot of red meat, lentils substitute for ground beef incredibly well and that would give you a lot of flexibility! How about fish? Fish tacos, fish sticks, might be fun foods for both you guys and the kids. Plus it's pretty lean protein most of the time so hopefully won't be so rough for your husband's digestive system. Good luck!
  • dogsarebears
    dogsarebears Posts: 85 Member
    No pork here either...beans, tofu, cottage cheese, and fish are all good protein sources. Beans and cottage cheese are very reasonably priced and you can get frozen fish for much less money than fresh....and frozen can actually be "fresher" than fresh, which in standard grocery stores is frequently just frozen fish that has been defrosted (by all means go for fresh if you're sure you're getting actually fresh fish).
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited February 2015
    Do you do a taco night? That's one way the rest of you can get in some healthy red meat, while he has an extra evening of the chicken he prefers. :)

    Burgers are another meal where you can simply swap in a different protein source for him than the rest of your are eating while keeping everything else the same.

    (I wouldn't mind working around one food limitation--I temporarily avoided lactose due to a family health issue--but limiting dairy AND pork AND red meat is quite a few! I'd be thinking to go modular because I like to introduce my kids to, and enjoy myself, as many good foods as possible.)
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,275 Member
    Why can't you do protien smoothie for breakfast?
  • rendress269
    rendress269 Posts: 90 Member
    I check the sale flyers the night before a new week begins (our local stores start sales on Wed. so Tuesday night I'm scouring the ads to see what's on sale. I then build my menu accordingly.

    I will typically have some form of poultry 4 nights a week, beef or pork 1x, fish or shellfish 1x and a meatless night.

    I've also been trying a cook once eat twice approach. Ex. Roast a whole chicken or 2, serve half for dinner, make chicken salad / shredded chicken for pizzas or tacos out of the other 1/2 , make a soup or stock from the remainder. Saves time & money.

    As mentioned previously, fish & seafood pack a lot of protein. Buying frozen is generally more economical. I stay away from "farmed" fish. Plus fish is generally low in calories.

    We also enjoy ground turkey instead of beef in chili, stuffed peppers, tacos, burgers, etc. Lots of great recipes via Pinterest. Another great opportunity to cook once, eat twice by making double batches.

    Best wishes on your menu planning.
    Robin
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
    You could probably cook up some different meat for yourself in little time. A portion of steak or pork chops does not take long on a pan, and then you could eat the same sides as everyone else. You could even do a few up ahead and keep them in the fridge. I used to do that, then I'd put my oil and spices in the pan to reheat it quickly before eating. (I know steak is pricey but if you don't overcook it, it is pretty darn good even at the cheaper end, and one portion is actually often about half what you're buying, you'd have to look that up. Think I used to spend about $7 on "one" but it gave me two meals -- I had to make sure I bought the right weight, more or less, of steak to get the two meals out of it.)

    Mushrooms, tofu, eggs. Chick pea burgers? Could you get a nut or seed butter and put it on something (fruit, bread, cracker -- I used to really like rye + seed crackers, can't remember the brand). Cottage cheese? Cheese is another thing you could add to your meal only or to your snacks. It's often more expensive though.

    Greek yoghurt is great with breakfast or a snack. You can buy flavoured, or you can mix in fruit or a jam (because you could get a "good" jam and choose how much you mix in).

    Could you turn the plain yoghurt into tzatziki? Make your own hummus using chick peas?

    Could you do ground turkey? Could make meatloaf, meatballs, burgers, etc. out of that.

    Sorry that my recs are more protein and less budget oriented. I don't know what your budget is or where you live, so I don't know what is cheap for you.
  • Graceraeg
    Graceraeg Posts: 84 Member
    It is hard because I can't eat a lot of dairy for some reason I get really sick and my son can't eat soy because he gets sick. My husband can't eat dairy or a lot of grains. We mainly do ground turkey, salmon patties, frozen salmon, and chicken. Once in awhile we will have lean cuts of red meat. Lentils are good and the Lentil meatloaf sounds interesting.
  • Graceraeg
    Graceraeg Posts: 84 Member
    My budget is around $130 a week.It adds up quick! I usually try to spend 25-30 on meat. I have to buy almond milk or coconut milk for my husband and I. I get a gallon of whole milk for the kids. I buy bread, eggs, cheese, oatmeal, cereal (usually cheerios), fage yogurt, fresh vegetables and some fruit, lunch meat, canned foods like beans and some veggies, frozen veggies, and school snacks. Those are kuat off the top of my head. Other than that I might get extra whatever we need at the house like maybe coffee, sugar, cream, juice, ketchup, spices, that kind of stuff.
  • UnicornAmanda
    UnicornAmanda Posts: 294 Member
    Tacos or burgers with ground chicken or turkey meat if you dont wanna do red meat. Bbq chicken crockpot melts on rolls is one recipe i found that looks delish.
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