Healthy food, yet cheap????

I live on a budget too. I have 4 kids and a hubby. I try to think of it as what my usual bill would be then spend that on healthy food. Take fruit if its out of season buy the frozen kind, veggies too ya its not totally the same but better then a snickers!? I also try to make up meals so when I am hungry I dont just reach for the sweets or fatty stuff, I love the little Veggie trays at city market like carrots apples cheese and nuts. I grab peanut butter and thats my lunch.

Try the P3 Protein Snacks by Oscar Mayer, low fat, low carb high protein. That helps me when I am doing my Event Security jobs and have like 5 minutes on break.

Look at the supermarket circulars! I eat on a budget myself and almost everything I buy when grocery shopping, is on sale. I try to use as much coupons as I can as well. Think of what you really like--not just generic, healthy food in general.

Healthy foods can actually be cheaper than junk and fast food as long as you cook it yourself. Get a big bag of rice, some broccoli and frozen chicken and you have meals for weeks. Check what's on sale at the grocery store. It sounds like your taste buds have been somewhat desensitized by junk food. Once you start eating fruits and veggies daily and quit with the packaged and fast food your taste buds will change. You can also google how to shop healthy on a budget. The real key is to cook everything yourself. I eat string cheese, yogurt and fruit, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs ect. as a snack. The more protein, the more filling. You should read about how protein, fat and fiber help make you feel full then create a snack with a mixture of these things.

I find it a lot less expensive to buy produce and fresh meat than buying pre-packed foods or pre-made meals, but that may just be a geographical thing. Frozen foods are expensive here, I find anyway. I only buy whole, fresh foods as a personal preference, because I cook a lot and prefer the taste. Here are some of my tips for affordable and effective grocery shopping:

Buy in season produce. Freeze produce you won't finish as it starts going off. If you're throwing out food, you are not shopping effectively.

Check flyers, and plan meals around what is on sale. Having meal plans and a grocery list is key to grocery shopping, especially for keeping costs down. Avoid buying what you don't really need. Meals that can be made in bulk and sealed in jars or frozen are great (think pasta sauces, soups, stews, and even some salads).

Shop at a grocery store that price matches if possible. I have a flyer app on my phone and price match at my local grocery store with ease. I check all local grocery chains.

When meats and bread go on sale at a really good price, stock up. Individually wrap each piece of meat, or portion you most often use, and put those in a large ziplock back so that they stay fresh longer, and avoid freezer burn.

When anything else you use often that has a long or infinite shelf life goes on sale at a really good price, stock up on that too, especially if it's something that is normally pricey, like olive oil.

Check the volume or weight on packaged items you buy. Sometimes it's not a better deal to buy the bigger package, even the same product that comes in two sizes. I have a business degree in marketing, so please trust me on this one.

Also, some people don't know this, but if something is 2 for $5, you don't have to buy 2. 1 is $2.50, unless specified in small print on the sign or in the flyer. That's also a marketing tactic.

Lastly, find a good, local butcher. Some items, like ground beef, are going to be infinitely less expensive by the pound from a butcher than in the little packs they have at grocery chains. Butchers also tend to have better deals because they don't buy meat in as high of volume as grocery chains, and are less OK with throwing it away (as it greater affects their bottom line) so they will mark it down when they need to rotate product. You can also get better cuts of meat.

freethetrees wrote: »

Look at the supermarket circulars! I eat on a budget myself and almost everything I buy when grocery shopping, is on sale. I try to use as much coupons as I can as well. Think of what you really like--not just generic, healthy food in general.

I do the same. I'll only buy 2 avacodos on non-sale weeks, but on sale week? 5-6. Bananas on sale? Oh hell yes. Is that broccoli with a 2-for-1 deal today? GIMME. Ooooh, 2 cukes for a Dollar. DOLLAR SPENT. It's easy and not terribly expensive, saves a lot esspecially on expensive fruits and berries to only aim for sales days. Usually that's when they're in season anyway. And the sales rotate enough that you'll be able to get something different next week.

First off "healthy" snack bars/crisp type things are terrible anyway.

But seriously prep is the key! Look up Dump Chicken on Pinterest. I made 11 healthy chicken meals in one go on Friday all I. The fridge/freezer and ready to be stuck in the oven to heat up. I got the chicken fillets from the Butchers in bulk but you can also get the same price chicken on Muscle Food website if in UK - works out so much cheaper. Cook a big batch of brown rice to keep in fridge. Use mostly frozen fruit and veg or again if in UK Aldi is fantastic for fruit and veg.

Our first time prepping meals in advance like this - prior to this we bought either plain chicken fillets from supermarket or ones in the little trays with different flavours on them and we bought microwaveable brown rice. Our food shop went from around £120 normally to £45 including the chicken from the butchers (for a week).

Healthier, tastier food and just needs heating on the day so easy too, and best of all we saved enough to go for an amazing treat meal at weekend! X

honeybee_kisses wrote: »

I dont understand people who say it's cheaper, when my partner and I both lost our jobs within a couple months of each other a few years back we had to stock up on freezer food such as chips, nuggets and fish fingers as it was all we could afford to feed ourselves and the kids. £12 for a whole week.

I think it depends on your geographical location. Where I live, frozen and prepared foods cost more. A small box of frozen battered fish or chicken that would feed my boyfriend and I for one meal costs $8-12, whereas we could buy a whole, fresh chicken for a few dollars a lb, and have that feed us for a whole week. Even those big frozen bags of unpalatable chicken burgers for $10, I could buy a lb of ground chicken for $3 and make 4 4-oz chicken burgers (without the breading), so for $9 I could make 12, which is about how many are in those big bags. For fries, sure, we could buy a big bag of fries for $2. We could also buy a 10 lb bag of potatoes for $2. Throw in a 3 lb bag of carrots and a 3 lb bag of onions for under $3 something combined and we're eating like kings.

First off avoid buying foods labelled "healthy". You'll end paying several dollars more for a label.

Minimize buying produce that is out of season. Buy in season and check out local farm markets.

Shop your sales flyers. Have your fav local grocers mail you their circulars or check them out online. Plan your meals for the week on what's on sale.

Go to the website of manufacturers of some of your favorite products and request coupons and special offers. Some supermarkets may even offer to double the coupons.

In all honesty saying its too expensive to eat healthy is a cop out. Its not. Often its cheaper if you shop smart and prepare meals at home. I think the biggest hurtle is finding the time to prepare healthy meals. It takes a little time to adjust and develop a routine and giving yourself some time to develop new skills in cooking. Youtube and the web in general is a great resource.

HTH