Shopping healthy on a poor man's budget

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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I have no clue, actually. I am struggling financially but the things I love are so expensive and I just buy them anyway. I spent at least 100 bucks a week on food for just myself. Maybe this thread will give me some ideas too.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    What did you buy with that $80/week? I think Aldi's has some good stuff. My wife loves to buy the fruits there. I'm a simple guy so I just need some meat, fruits, and vegetables. Everything else is a filler.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    If you're from the St. Louis area, I would also keep an eye on Schnucks ads. I know they can be pretty expensive on a lot of stuff, but they have pretty good sales sometimes (the one here in Evansville last week was offering Greek yogurt for $.77, for instance). They have double or triple coupon days every once in awhile, which is a great time to stock up! I also tend to find bags of bananas at mine for $1.50 or so, and seasonal produce can be fairly reasonable.
  • RBracken34
    RBracken34 Posts: 90 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    What DID you buy? Healthy food is usually very cheap, and you don't have to get any fancy stuff, special herbs, organic etc. .
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Don't buy more than you can eat before it spoils. Learn how to cook. If needed, google recipes for dishes you like. Cooking yourself instead of outsourcing will almost always be cheaper, tastier and healthier.

    ^^^^THIS! I have saved more money than ever now that I eat healthy, whole foods (and less food altogether) and don't order pizza, eat fast food, or overeat at restsurants regularly.

    Like... enough to book two vacations (one halfway across the world) for both of us this year. Seriously. (I'm kind of grossed out by how much money I used to spend on crap food.)
  • bcruz313
    bcruz313 Posts: 56 Member
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    panhandle8 wrote: »
    Fresh Thyme is the same company as Sprouts.

    I think Sprouts has the best deals on produce and it is good quality. With that said, I typically shop at Kroger but last grocery shopping decided I was not buying junk and did my full grocery shopping at Sprouts. Didn't even use coupons like I usually do at Kroger and spent between $30- $50 less.

    You can buy healthy foods from anywhere though. Stick to the perimeter rather than the aisles.

    Good luck!

  • tjsoccermom
    tjsoccermom Posts: 500 Member
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    The Aldi by me has a great selection of produce, and their everyday prices are usually less than the sale prices at Kroger. When they have sales on veggies, then that's what I eat in salads that week or if it's something I can cook and freeze I try to do that. Meat isn't always priced as well but I usually buy what's on sale and freeze it from other stores. Luckily, our Kroger has had boneless skinless breast for 1.99 lb for a long time now. I have to shop more often now because veggies and fruit go bad but I don't know that I'm spending more in the long run. I do still buy some processed foods for lunches for kids but over all I don't buy much. I also use my crock pot and cook things I can freeze extras of for my lunch or dinners on the go. It does take preplanning and is more work but it's worth it in the end. In fact, my daughter recently complained that I hadn't cooked some meals in a while (life was hectic!) and she missed it. Didn't like eating cans of soup. I appreciated it!
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    I shop at Aldi, for about the same weekly budget as you and feed a family of five. You don't need to change where you shop. Aldi has a great selection of economical 'healthy' foods. Dried beans, lentils, split peas. Canned beans, great produce. Heck, I even get organic soy milk there. The only things I don't buy at Aldi are my 'weird vegan foods' like Vegenaise, nutritional yeast, tofu, and Boca burgers.

    Yup, but my aldi sometimes sells boca (just bought them today, or their brand veggie burgers. I can easily spend $40/week for a family of 3!

    Oh, and for a gluten free budget - we buy a lot of romaine/cabbage for wraps, zucchini/squash for noodles, and aldi's brand corn chex to blitz with spices for homemade breadcrumbs.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    The aldi gluten free line (live G free) is VERY VERY good. Its quite possibly the best tasting gluten free items I have ever had...and its SOO SOO much cheaper than the other brands at regular grocery stores.

    My suggestion on transitioning to gluten free foods is - DONT DO IT. I don't mean continue to consume gluten, but don't tansition to the "gluten free version" of foods you already buy and eat. Learn to eat foods that naturally do not contain gluten (for the most part). Its SOO much cheaper.

    Sit down and write out a list of 5 meals that the family enjoys, that are naturally gluten free and cheap. Rotate those meals, adding new ones as you discover them, until you have a good solid collection of cheap, easy to prepare and gluten free meals to rotate.

    In our house - our favorite gluten free, cheap and easy meals are:

    polish sausage and broccoli (slice 1 polish per person and saute in water until heated through, dump in a bunch of frozen broccoli, cover and steam until done. Drain off excess water and then top with a handful of shredded cheese. cover until melted and serve - takes less than 15 minutes from freezer to table).

    grilled chicken and cauliflower. Just season a chicken breast with s&p, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan and add chicken. cook until golden brown. Steam frozen cauliflower in the microwave. This can be done in thousands of ways...just add a seasoning blend (taco, italian, lemon pepper, curry, etc...) and you have a new meal!

    Minute steaks (just thin steaks that cook in 1 minute), with green beans (steam fresh green beans in a shallow covered pan. when tender crisp drain excess water and add a bit of butter. sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning over them and serve.

    Beef and rice - brown 1# ground beef in a pan with a small chopped onion and some garlic. drain excess fat. Dump in 1 cup uncooked rice and 2c water. sprinkle on chicken bullion and cover until boiling. turn heat off and allow rice to cook for 15 minutes before serving

    tacos with corn tortillas and rice.


    I feed 6 people and 1 dog (budget includes EVERYTHING - all HBA, toilet paper, paper goods, all food, and pet supplies) on $500 a month - easily. I'm in N IL (sw Chicago burb). In all honesty, I could cut it back to $350/$400 without too much difficulty - only buy on sale. Make a meal plan and stick to it.
  • datsundriver87
    datsundriver87 Posts: 186 Member
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    I've lost 65 pounds eating almost nothing but oatmeal for breakfast, turkey and cheese for lunch, and canned vegetables with TV dinners for dinner, not necessarily for the same reason, but because they are easy and quick. I am now a strong believer that macronutrients and organic stuff is not nearly as important as portion control and eating low calorie items. There are plenty of those out there for very low cost
  • southcitystudio
    southcitystudio Posts: 627 Member
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    Frozen veggies, lentils, brown rice, dried beans, and ground turkey is cheap! Also, keep an eye on places like Big Lots and The Dollar Tree for snacks, canned goods, and spices. I am St. Louis. I really like Sav-a-Lot also.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    There is no scientific evidence that gluten-free diets help autism.

    http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/special-diets-do-not-work-for-autism/

    Also, there is no scientific evidence that organic food is any healthier than non-organic.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlqk8oV1FVI

    With a child, and an autistic one at that, you've got enough to worry about without wasting precious money on unnecessary and expensive food. Hope this information saves you a great deal of worry and expense. Kind regards
  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    Keep an eye out for sales at the grocery store!!! When they have to get rid of stuff before it hits the Sell By date, they drop the price. Take it home, freeze it - cheap food! Mone of the stores here is forever putting pork and turkey on sale. I actually wait until the sales and the buy it up. :)

    Great tip! Last week I got a big pack of chicken thighs (we use thighs every week for Taco Tuesday) for .59 cents a pound. They're usually $1.49 or $.99 on sale. I broke the packet into meal sized portions then froze as soon as I got home. There were enough in the pack for 3 meals.
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Use bleach and Bar Keeper's Friend to clean. You'll save a fortune on cleaning supplies and can use it to buy food. I always crack up at how Bar Keeper's Friend is found in more poor homes and rich homes than middle class ones. The poor have figured out that it woks well and is cheap and the rich use it on the All-Clad pots and pans and find out how well it works. :)
    My favorite cleaner for the bathroom is white vinegar mixed half and half with blue dawn dish soap in a spray bottle. That stuff cuts through soap scum better than anything I've ever used and is cheap.
  • demoiselle2014
    demoiselle2014 Posts: 474 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Just remember that food can go bad when frozen, it's just much, much slower.

    My husband and I have saved money quite successfully by getting a Costco membership. We buy soaps and similar necessities in large amounts, same with food staples. You can get fruits and veggies there at a very good price, though of course it's a waste if you don't cook and eat them before they go bad. It's also a good place to get chicken or fish in bulk (the chicken often comes individually wrapped, while the salmon comes in big slabs that we'd slice and wrap into individual portions, then freeze).

    If you go that route, be prepared for an expensive shopping trip every couple months. However, if you have those goods in the freezer, you can probably do the rest of your shopping at Aldi's even more economically.

    ETA: It may not be viable in OP's region, but in an urban area like mine it is possible to save a lot of money by going to an ethnic supermarket rather than the local grocery store. We'll go several subway stops away together on weekends and stock up at the Asian market, where we can get veggies and fish for much less than at our neighborhood store.

    When we were budgeting really tightly, we were feeding two adults for $50 per week in NYC.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,592 Member
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    im not going to pretend to know what the prices are where you are and what type of resources & situation you have soo

    i will just say what i like to live on cheaply and see if it helps you
    brown rice
    dried beans & lentils
    potatoes ... i live on potatoes
    corn
    bulk salsa
    frozen mixed vegetables, frozen spinach
    frozen fruit
    cheap fruits like apples,bananas,prunes I only buy other fruits when they are in season and on sale
    applesauce
    broccoli,cabbage,mushrooms,turnips,beets
    peanut butter
    oatmeal
    dice tomatoes,crushed tomatoes
    whole wheat wraps

    always pay attention to sales and stock up when you can
  • unrelentingminx
    unrelentingminx Posts: 231 Member
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    I have a cupboard of essentials such as pasta, tinned tomatoes, rice etc that are cheap and keep for ages. For my weekly fresh shop I plan all my meals for the week and only buy the specific things I need for those meals. Except meat cuts which I buy in bulk and freeze in single portions to defrost as I need them. A couple of times a month I will do a batch cook and freeze in individual portions so that they are ready at a moment's notice.

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