Broke and trying to eat healthy.. Help!
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Also I understand what you mean by having bad food in the house. I had friends in high school who's parents never had a vegetable in the house and that was completely normal for them. Sorry more people on this post don't see your issue. I remember one of my close friends coming to my house to eat all the time because her mother never cooked and they ate out every single night which was making her have stomach issues . Luckily my mom was always willing to feed and hungry mouth lol. So if your in that type of position I can understand completely. If your parents are cooking okay then I say eat less but if they are just bringing in like frozen pizza,cookies, and chips I understand.0
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When I'm in money-saving / budget mode, it's all beans, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggs, chicken, oats, tortillas, and a multi-vitamin. Pretty much nothing in a box, wrapper, or container - that all gets too expensive. I can eat for about 50-60 bucks a month that way for 3 or 4 months before diet fatigue sets in and I need me a frozen pizza and some ice cream.
The .99 cent McDonaldMcDoubleCheese was a pretty good dollar to calorie ratio, as far as fast food goes, but they're no longer 99 cents in most markets.
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Everyone is different, so just poke around the grocery store and look for things that might work for you.
I have had success by cooking large pots of stuff and portioning it out to freeze. Chicken and rice---in my area, a whole chicken is about $6.00 and the rice is super cheap. I can make a week's worth of meals from one pot.
I'll also take frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, maybe a few taters and make a soup/stew and add ground beef or turkey.
Red beans and rice are good, too.
Oh, and collard greens...they smell, but I love them and they are very cheap.
The main thing to remember about losing fat is to cut your calories. It's not necessarily WHAT you eat as much as it is HOW MUCH you eat. If mom and pop are cooking, I say be gracious and accept it, but cut back.
Your finances are your business...you did ask about food. However, I think it's a good idea to avoid the student loans. Now, if you can get out from that car loan you'll really be cookin' with bacon grease.0 -
I'm pretty cheap. I eat a lot of frozen veggies. Also buy cheap Chen and skimp so I can make stir fries whenever. Also lots of beans onions jalapeños. Jarred salsa you could make your own but it is cheaper and tastes better to me. I don't like eggs but they are a good cheap protein. Even cereal is usually a pretty good value especially if on sale.0
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Oh! And air pop popcorn.
Before I got my air popper I used a stovetop pan. You'll need to use a bit of oil, which is 'expensive' calorie-wise, but overall it's a pretty decent snack.0 -
slylittlelover1 wrote: »Also I understand what you mean by having bad food in the house. I had friends in high school who's parents never had a vegetable in the house and that was completely normal for them.
The difference here is HIGH SCHOOL. The OP is a 24 year old, married adult. If she wants vegetables she can find a way to get them. She doesn't have to depend only on the food her mothers chooses.
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I'm married with 2 kids. They all have breakfast and lunch at school for free, but I have to buy my own breakfast and lunch items in addition to our regular grocery budget. Plus, I had to find something quick and easy, or else I wouldn't stick to it. I'm okay with repetition. I shop at Walmart, Costco, and Kroger. Here's what I get for the week:
Breakfast:
1 box regular instant oats $1.99
1 jar hazelnut spread (Nutella is 200 calories/serving, but the Kroger brand is only 160) $3.99
1 jar PB2 $5.99 (at Costco)
Microwave 1 packet instant oats with just enough water to cover the oats. Mix in 2 tbsp hazelnut spread (260 calories) or 2 tbsp PB2 + 3.5 grams sugar (or any other sweetener) (205 calories). The spread and PB2 last for ages, so if you get 3 boxes of oats (36 servings), that's a month's worth of breakfasts for $16.
Snack:
4 lbs of grapes $6.97 (Costco)
Any other fruit or veggie that's on sale $4
I do 2 snacks a day between breakfast/lunch and lunch/dinner, so this gets me through about 2 weeks, so $22/month.
Lunch/Dinner (all from Walmart):
Boneless skinless chicken breast $1.99/lb
Steamer veggies $1.99
Salad dressing (I like the Kraft Raspberry Vinaigrette Light, only 30 cals/serving) $1.99
Mrs. Dash no-sodium seasoning $2.99
Minute brown rice $2.99
Season chicken, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cook 1/2 cup of rice. Pop the bag of veggies in the microwave. 6 oz of chicken, 2 cups of veggies, 2/3 cup of cooked rice, 2 tbsp dressing = 430 calories.
This is obviously the most expensive part. For an entire month of this for lunch and dinner, it's about $120.
So you're looking at about $160/month or $5.25/day. I hope this helps!0 -
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I am an adult, I agree that I am making these choices. No one else is shoving quantities of the "bad" food that exists in my household in my mouth.
None of you have any idea why I am in the situation I am in, and I am not going to give a paragraph long post justifying why I am 24 years old, married, and still living with my parents.
I posted this because I don't know where to start. Thanks for all of the positivity and helpful advice that most of you gave me, I feel more in control now and have great ideas of where to start.0 -
Aldi and Lidl are two supermarkets that I regularly go to, because they are dirt cheap. I'm pretty much living on a budget myself and have gotten so used to it.
The last advice my mother gave me before she passed away last year, was to always have bread and milk, because you can make something out of it.
Get frozen veggies and fruits.
Buy herbs (dill, chives, etc) in bulk and you can freeze them for a certain amount of time. I'm Mauritian (live in the UK), so freezing everything that's cooked is part of my culture lol
Buy the supermarket's own brands - even the cheap, cheap stuff. I have a 1kg bag of Tesco Value porridge at home and that costs 75p. For me it lasts about 3 months.
Meat is always cheap if you buy in bulk, and again, can last you for a long time if you freeze it.
Tinned tomatoes and other tinned pulses, beans and veggies are good staples to have in the cupboard. You can make a lovely curry with tinned tomatoes, some meat and some herbs and spices all thrown into the pot.
Buy rice, potatoes and pasta in bulk.
Try and cook dinners to last a few days. I get about 4-5 days' dinners out of the things I cook. Just finished my last portion of spaghetti bolognese tonight!
Hope this helps
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Another thought if your parents don't already own one is decent rice cooker. You have to be a little careful with the calories and carbs but you can make a lot of really simple, really tasty rice dishes for very cheap. You can cook lots of things in a rice cooker especially if you get one with a slow-cooker function. We make lots of cheap and healthy soups and stews in ours. Ours cost about $45 dollars but it is big enough for a family of four.0
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You might try suggesting to your parents that you'd like to learn how to cook since you aren't going to be relying on your mom to cook for you forever. Then cook a few meals a week if they'll agree to get the items you request on the shopping list.
DON'T talk about how what you intend to cook is 'healthy' if they are resistant to the concept. Healthy food can be delicious, so just tell them you are trying new recipes that look yummy. For recipes that are both healthy and tasty, I love budgetbytes.com/
If money is really a significant concern, then check for recipes that the budgetbytes blogger developed in response to the SNAP challenge (a challenge last year to create healthy recipes on a food stamp budget).
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Frozen vegetables and bulk meats. Eggs, oatmeal. Save up a little money and get a crock pot and rice cooker. You can make so many meals with very little ingredients.0
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Also, have you talked to your parents about your goals? I always feel so sad when someone says their parents don't support their healthy lifestyle. I am a parent, and I would LOVE it if my kids came to me and wanted to eat better. So I never really understand why a parent wouldn't be supportive?
Rotten people have kids, too.
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When I'm broke I eat a lot of rice, beans, lentils and veggies. Throw some spices or hot sauce on it and it's actually pretty good.0
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Growing up, I didn't have a ton of fruits and veggies in the house; my mom said that they were too expensive and I would eat them all in one sitting. However, we had junk food around all the time.
The upshot, now given a choice between fruit and candy, I'll pig out on fruits and veggies, so I have less temptation to be "bad". So your parents eating habits might work out in your favour.0 -
It's never too late to learn how to cook. Learning to cook in my late teens, early twenties is saving me a ton of money now! I eat oatmeal every morning. The tub of oats I bough is good for 30 servings was $2.50 (8 cents a serving). I add some sliced almonds, coconut, and whatever fruit is on sale. Keeps me full, and good source of fiber. I also saw a suggestion on here to add a little cheese and hot sauce (almost like grits) which sounds delicious if you arent a "sweet breakfast" kind of person.
I am a big proponent of meal-prepping. I make my lunches and dinners for Monday-Friday on sunday night. Then I pre-log everything and that keeps me on track. You can make it as simple or complex as you like. One week, Winco (the store I shop at) had rotisserie chickens on sale for $4 each. I bought 2, made chicken salad for lunches (on a bed of greens) and made some brown rice and steamed veggies to eat with the chicken for dinner. I keep my food budget as low as I can. Meat is the biggest food expense for me, but if you can learn how to cook leaner/tougher cuts of meats, you can save even more money.0 -
Also, learning what produce is in season will help you save money, as it is more abundant and will cost less (IE: Cherries are $.98/lb right now, but in another month they will be $3.99/lb). The produce guys at your local supermarket will be able to assist you0
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you can always find frozen veggies like peas and corn and lima beans, spinach etc and make some brown rice and mix it together and have some chicken you got on sale.
and to others that keep bashing her because shes 24 and married and "blaming her parents." I don't really see her blaming her parents. she is asking for cheap healthy foods because she is on a budget and its hard for her because she doesn't have money to waste. She is living in an environment where there is bad food. you don't know if her parents are eating ice cream and sausage cookies every meal. We all know there are lots of high caloric foods that aren't very filling and then hunger sets in and you eat more.
Stop judging.0
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