Groceries?

Vegetables will help you feel like you've had a large meal with low calories. Adding vegetables to your diet is a great way to make it.

Frozen vegetables might be a good option. Any farmers markets near you? Produce co-op's? I live in Wyoming, USA.. cold climate so our Farmers Market doesn't offer much (I'm 1/6 of the market.. it's sad). I grow kale, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, parsley, broccoli, and some carrots. We only get 51 frost-free days here in the mountains. But I grow a garden every year to help with the budget. We are near Idaho, big potato producer. It's easy to get sucked in to comfort food when potatoes are 10 cents a pound and broccoli is $2/lb. Still, our grocery store has amazing weekly sales I can work with.. about every 2 months there is a frozen vegetable sale to where they are about 80 cents a pound for green beans.. and I stock up.

Pumpkins are in season now. Our grocery store has them for 25 cents a pound. I cut the pumpkin in half, scrape it out and bake it until soft. Scrape it out of the shell and let it drain in a strainer for about 4 hours then pack it up into containers and freeze it. Pumpkin is very low calorie. I had about a cup of pumpkin with 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar and cinnamon the other day. Good lunch side.

I figure a pound of vegetables for me a day, 8oz between breakfast and lunch and 8oz for dinner. Which is not currently reflected in my food diary.. I've been bad lately but I'm getting back on board. A pound is what I used to do when I was on my 10 month streak of being good

Broccoli is a favorite vegetable in this house.. unless it gets boiled. A little oil & salt and baking in the oven and the kids want 3rds. I have an overweight kid and he won't eat vegetables at dinner but I'm just finding out if I have the vegetables ready sooner, like as an appetizer, he'll fill up on those before the rest of dinner comes out.

I have a FB group about saving money on groceries where I live. Don't buy junk, don't overbuy fresh things that are going to go to waste. If buying in bulk take care of the food storage right away.

1 egg, 1/2oz cheese, 1 oz ham on half a Thompson 100-calorie english muffin - 200 total calories -- Cost 88 cents each -- A dozen eggs, 6oz of cheese (I prefer shredded for ease), 12oz of sliced deli ham and a package of 100 calorie Thompson English muffins gives me breakfast for 12 days. Local cost: dozen eggs $2.69, 6oz cheese @$3/lb = $1.13, 12oz deli ham @$5/lb = $3.75, package of muffins about $3. So that's $10.57 for 12 days or 88cents a day for breakfast.

Omelet = 333 calories - $1.89 each -- 2 eggs (45 cents), 2oz frozen spinach @$3/lb = 38 cents, 1 oz chopped deli ham 31 cents, 1 oz cheese 25 cents, 4oz broccoli @$2/lb = 50 cents.

Oatmeal = 18 Cents!! - 226 calories -- Make serving size with 1/2 cup dry oatmeal (10 cents when $3 42oz can), 1 tablespoon brown sugar (3 cents when $1/lb), 1/4 cup 2% milk (5 cents when $3/gallon)

Watch for boneless skinless chicken breast for $2/lb and under. Because you are eating less you are going to save money if you watch what you buy and how much you buy.

I suggest writing a meal plan before you go shopping. You may have a lot of foods in the house you can incorporate. For economy's sake when I meal plan I will start with a roast on Sunday then use the meat for several different meals (stews, casseroles, stir fry) throughout the week.

Also for economy's sake, I will typically eat leftovers, salad or soup for lunch the following day.

An inexpensive breakfast can be oats prepared several different ways. Now that it is cold out I prepare a big pot of steel cut oats mixed with Red River cereal, keep it in mason jars for the weak, and heat it with yogurt and dried fruit for breakfast.

You may also incorporate beans/lentils/legumes in to your meals during the week. I always have a variety of dried beans on hand.

The cheapest way to keep vegetables on hand is to buy frozen. There are a few sturdy vegetables like cabbage and carrots that you can have on hand all the time. I find I eat more vegetables if I buy often and eat fresh instead of letting them moulder away in the vegetable drawer.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

I suggest gradually updating your diet one meal at a time instead of trying to reform all of it at once to "healthy". It could be as simple as switching margarine on your toast to peanut butter. Or adding a big side salad to your burger instead of fries or tater tots.