Healthy Eating on a Budget

I eat quorn mince on occasion. Which is still quite nice. Lean turkey mince in my local supermarket is usually one of the cheapest lean meat options. I found smoked salmon half price which was going out of date, you can freeze it so was a bargain! And very high protein. Best to go supermarkets late at night

Beans, lentils, peanut butter, cabbage, potatoes, eggs, frozen and canned fruits and veggies.

Hi Tara, interesting question. Im thinking of starting a blog on this subject.
I live in the Netherlands and my cateringcompany went bankrupt, so I do actually go to get food from a special government place (aka foodstamps). I am very grateful for this food, since it saves me loads of money and Im even more grateful to be able to be extremely creative in the kitchen.
I find the more you make from scratch, the cheaper your meals!

To start of, a no coster which is also perfect for all the leftover as toppings.


!! Pizza!! home made of course.
If you re single, working, have kids, this is for sure my best diet keep on going strong!! The secret: home made

Dough: make a huge batch and stick a part for next meal in the freezer!!
ingredients: 1 bag of flour, little bit of oil, oregano, pinch of salt, some milk (I use powder, 1tbspoon), little sugar (1tsp) 1 little envelope of yeast
Start adding lukewarm water, preferably on top of yeast and start moving your hands and arms. GREAT WORKOUT
The tric: add water if dry or more flour if too moist.
Dough is ready when it doesnt stick to your hands no more.
Put a towel over your dough and leave it alone.

Sauce, of course also homemade!! Make in big quantities and store in fritz and freezer
Fry in little oil a bit of fresh garlic
Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes, tomatoepaste and hot water, stir.
Add salt&pepper
If you have children that dont like fresh food:
this is the moment to add diced onions and bellpeppers
It s also a great way of giving your sauce more volume with vitamines

Toppings:
Anything you like, but be aware:
use as many fresh vegetables as you can and not too many canned stuff
be careful with ham, we like smoked ham, its not as fat
also use fresh pine apple
be careful with too much greasy cheese, that counts for calories.

For one pizza, put some flour on kitchentop and make a small ball from a piece of dough.
You can use an empty wine bottle -DONT YOU DARE TO EMPTY IT YOURSELF!
to roll the dough.
Place on a stoverack with a piece of baking paper (the brown stuff, no foil!!)
Put a big spoonful of sauce, not too thick, cause your dough will stay wet.
Toppings and in your oven.
I preheat on 240C and it needs only 10 minutes!!

Also stick a pizza with just sauce in the oven and put out of the oven fresh salmon, ruccola and
capers on top.

Yammie, enjoy!!

I go grocery shopping once per week. I would always buy 4-5 different veggies for sides. I never ended up using all of them and they went in the trash. Budget wise, you can save money by only purchasing fresh foods you're POSITIVE you'll consume before they go bad, or go shopping multiple times a week. Also, buying frozen or canned (I know some of you won't like the canned suggestion) is a great alternative.

I buy a lot on sale and with a price point in mind when I shop which is generally 1x a week. I buy frozen Birdseye steamers, eggs, low fat Greek yogurt-only ones with no artificial sweeteners, chickenpb, and canned boneless salmon. I eat popcorn as a snack and almonds. I'd have to say I spend 35 a week on myself and I drink only water from my Brita. I'm very frugal. Also, I eat before work. I don't eat out much unless it's a takeout salad from Wendy's or Chik-fil-a because of cost and poor food choices in restaurants. Good luck!

I didn't change what I eat, I changed where I shop.

Aldi is king. Seriously has cut my grocery bill in half (just like they advertise!)

I spend a little time looking at what's on sale in the various supermarket flyers and plan accordingly. I buy extra meat when it's on sale and freeze it. I buy fruits and veggies at a farmer's market in-season and a farmer's outlet off-season.

I know that Asian staples are way cheaper at Asian stores, and stock up at the big one when I'm up that way.

I don't drive all over the county to save 25 cents here and there, but plan ahead and do this logically.

http://www.budgetbytes.com

I learned about this site from MFP. Buy in bulk, buy on sale, and find the recipes afterwards. Beans and lentils, especially from dry, are inexpensive. Learn to make a few basic sauces like spaghetti sauce, salad dressings, and a white sauce. Have fun!

It's also good to check the butcher block for fresh meat prices. For example, the prepackaged chicken breast in my area costs $3-$6 or more per pound. At the butcher block, I get boneless, skinless, chicken breast for $1.69 per pound. They don't even advertise this special.

I also shop the seasonal fruit and veggies, weekly sales, and buy bulk beans, nuts, etc.

These were all helpful. I always thought it was very expesive to eat healthy but honestly, I don't spend more because I eat a smaller amount of food. I also build up the meals accoarding to what's on sale and visit different stores. Eating well on a budget means a lot of creativity.

I always make sure there are beans, canned tomatoes, rice, quinoa, tortillas and pasta in the pantry. Along with some seasonings, whether herbs or seasoning packets.
You can pretty much make anything to go with those or make soups, dips, etc. I do shop weekly but I make sure I'm using my staples too so buying new stuff every week doesn't happen. I tend to get chicken when it is on sale and freeze two breasts together in a ziploc and only thaw when needed. I eat vegetarian several nights a week which cuts down on meat prices

vivmom2014 wrote: »

I didn't change what I eat, I changed where I shop.

Aldi is king. Seriously has cut my grocery bill in half (just like they advertise!)

Yes! I LOVE Aldi! Ours is fantastic, clean, and full of really cost effective organic options. I once did price comparison with a few of our favorite meals (between Aldi, Walmart, and Bi-Lo, which was our local grocery store at the time) and Aldi was lower on EVERY single item by at least 40% and a lot of the items were better quality (meaning, I could pay less there for an organic option than I would pay for conventional at other stores). There are only a handful of items our store doesn't carry.

Try bulk barn (or whatever is similar) for dry goods, you can buy as much or as little as you need.