Eating Well on a BUDGET???

I buy in bulk-Rice, beans etc they are cheaper this way and a lot less sodium than canned foods. Also frozen veggies are not too $$ and last longer then the fresh ones if you know its something that won't be used up completely right away. I just watch for sales on fruits and veggies.

Don't forget soups. You can buy dried beans and vegetables in bulk, make soups or stews, and freeze into portions to thaw as you need.

What other things are you spending money on? You really don't need much past the basics.

My wife and I had this conversation on saturday, we are trying to get good and went to Whole Foods here and it would be impossible to feed a family of 4 shopping just there (meat was TWICE as much). So we are doing some hard thinking of things we can replace in our normal diet for less processed, starting trying to grow some of our fruit and veggies and think what can we make ourselves (pasta and bread), but its goign to be an uphil struggle, its so much cheaper to just buy food in a box.

I use alot of frozen veggies. Cheaper than fresh, and I can stock up on them when I have coupons and when they go on sale. That way I always have veggies, and I never waste because something went bad (which is just throwing money away). Usually, the leaner cuts of meat that I buy now are cheaper than the fattier ones I was buying before (sirloin steak vs. ribeyes). I only shop for two so it's a bit different.

ohh yes... this is a problem for me as well! Eating healthy is expensive....


i buy meat and fish in bulk, then get home and parcel them out into smaller portions.

Go for fruits and eggies that are in season... they'll be cheaper.

Plan meals weekly, basing what you'll have that week by whats on sale. Try even frozen or canned veggies/fruit (rinsing 1st to eliminate the syrup or sodium). Even though they're canned or frozen its still better than not eating them at all. Make dishes that spread out (for examples lasagna can be healthy, packed full of different kinds of veggies - mushrroms, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, ect..., and making one large dish can be leftovers for the next day or frozen for a later meal) Just some ideas!

Here are some ideas from WebMD

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars

First, I think its awesome you go to the farmers market. That is my ONE biggest piece of feedback for people trying to save money. It sounds like your market only had produce vendors? For meats, try going to your local butcher. The bigger/more meat you buy, the better a discount the butcher will give you. When you get home, spend a little time trimming, cutting, dicing (whichever you want to do) keep out what you need for the week in the frig and put the rest in the freezer. This saves A LOT of money because buying in bulk, while expensive 'at first' in the long run means you have to buy less frequently therefore, spending less money. Butchers also have great specials on meats (lean meat at that), so keep an eye out for those.

Also, when you do go to the local grocery store (sometimes you just have to >.<) buy everything like rice, beans, lentils, pasta etc in bulk. Same concept as above. Sometimes, the more you buy, the better the ending cost.

Struggling with this as well. For my weight loss, I try to start the day with a slice of lemon (50 cents) in warm 8 oz. water and 8 oz. green tea with breakfast. This is cheap and filling, the lemon helps start the digestion process in your body. I usually go through 2 1/2 lemons a week (about 3 slices per lemon). And green tea at every meal, for fillers. Green tea has the antioxidants that help prevent grey hair so soon. Hope this helps.

I eat beans for lunch almost everyday because they are cheap and have a good protein/carb ratio. I also eat peanut butter almost every morning for the same reason. Buy veggies in season / on sale and frozen stuff I also use a site called Iheartpublix that matches coupon to the sale adds - maybe you could google to see if their is a site like this for a store near you.

The thing that I've noticed since I started this is. Things are not as expensive as I thought they were once you get portion ccontrol down. Before I could eat a whole steak on my own . Now that same steak feeds my whole family.

Don't forget soups. You can buy dried beans and vegetables in bulk, make soups or stews, and freeze into portions to thaw as you need.

What other things are you spending money on? You really don't need much past the basics.

Just the basics like bread, meats, eggs, Milk, Cheese, rice, etc. The milk is almost $5 here. I also have to get snacks for school, etc.

WOW, you need to take cammons suggestion and do a pricing spree. I buy organic hormone free milk for about $4 a gallon!

Get your best prices, buy in bulk, shop the specials and FREEZE.

I agree with the dried bulk beans, rice, pasta, oats, and other items. It seems like it would take longer and not be worth the hastle, but really they are easy to prepare, you just let them cook, dont have to do much while they are cooking.
And like others said, you control the sodium and other ingredients.

I used to buy things in serving sized portions, but now I find that if I buy the large containers and seperate it myself, I can control the serving size and its cheaper. Instead of string cheese, I buy a block of mozzerella cheese and cut it into 1oz strips and wrap them in plastic wrap, buy a large tub of yogurt and seperate it into half cup containers, make a pot of oatmeal instead of the individual packs, when buying snacks I try to seperate them before eating out of the huge bag. This helps the items to last longer because you are not mindlessly snacking out of a big bag and saves cals and makes it easy when eating during the day.

It is hard but you can do it!! I would also watch what is served at school lunches. As an educator, I unfortunately know that school lunches are usually quick and unhealthy bulk meals. Check them out and see if there is an alternative that you could pack the kiddos that would be the same price if they are not healthy at the school.

Remember that water is free (or close to it) so don't spend your grocery money on other beverages, except if you are like me you will cut something else out to get good coffee

Good luck on your journey for you and your family :flowerforyou:

We buy fruits and veggies through the www.bountifulbaskets.org co-op! In our area, it is every other week and it's $15 for a small laundry hamper full of fruits and veggies or $25 for all organic. It has been a HUGE money saver for us!

I'm going to weigh in here even though there are just two of us but we live on our social security, and I have 50-years of experience in feeding a family of six!

Several people mentioned Aldi and it is my favorite place to shop. You won't find 20 varieties in 5 sizes of anything. One variety, one size, but that is how they can offer things at the prices they do. They have a line called Fit and Active. If available, I'll spend a few pennies more to purchase things that are reduced fat, sugar, etc. The biggest bargain there is milk - $2.54 for a gallon of skim in our area. Maybe 20 cents more for 2%. Second would have to be dry cereals. If your kids insist on name brands, buy it once, save the outer box. Then replace the inner bag with the Millville brand (Aldi). Cherios, Chex, Rice Crispies, Raisen Bran, etc. all available for as much as $2.00 less a box.

Aldi has whole, frozen chicken for around 85 cents a pound. I buy four at a crack, thaw and roast all at once. Then I save the pan drippings, discard the skin, separate the meat from the bone and package. Some of the breasts are left whole and packed two to a bag. Dark meat is usually cut into chunks and packed in one pound bags. When done with that, the carcasses and the pan drippings go into a big kettle with water (enough to cover all), and I cook that until the bones are almost soft. Strain and cool the broth. Last, skim and discard the fat and package in two to four cup containers. It will be my base for soups, stews, gravies, etc. No added sodium. This gives me enough meat for many meals. The breast meat can be sliced for sandwiches (hint - slice when it is partly frozen) or served whole as an entree. The dark meat goes into casseroles, stir fry, soup, stews, etc.

I also shop for bulk food at a natural foods store. I buy brown rice, quick oats, cinnamon, raw almonds, etc. all at a huge savings over the packaged brands.

The bread I buy is from a bread outlet store. Here it is Sara Lee. In other parts of the country it may be the Wonder Bread brand. Sara Lee "Delightful" 45-calorie multi-grain bread is a dollar a loaf (sometimes less). In the store it is over $3 a loaf. I used to bake my own bread but I discovered we ate a lot more of it because it was so darned good. The Delightful bread is palatable, but not so good you'll eat it just for the sake of eating it.

I buy lean ground beef in bulk and package it in 3/4 pound packages. Really, in spaghetti sauce who will know if there was a pound or a half pound of meat. Same with chili, sloppy joe, etc. You get one extra meal per four pounds.

Buy a whole chuck roast and cut it into chunks for stew meat. Never could figure out why they charge an extra 30 cents a pound for cutting it up. Same thing with ground beef, buy in bulk and make your own patties (5 to a pound, instead of quarter pounders). No hot dogs, no bolonga, no sausage, nothing processed and packaged.

I could go on and on but trust me - it can be done. And use COUPONS where you can.