Eating well with no money
tonkacrew3
Posts: 51 Member
Does anyone else have trouble eating fruits and veggies due to a severe lack of money? What do you do to stay on track and on budget?
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Replies
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I love these discussions as I was poor once. I was good at stretching the dollar.
Sometimes frozen is cheaper. And you don't have to worry about it going bad.
To build a kitty when there is a severe lack of money, find a big saving and put aside the money you saved for the next big deal. Buy in bulk and on sale. This past month I've been collecting meats with 50% off stickers and thrown them in the freezer as soon as I got home.
I don't buy expired veggies and fruits. I buy in small amounts, as fresh as I can find, in season and on sale. I did buy a big bag of onions and caramelised the entire thing in my slow cooker.
The sturdy vegetables are all the root vegetables and cabbages.5 -
Frozen. Buy at the second tier grocers and buy frozen.3
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Have you a food bank nearby?2
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Me, frozen vegetables, and the microwave have become best of friends these days.3
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Even canned is fine if you can find it cheaper. This is one of the reasons I get so pissed off at the rarified organic crowd. Find a source that is cheap. That's all you need.2
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In most rural areas you'll find a small fruit and vegetable stand. Much cheaper than a supermarket.3
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Grocery salvage has been a God send. I bought a months worth of food for a family of 4, organic meals, meats, gourmet cheeses, fruits and veggies, snacks, cereals, juices etc. for 90 dollars... Look and see if there is one in your area! Other things are learning stores days and where they put specials and mark downs. I can get a bag of organic apples for 99 cents, or 6 lbs of chicken for 49 cents a lb. Stuff like that. Yes, freezer is your friend! Also, food banks can be very helpful. Good luck!3
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Way back in the day, I was on foodstamps.
They cover vegetable seeds, and it doesn't take too much effort to put in a small garden or a little container garden. I ended up growing some basics - leafy greens (collards are nearly impossible to kill), tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash. That would round out our meals quite nicely. Years past foodstamp level poverty (now lower middle class poverty - lol), I still keep a garden going with fresh veggies.
I also bought a lot of fruits and veggies frozen, and loved the "damaged" produce at the supermarket. They'd sell little bags (5 - 10 pieces of fruit) for $1 due to damaged, misshapen, miscolored, or undersized goods. Easy way to grab some apples and bananas and such.9 -
2011rocket3touring wrote: »In most rural areas you'll find a small fruit and vegetable stand. Much cheaper than a supermarket.
To add onto this, the folks you see selling bags of apples / beans / potatoes / oranges on the side of the road are typically offering a serious steal over supermarket prices. Pull over and buy some when you can.3 -
We often buy veggies and fruits frozen.
Cheap fresh veggies include cabbage, onions, apples.
Depending on where you live, some fresh fruits are coming in season and will be on sale.
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My favorite foods are garbanzo beans, lentils, eggs.1 -
Carrots, celery, radishes, cabbage, apples, oranges etc all stay fresh for a very long time when refrigerated.
Buy dried beans, rice and lentils, inexpensive and make a lot. Frozen fruit and vegetables are a good choice as well.
I have been at this for over 4 years and have found I save quite a bit of money now on food. Shop sales. I buy in bulk, cook large quantities and freeze individual portions for later. Prep on weekends. It takes more time, but is definitely cheaper this way. You just have to make the time. I work very long hours M-F and some weekends, 45 minute commute one way and go to the gym everyday. Rarely go to restaurants or fast food any more. It doesn't have to be more expensive.3 -
If you don't have any money, you'll starve. But if you have some money, spend them on cheap real food ingredients and cook your own food, instead of on convenience food. Yes, this means that you have to plan your meals, to look for cheap and nutritious foods, and to cook.
Cheap real foods include, but are not limited to: Eggs, chicken, pork, tuna, milk, oatmeal, oil, butter, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, fruit and berries, canned beans and tomatoes, fruit and vegetables in season (you DON'T buy "fresh" strawberries in January), all-year sturdy fruit and vegetables (apples, oranges, bananas, potato, sweet potato, cabbage, broccoli, cucumber), rice, pasta, dried beans and lentils. Look for store brands and sales, but also look at unit price. Buy as large quantities you can, if the price is right, and if you can store it properly. Build up a collection of different grains, spices, legumes, theres are versatile and keep for a long time.
Cheap real foods does NOT include "health food", "organic", high-end, name brand, wild-caught, "low fat" or "diet" food, bottled water, protein bars, meal replacements, juices. Buy precut/washed/small quantities when/if it really saves you money (if it spoils, it goes to waste, it's money down the drain).
Do not feel compelled to create complicated dishes with lots of fancy ingredients. You can use any recipe you want, from any source - as long as the dish is made from real food ingredients, and prepared properly, it will be healthy. Most ingredients can also be substituted or left out. Learn the basics of cooking (they aren't difficult). Buy and cook food you like, because it's important that you eat it up. Anything you have to throw out, is money you've lost. But also be kind to yourself, and forgiving, as you are learning life skills.11 -
Not sure where you live, do you have 99cent stores around? They have a lot of fruit, veggies, bread, spices, condiments etc.4
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Thanks to all of you! I really appreciate the responses. I will try and apply all I can and continue to lose weight. ☺ I lost nearly 60 pounds already (before I joined this app). I just need to keep going.15
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Congratz on the weight loss so far! Really good responses here. I eat cheaply myself, almost always. Would just add priorities to keep in mind:
1. make sure your calories are coming in right for your plan
2. get your macros as close as possible. ie: a. enough protein, b. plenty of fat
3. don't sweat the rest. If you get those two locked in, you can reach any body goal and be healthy.2 -
That is incredible! I grew up on welfare so my mom just felt lucky enough to feed a family of 3 on it. Now I'm a SAHM so we're a single income and my husband doesn't make that much but we make food out priority. I think the first thing is to get out of the mind set that healthy is expensive. You hear it everywhere but it's simply isn't true. Do you have to be more creative? Yes. Do you have to do the leg work and plan ahead? Definitely. But you have to do that stuff anyway when money is tight! I like the food bank ideA a lot . My church grows organic food and hands it out at the food bank! Congrats on chising your health and the health of your family!4
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queenliz99 wrote: »Have you a food bank nearby?
From experience, food banks generally don't have healthy fare on hand. I always got a lot of mac n cheese, dry cereal, hot dogs...
However, if you get food stamps, you can actually use them to purchase food bearing trees a, plants, and seeds. You can grow tomatoes pretty easily, strawberries, lettuce and spinach.
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I price match a lot, and shop at a low budget grocery store.
I stock up on meat that is expiring soon, and have a freezer full. One thing I love to do is get a pound of ground meat (turkey, beef, or beef/pork blend - whatever is cheapest at the time), 2 cans kidney beans, 2 cans black beans, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 package mushrooms, and 2 packets chili mix. This makes a crazy amount of chili, that I simmer in my slow cooker and freeze in portions.
On weeks where it's more famine than feast, I buy only produce that is on sale. Otherwise, frozen does the trick. I bought a metal strainer with a handle at the dollar store, and it makes a great steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Frozen veg steams up great in it.
Rice is another good one. A huge bag of jasmine rice on sale costs me around $9.88 and lasts 6months or more in my house.
Canned tuna when it goes down to $0.97 a can.
Just snagged 8 chicken drumsticks for $3.50 on sale. My grocery store had too many frozen turkeys after xmas, and I got one for $4. Beef roasts are cheap on sale. Small pork tenderloins are sometimes less than $2. The key is to stock up BEFORE you need it.2 -
check out store loyalty programs too. this week i get $5 worth of free berries when I spend $10 before tax. The bagged store brand frozen veggies, mixed, green beans, broccoli, etc. are on sale for $.79 a bag (9-12oz). Pork tenderloin is $1.99/lb so I know what I will be having at least once this week.1
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Bags of potatoes and carrots are cheap.
Apples and oranges.
Get the carrots w the skin still on, much cheaper than peeled and cut carrots.
Frozen peas and frozen corn are cheap and easy to microwave and taste good.
Tofu is $1.99 for a 1lb block
Lettuce is cheaper whole and not pre washed in the bag.
Dry beans are great cooked and eaten alone or added in a huge soup.1 -
cheapveg.tumblr.com/post/132897154983/recipes-for-a-southern-sunday-after-re-watching
There's a good idea in this person's blog: go to a farmer's market when it is close to closing time and you can haggle down prices on fresh produce.1 -
Soup can be your number one friend. Make broth by simmering small piece if meat or cook ground turkey/ beef.....as long as you like with water covering the meat. Amounts are up to you. Seasonings ditto. Add what you like. Mine has onion,celery & canned tomatoes with juice or tomato soup or juice.Shredded cabbage,diced.....fresh,frozen or drained veggies from cans. I don't use broccoli in soup.....the gray color is yuck
Dice a couple potatoes if you have them,or just include mixed veggies canned or frozen.
Taste as you go....S&P,tbl of sugar.....what ever seasoning you have & like. You can find seasonings & canned/ frozen veggies at Dollar Tree.The more veggies the better.Easy to freeze,will keep in fridge for several days.Tasty,good for you & cheap.1 -
If you're on EBT, some states (I know MA does) run programs where you can use EBT at select farmers market stands. Other than that, definitely frozen gives you a great bang for your buck, or starting a small garden, even if you only plant a couple types of seeds. Lettuce, spinach, zucchini and squash agree all very versatile!3
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I can sympathize. Canned and frozen fruits and veggies are the way to go! Other than that, it takes a little effort but keep tabs on what goes on sale and make sure you buy produce that's in season. At my local Sam's club, a bag of apples goes from $4.98 to $7.98 when they aren't in season!1
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Check out the Good and Cheap cookbook at this site, it's a free PDF download and has a bunch of recipes and good ideas.
http://www.leannebrown.com/1 -
Thank you all SO much! I want to especially thank Sue for the link to the book! That is just awesome! Where did you ever learn about it? ☺
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I'm not sure - I think it was probably mentioned on a previous thread about eating on a budget! (There have been a few on the forums recently, if you do a search you might find some more ideas.)
My family aren't keen on beans, which would probably be a good, low-cost protein option, but I'm trying to sneak some into a handful of recipes to make them stretch a bit further. I try to watch for things that are on sale, but I'm not really good at checking out all the stores - it seems to me that the gas I use up driving around them to compare would cost more than I might save, so I just look at the weekly flyers and see if there are any must-haves!
I've realised that Bulk Barn is pretty good for a lot of things, and bought some spices there yesterday for mere pennies so I can try a new recipe. It's nice to be able to buy just what you need of so many things, rather than an entire package you might not use. My Wal-Mart also sells off fruit and veg that are just past their peak, usually for one or two dollars for a big bag. And the farmer's markets will hopefully start up again soon here - I've got bargains there in the past by going towards closing time, as someone else said. 1 -
Not sure what state you live in but we have a place called Aldi. They usually have very reasonable produce prices. Their locations can be found at corporate.aldi.us/en/suppliers/divisional-map.2
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I try to watch for things that are on sale, but I'm not really good at checking out all the stores - it seems to me that the gas I use up driving around them to compare would cost more than I might save, so I just look at the weekly flyers and see if there are any must-haves!
Walmart also ad matches! Check out the weekly flyers online for any stores in your area, and Walmart will match advertised prices. Most items have to be the same brand (if some other grocery store has their brand milk on sale, you can't get Walmart brand milk for the same price), but they match produce also. I ad match TONS of produce every week, pretty much only buying what's on sale (somewhere). *Some stores will make you show them the flier, so either bring one with you or look it up on your phone.
I second a lot of the ideas in here: I'm on a pretty tight budget also, but I make it stretch. I do use food pantries on occasion (I prefer the ones that let you pick your own items, but I'm not picky). There is probably a Second Harvest/Feeding America drop location somewhere around you (if you're in the US). You get what you get, but there is some decent stuff in there. I always get tons of canned veggies, some kind of bread, some kind of protein. There is unhealthy stuff too, but you can portion it out, or share it with friends/family who may also be struggling. Even if you only get the basics from a food pantry, that opens up most of your grocery budget for luxuries (which for me is fresh produce).
Farmer's markets and produce trucks are usually super cheap compared to the grocery stores, and depending on where you live, they should be starting up now (mine opened this weekend in Wisconsin), and have plenty to offer within a few weeks.
And I do garden. I spent about $20 today on plants and soil, which is an investment, but down the road, I'll be able to get fresh veggies free! For that $20, I got two tomato plants, two pepper plants, a cucumber plant, 4 celery plants, 4 squash plants and a few herbs. If you've got a green thumb, it's even cheaper to start from seed, but it's a bit late for that (again depending on your location). I'm a novice, but I grabbed a few packets of seeds also, to grow lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, more squashes (I love squash! filling and tasty with more nutrients and fewer calories and carbs that potatoes or pasta), more herbs. I have strawberries growing up from last years planting. My $20 outlay today, even if I only get a few items from each plant, will easily turn into $50 worth of veggies.1
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