HELP- Realistic healthy eating budget
KristaJeanMFP
Posts: 70 Member
For the first time in my life, I have a budget for healthy food. (I've always had to scrape by) I am looking for some guidance on a healthy food budget- Low as possible please! Think cheap but healthy. I have no idea what to buy when I go shopping today. Any guidance is much appreciated!
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Well it really depends on what you like to eat but here are some healthy choices that won't usually break the bank:
Frozen vegetables
rice
pasta
dried beans
eggs
cheese
frozen fish
canned tuna
Buy fresh food when it's on sale. Check out your local farmer's market for fresh produce (or even better grow some of your own). Stock up on non-perishable foods when on sale.5 -
When I am trying to save money I center my meals around frozen vegetables, dried beans, oats, potatoes, pasta, and inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables (will depend on the season and your area, but could include stuff like cabbage, carrots, apples, oranges, onions, collard greens, etc).2
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janejellyroll wrote: »When I am trying to save money I center my meals around frozen vegetables, dried beans, oats, potatoes, pasta, and inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables (will depend on the season and your area, but could include stuff like cabbage, carrots, apples, oranges, onions, collard greens, etc).
^ I agree with this. Focus on an inexpensive grocery store like Aldi and shop for frozen meats, vegetables, and fruit/berries. Fill in with fresh when you can and it's on sale and buy plenty of dried food and even canned foods such as canned vegetables, sauces, tuna and chicken if there's a good deal. Things like beans and rice make an incredibly inexpensive and nutritious meal. Focus on getting plenty of good fats and protein, and make sure you're getting your micronutrients and fiber. Those and moderate calorie consumption are really the only requirements for a healthy diet.1 -
I only buy fresh vegetables and fruits and meats when they are on sale and center my meals around that. Then go online and find healthy recipes that include what you have on hand. Buy meats in bulk when on sale and freeze.0
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Similar topic came up here recently:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10421690/
There is some good advice on cutting the cost of healthy eating which I think could be summarized as:- Consider the cost of protein first
- Rice n Beans
- Frozen/canned Veg
- Batch cook
- Shop smart
I think that providing an itemized budget is going to be difficult because you need to understand the costs at the persons location (I'm UK based and so couldn't comment on what was cheap in the US for example) and you need to understand what the person likes to eat and what they are willing to compromise on and what is a no-go area.1 -
http://www.budgetbytes.com has lots of tasty cost concious recipes.
If your budget is low planning meals is a pretty key to helping you stick to it. It is also helpful for making better food choices. You don't have to eat something different or new every single day.
Make a big pot of soup. It is a great dollar stretcher.
Cook a bigger piece of meat and cut it up or shred it for sandwiches, soup, casseroles, stir fry, tacos, pizza, stir fry, eggs.
Basic staples- Onions, garlic, spinach, oatmeal, potatoes, broccoli, peppers, oranges, cabbage, apples, bananas, carrots, celery, whole chicken or turkey, chicken thighs, tuna, pasta, rice, frozen vegetables or fruits, yogurt, cheese, eggs, canned tomato, dry beans or lentils, whole grain bread, popcorn, cottage cheese, flour, olive oil, herbs and spices, vinegar, cooking spray.1 -
Budget in a good vacuum sealer and if you don't have one a freezer. When the sales hit for meats especially lean cuts like petite sirloin(beef) pork loins(cut your own pork chops) and chicken. Cut(as necessary) package and freeze. I just found petite sirloin steaks at 3.50/lb. Bought 10 lbs worth. Most of the steaks were around 4-6 ounces so I didn't cut down any. I just packaged, weighed(wrote the weight on the bag) and froze. I now have portions sizes appropriate with my plan I can have a steak, cut one up to make stir-fry etc. Hope this helped a little bit.
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If you have an Aldi in your area, I'd check it out. You can save a ton and they have pretty good healthy options these days.1
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Another tip: if you have a dollar store in your area that sells groceries, it may be worth checking out for produce. I hadn't been to one in years and when I visited my sister recently we went shopping at one. I was initially skeptical, but she told me she did a lot of shopping there. They had a produce section that was actually quite good and the prices were incredible. She got bell peppers, mangoes, greens, tomatoes, potatoes, and oranges for much less than I usually pay and they all looked (and tasted really good). They even had plantains! She also gets spices and basic commodities there.
Since I hadn't been to one in years, I assumed they wouldn't have much in the way of groceries. Totally wrong. She lives in an urban neighborhood that has a good number of Hispanic residents, so that probably impacted the selection there.1 -
I watch the ads. Sometimes chicken is $1/lb(or less when whole). Buy fresh produce when in season for lowest prices. Bulk rice, beans, and other grains and lentils are usually cheaper.0
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I would also say don't plan on a complex menu for each week. Meaning buy bulk even it means you'll be eating a lot of the same for that week. This helps to make sure you're actually eating everything that you buy and not letting things spoil and wasting money that way. I used to plan my menu ahead and go buy the food and found we were throwing a lot out. Now I buy a pack of chicken and a big batch of a couple veggies then use some pantry staples like corn tortillas, canned/frozen veggies, rice, pasta, bread, etc to get me through each week.0
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You only have to buy bulk protein for a couple months and if you batch cook, you'll have a variety available ever after. Some of my favourite ways of bulk cooking my proteins:
Beans - chilli
Chicken - thighs or whole chicken.
Hamburger - with bread crumbs, milk, egg, and spices, I will bake a whole tray of meat balls at once. I might make meatloaf with the same mixture. Salsa is great in meatloaf.
The cheapest lunch is leftovers. You can spice it up by putting the leftovers in a wrap or adding a little cheese.
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I have to stick to a budget as well since I am the only one eating healthy. I go to Dollar Tree. They have frozen veggies, wraps, and even Jennie O ground turkey burgers! I like to go to Aldi's as well because they have great produce for your budget.1
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Chicken and broccoli, did that for a year straight. Needless to say, I'm really sick of chicken & broccoli.0
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Buy 5lb bag of chicken leg quarters. Let it thaw. Remove skin and any extra fat. Season as desired. Cook in crockpot until it falls apart. Pull off the bone. Divide into freezer bags. Weigh and mark each bag.1
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shawniej84 wrote: »I have to stick to a budget as well since I am the only one eating healthy. I go to Dollar Tree. They have frozen veggies, wraps, and even Jennie O ground turkey burgers! I like to go to Aldi's as well because they have great produce for your budget.
I feel like Dollar Tree groceries are a total hidden gem! I love going there. I get spices, chicken broth, coconut oil spray, canned mackerel, high fiber cereal and way too many other things to list. All for $1 each!! The bigger the Dollar Tree the more groceries they have. My sister and I live 700 miles apart and often find ourselves texting each other pictures saying, "Look what I found at the Dollar Tree!"1 -
I agree with dollar tree. You can get beans there cheap and the frozen veg and fruit are awesome. They also have spices cheap.0
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There's a cookbook called "Good and Cheap" that has lots of ideas and aims to fit into a food budget of $4 a day. You can get a free PDF here: http://www.leannebrown.com1
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If you have a freezer, ZayconFoods has 40# of chicken breasts at usually $2/lb. Use the concept of "Rollovers" (I don't like LEFTovers ;-)). First day, cook a whole chicken breast (both halves). Have a hot chicken meat, maybe chicken and rice with some veggies. Second day, use the leftover chicken and have a huge chicken salad. Third day, put the rest of the chicken and some veggies in a crockpot, add noodles if you want, and have chicken soup. We throw away so much! I'm trying to minimize that with Rollovers.
Another example: 2 pounds of ground beef first night is a couple of burgers, second is taco meat, third night leftover taco meat gets rolled into spaghetti sauce.0 -
This is all good info. Buying meat on sale or in bigger quantities is a good idea, too. You will find that if you shop smart, eating healthy isn't actually more expensive. It can be cheaper.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Well it really depends on what you like to eat but here are some healthy choices that won't usually break the bank:
Frozen vegetables
rice
pasta
dried beans
eggs
cheese
frozen fish
canned tuna
Buy fresh food when it's on sale. Check out your local farmer's market for fresh produce (or even better grow some of your own). Stock up on non-perishable foods when on sale.
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This is all good info. Buying meat on sale or in bigger quantities is a good idea, too. You will find that if you shop smart, eating healthy isn't actually more expensive. It can be cheaper.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Well it really depends on what you like to eat but here are some healthy choices that won't usually break the bank:
Frozen vegetables
rice
pasta
dried beans
eggs
cheese
frozen fish
canned tuna
Buy fresh food when it's on sale. Check out your local farmer's market for fresh produce (or even better grow some of your own). Stock up on non-perishable foods when on sale.
Learn to read cost per unit labels in grocery stores. For the most part bulk purchases are more cost effective, but not always.0 -
KarenMoeller2 wrote: »Buy 5lb bag of chicken leg quarters. Let it thaw. Remove skin and any extra fat. Season as desired. Cook in crockpot until it falls apart. Pull off the bone. Divide into freezer bags. Weigh and mark each bag.
This hurts to read. The skin is the best part of the chicken, fat is delicious and nutritious, and you can't throw away food when on a budget. You shouldn't throw away food anyway, unless it's gone bad, but you can't throw away good food it if you're short on money.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »KarenMoeller2 wrote: »Buy 5lb bag of chicken leg quarters. Let it thaw. Remove skin and any extra fat. Season as desired. Cook in crockpot until it falls apart. Pull off the bone. Divide into freezer bags. Weigh and mark each bag.
This hurts to read. The skin is the best part of the chicken, fat is delicious and nutritious, and you can't throw away food when on a budget. You shouldn't throw away food anyway, unless it's gone bad, but you can't throw away good food it if you're short on money.
For the purposes of this crockpot experiment on a budget, removing the skin/fat is best. Plus the calorie budget needs to handle these calories. You get some nice usable broth from this.
Or you could cook up a 5 pound bag of chicken breast with rib meat (walmart $10.00) no bone, no skin, but the the leg quarters would be better.0 -
To make food interesting...learn to use dried spices and herbs..so if you're limited on what you have been purchasing, your tastebuds won't get bored and you'll feel satisfied. Even poultry seasoning can make a vegan dish taste like you have meat in it. Basics I think are good : basil, oregano, curry, poultry seasoning, thyme, cumin, salt , pepper, dried garlic. A little goes a long way.0
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To make food interesting...learn to use dried spices and herbs..so if you're limited on what you have been purchasing, your tastebuds won't get bored and you'll feel satisfied. Even poultry seasoning can make a vegan dish taste like you have meat in it. Basics I think are good : basil, oregano, curry, poultry seasoning, thyme, cumin, salt , pepper, dried garlic. A little goes a long way.
This is a very good tip. Spices and herbs can make the same ingredients entirely different meals.1 -
OP is there a local walmart where you live?
I buy 5 pound bags of Birds Eye frozen veggies (summer blend, brocolli/cauli/carrots, teriyaki veggie mix, asian veggie mix), also some of the PictSweet frozen veggies like okra (not breaded), squash, etc. You get a lot for the money. Dried beans, and instead of sandwich bread you can buy those Bandaerita wraps pretty cheap, of even use lettuce for wraps, dried rice, pasta.
Also shop the day old section, you can get bread, etc. and actually freeze it and thaw as needed.
Look for canned good sales for tomatoes, beans, etc.. as well.
IF you have a crockpot, you can make a 6 - 8 - 10 serving crock pot meal pretty cheap and eat on it for quite a while. You can add more veggies less meat/chicken or vice versa per the money you have to spend on ingredients.0 -
Have you considered starting a garden? My friends have a little space in their yard and grow all types of great things. Also it seems like a lot of places have community gardens if you don't have room for it at your place.1
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I love the Dollar Tree, I get my Stevia packets there for way less than the grocery store.
Look at the weekly shopping ads and plan your menu around what is on sale. Whatever fruits and veggies that are in season will have lower prices or be on sale. When green peppers are on sale I stock up and chop them up and freeze them to use for future meals.
If you shop at Kroger you can register your loyalty card on the Kroger website and download coupons onto your card. They will be automatically redeemed when you buy that item when using your card at Kroger. They frequently have coupons off of their organic brand including chicken breast and such.
Use apps like ibotta, checkout 51 and Mobisave to earn cash back from grocery shopping. I've earned cash back off of milk, yogurt, produce and more.
If you can't tell I'm a bargain hunting momma...LOL!0 -
Thank you everyone for the tips! I killed it at the store! I was right around my calorie, protien, fat and carb goals today! My sodium was around 1500 (which I thought was impossible!) I have high blood pressure so low sodium is pretty important to me. I try to make what I can- most pre-packaged food is wayyyyyyy high in sodium. I did well today! Thanks again!0
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