Hard to eat healthy when you don't have $$$$$

cashidy
cashidy Posts: 152 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
And when you don't have money, you hardly ever have time.

What do you guys do?
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Replies

  • nicruns
    nicruns Posts: 201 Member
    I google for strategies-- read stuff like this: http://greatist.com/health/44-healthy-foods-under-1
    Shop sales & price match. & focus on what I need and enjoy (I eat a lot of canned beans prepped in different cheap ways-- salads, chili, etc.)
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    I shop at stores like Aldi's, Costco and BJ's. I use websites like budgetbytes.com
    I live in NYC and thankfully we have a lot of ethnic supermarkets with awesome affordable produce and meats.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Some inexpensive items -
    frozen veggies
    cans of tuna
    buy the chicken with the bone in and skin - it's cheaper but then you will have to trim the fat and remove the skin yourself
    large bag of brown rice or quinoa
    bag of apples

    Fortunately I have plenty of time to meal prep and work out. I have no excuses. My kids are older, my job is Mon-Fri and I normally get off by 4:30pm. I make dinner most every night. I have time to snack at my desk. My suggestion would be when you do have some time meal prep as much as you can and freeze some of it or put it in the fridge so you can just warm it up. *You can do it!
  • xandrapn6
    xandrapn6 Posts: 13 Member
    I like to buy as much frozen vegetables and things from my local bent and dent store. If you can find one of those it can help save money. And anyone that says fast food isn't cheaper than healthy grocery store foods has clearly never seen the $1 menu lol. It's all about finding the right places to buy from at the right time, and trying to coupon efficiently.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    It is actually cheaper for me.
    Buy in bulk, buy sale items, cook large quantities and divide into individual containers and freeze for later meals, no eating out at restaurants or fast food.
    Many of us have extremely busy lives, with a lot of demands on our time.
    If you want it bad enough, you can do this, and it will benefit our families as well as ourselves.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    I lived on apples, rice, canned tuna and frozen veggies when I was a student.

    Buy bulk when it's on sale.
    Batch cook, portion and freeze.

    I actually ate a lot better when I had no money than now that I do have money. Junk food can be really expensive and doesn't really have that much staying power.

    I had little time as a full time student working part time to make ends meet and I have no excuse on time now that I'm a full time employee on a 9-5 job.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    It's hard when you don't have the money or the time to research healthy inexpensive options. Do you have a dollar tree near you? Our has a nice frozen section with frozen veggie steamers. Fresh is more expensive, not only in price but because you have to use gas to drive to the store once a week- canned beans last all month, fresh beans do not.
    So, I guess my advice is if you can't do fresh, canned or frozen veggies and fruit is still better then chips.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    edited January 2017
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    YOu were eating before, when you were not trying to lose weight - yes? If so, since you need to eat less now, it should not really be a problem.

    This. You should actually be saving money because you're eating less now.

    exactly. if the only thing you do is eat less than exactly what you were eating before - you will lose weight AND save money. period.
  • aubreyjordan
    aubreyjordan Posts: 276 Member
    Aldi. I also check out sales ads for Publix and shop BOGO (but there are times it is STILL cheaper at Aldi to two than it is to get a BOGO). I stock up when there is a good sale on things that can be frozen or have a long shelf life.
  • cashidy
    cashidy Posts: 152 Member
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    YOu were eating before, when you were not trying to lose weight - yes? If so, since you need to eat less now, it should not really be a problem.

    This. You should actually be saving money because you're eating less now.

    Well, I was eating more because I eat at work, any events we have to save money, then I eat ramen and cheap unhealthy terrible food. So I was eating more calories but crappier food.
  • UK92
    UK92 Posts: 53 Member
    Here's what I do to cut the cost of food shopping
    • Buy supermarket own brand products (this is how I cut down most of my expenses).
    • Frozen instead of fresh, this also reduces the amount of waste. I buy most of my meats, fruits and vegetables frozen.
    • Don't buy anything labelled organic, unless there's an offer and buying it would save money.
    • Look for reduced items that can be frozen.

    Invest in a slow cooker if you want to save time, they're fairly inexpensive and so convenient. Most meals take a few minutes to prep, throw everything in and it'll be ready in a few hours with almost no effort. Freeze any leftovers.

    I love freezing stuff.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    I lost a ton of weight eating ramen, when I had no money that's what I ate. Thank goodness I still love ramen.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    i'll base my weeks dinner around a single type of protein (i.e. chicken) - because its easier/cheaper to buy that than to buy multiple types of meat for different meals

    the veggie steamers are great - my store often has then available as 3/$5 or similar

    rice can be bought in bulk; beans in bulk - soak them for filling meals

    crockpot/instapot for making in bulk and freezing (i.e. I'm doing turkey chili and rice for lunch next week that i'll make over the weekend)
  • SparklyBubblyBabe
    SparklyBubblyBabe Posts: 96 Member
    You know what's weird? Food is much more expensive in my hometown because there's only 1 grocery in town. When I was in college, the food was cheaper because there were three major grocery stores, plus some small ones, plus a farmer's market. The fast food in my current town is way cheaper than my college town and it's why cheaper than food from the store (depending on what you get, but you could get value meals and be set for a day).

    So I see why in certain areas eating healthy is more expensive. However, my solution wouldn't be to eat healthy just healthier. Make better choices and you'll see results. For example, water from home is free (or paid for by utilities anyway). Buy a water bottle and drink that instead of soda. If you're on the go and need to get fast food, pick a grilled chicken wrap, sandwich, or salad instead of a burger. Eating better is hard when you make it hard. But if you make gradual changes instead of trying to make a huge leap, it'll save you time and money.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I eat a lot of the same foods to keep my budget in check. I found staples that I like or at least can live with that help me meet my calorie goals. Some of my faves are low sodium v8, boiled eggs, baby carrots, whole grain/seed crackers, laughing cow cheese, salmon and tuna packets, lunch meat, 100 calorie sandwich buns, Progresso light soups, egg white breakfast sandwiches. Frozen veggies are also a life saver. I also find not trying to focus on salads keep the budget in check because I'm not trying to buy too much produce, especially out of season. Plus, I don't really enjoy eating salads.

    I preplan and prelog almost everything I eat so that I have a high degree of confidence I am meeting my calorie goals for weight loss. This also helps me have a very predictable grocery bill.

    Another strategy is repurposing dinner into lunches the next day and cooking in bulk, such as soups, in my crock pot. Homemade soups can be made very cheaply (again, i use a lot of frozen veggies here to save time AND money) and they stretch a long way. A big batch of soup will be lunches for a week. Then I switch it up the next week and do sandwiches and fresh veggies.

    So far it seems to be working. I eat out a LOT less than I was, so I am sure I have saved HUNDREDS of dollars just putting some forethought into what I am going to be eating. Now, I eat with confidence, I get to clear my plate every meal without feeling guilty, and I'm losing weight.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Chicken is cheap, so are fresh vegetables. I can't see where it's more expensive to eat healthier at all. Granted, fast food may fill you up faster because it's full of fat, but if you look at the nutritional value it just plain sucks. It's full of fat, sodium, and carbs. Fat and carbs are not bad things but in excess with very little protein I don't feel it's a healthy option at all, especially with 10x the sodium.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    cashidy wrote: »
    crzycatlady1 wrote: »
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    YOu were eating before, when you were not trying to lose weight - yes? If so, since you need to eat less now, it should not really be a problem.

    This. You should actually be saving money because you're eating less now.

    Well, I was eating more because I eat at work, any events we have to save money, then I eat ramen and cheap unhealthy terrible food. So I was eating more calories but crappier food.

    To healthy up your Ramen a bit - add some frozen mixed veggies when you're boiling the water and just before you add the noodles stir in an egg (for protein). Yum yum yum! And doesn't add a lot of extra cost.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    If you have a Sprouts in your area you would find it more affordable. I can go in there with 20 bucks and leave with A LOT of fresh produce, as well as other items. Some packaged food in their store are not cost effective, but the produce is. I shop there a lot.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I find fresh produce and non-prepackaged foods to actually be cheaper, so I feel like it's a bit of a cop out to say eating healthier is more expensive. For example, you can buy a head of lettuce for $.99, or you can buy a package of oreos for $2.99.

    As for me, I do use coupons and shop sales weekly. I also look for marked down meat. Target even runs decent deals on ground beef. For example 93% ground beef is $5.49 a lbs but is on sale for buy 1 get 1 50% off. Sometimes they're marked down further because they expire in a few days.

    It only takes a few minutes to browse a store ad to see what's on sale and nowadays there's a lot of websites and blogs that do sale/coupon matchups.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
    If you have a Sprouts in your area you would find it more affordable. I can go in there with 20 bucks and leave with A LOT of fresh produce, as well as other items. Some packaged food in their store are not cost effective, but the produce is. I shop there a lot.

    This^^ sprouts has double ad Wednesday. That is when I shop there.
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
    I once actually took the time to figure out how often and how much money we spent each month from dining out. This included all fast food and casual places. I was shocked at the money we were spending.

    Now, eating out is a special occasion and cooking at home is quicker, healthier, and way less costly.

    Buy in bulk and on sale. Utilize a slow cooker, your oven, and even your microwave. When you cook and prep, do so for several meals at once. This saves a ton of time.

    Truly, if you take the time to plan, you'll find you can save money and eat healthier.
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