Healthy on a budget
keynaspider
Posts: 1 Member
I'm currently a full time student working two jobs and planning a wedding. any tips on saving money while trying to eat healthier. right now all we can afford and have time for is fast food so any tips would be appreciated.
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Prep your meals for the week. Pick veggies, fruit and meat. It will. E much cheaper than the drive theu5
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If you have an Aldi store nearby make sure to visit it! They have great prices, and I often fill my cart and not spend a lot.3
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Bulk out mince with red lentils, 1/2 pd mince 3 oz lentils plus small bag frozen mixed veggies plus tin tomatoes makes 4 serves and is ready in half hour1
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eggs, milk, peanut butter, bananas, broccoli etc. Eating healthy (ie, natural and with low calories) is actually quite cheap. Way cheaper than fast food. One of my favorite belly fillers on a budget is rice and beans with a small amount of protein thrown in. (chicken legs and thighs are usually dirt cheap, especially if you're just adding a little bit).0
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I buy chicken breast $1.99 per pound at kroger. There is no way fast food is cheaper than that paired with a vegetable / rice / salad / sweet potato / even frozen vegetables.
I buy salmon and catfish for $5.99lb. 1lb of meat is a lot.
I eat a can of soup a few times a month for lunch, or if i need a quick meal. A campbells soup is $2.00 and fills me up enough for a lunch.
If you get instant oatmeal, it's like 8 packs for $2.00. that's 25 cents per breakfast still feeling hungry? add a banana. You can get 5 bananas for $1.50 That's like 30 cent snacks.
Yogurt is often $1 per on sale. If you buy a larger greek yogurt container you get better savings. Mix in 2 scoops of chocolate protein and suddenly you have delicious, healthy protein packed chocolate pudding.
1lb of 99% lean ground turkey is $6. If you get a higher fat count say 85%, it's $4.50. 1lb of meat will make 4 solid burgers. That with a side is 2 meals for $10 and it's actually healthy.
Hummus is a great snack with pretzels or vegetables. Summer is coming up watermelon, corn on the cob and strawberries are all very cheap. 1lb of strawberries is like 2.50, corn on the cob is 8 for $2.00, a whole watermelon is like $4.00.
And is driving to a fastfood restaurant, waiting in the drive through, then driving home really that much faster than cooking? My dinner yesterday: i wrapped 2 sweet potatos in foil and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. Then i put 2 salmon into the same oven for 25 minutes. 55 minutes later I had dinner for me and my girlfriend and i put 3 minutes of effort into it. and it was delicious, filling and healthy.
I prep my meals for work. I used to eat out every single meal. That's how i got to 285lbs. Then i still ate out every single meal but i chose healthy foods. But I started to feel like it was a waste of money so now i pack my meals. At 11pm at night I put in a few pieces of chicken breast and a jar of salsa into my crockpot. At 6am i wake up, ok at 6:45 i panic bc i snoozed my alarm, but then I wake up, i take the chicken, a bag of salad, avocados, tomatos and salad dressing to work. At work i reheat the chicken and then i spend 2 minutes making my lunch and I have enough food for 3 lunches for the week and this is about a 4.00 meal (mostly bc avocados sometimes cost $1.50 each)
When you say you can only afford fast food or you don't have time. You're really saying you haven't tried.
Cook, it's much cheaper and faster.
Also if you drive to a fast food restaurant that's 8 miles a way, come back. That's 16 miles. Maybe 2/3 a gallon of gas. Gas is $2.50, 2/3 is $1.60. That's a free avocado for me.8 -
Personally, I think fast food is expensive. Even if you're only eating from the dollar menu. If you put some thought into it, you can eat very well for cheap and SO MUCH healthier than fast food.
Google "discount grocery" and see what comes up near you. I shop at a place that has fresh produce for very low cost and tons of other food that is close to the expiry date, but still good. This week I bought a huge bag of apples for 99 cents, bread for $1 and yogurt for 25 cents each. I also buy in bulk and watch for sales. I can usually buy a huge package of boneless skinless chicken breast for under $10 and make a dozen meals for two people. Tacos, soup, casseroles, etc. Spend a few hours on the weekend doing food prep for the week, put stuff in the freezer, and you'll be amazed at what variety you can come up with for low cost.4 -
I buy chicken breast $1.99 per pound at kroger. There is no way fast food is cheaper than that paired with a vegetable / rice / salad / sweet potato / even frozen vegetables.
I buy salmon and catfish for $5.99lb. 1lb of meat is a lot.
I eat a can of soup a few times a month for lunch, or if i need a quick meal. A campbells soup is $2.00 and fills me up enough for a lunch.
If you get instant oatmeal, it's like 8 packs for $2.00. that's 25 cents per breakfast still feeling hungry? add a banana. You can get 5 bananas for $1.50 That's like 30 cent snacks.
Yogurt is often $1 per on sale. If you buy a larger greek yogurt container you get better savings. Mix in 2 scoops of chocolate protein and suddenly you have delicious, healthy protein packed chocolate pudding.
1lb of 99% lean ground turkey is $6. If you get a higher fat count say 85%, it's $4.50. 1lb of meat will make 4 solid burgers. That with a side is 2 meals for $10 and it's actually healthy.
Hummus is a great snack with pretzels or vegetables. Summer is coming up watermelon, corn on the cob and strawberries are all very cheap. 1lb of strawberries is like 2.50, corn on the cob is 8 for $2.00, a whole watermelon is like $4.00.
And is driving to a fastfood restaurant, waiting in the drive through, then driving home really that much faster than cooking? My dinner yesterday: i wrapped 2 sweet potatos in foil and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. Then i put 2 salmon into the same oven for 25 minutes. 55 minutes later I had dinner for me and my girlfriend and i put 3 minutes of effort into it. and it was delicious, filling and healthy.
I prep my meals for work. I used to eat out every single meal. That's how i got to 285lbs. Then i still ate out every single meal but i chose healthy foods. But I started to feel like it was a waste of money so now i pack my meals. At 11pm at night I put in a few pieces of chicken breast and a jar of salsa into my crockpot. At 6am i wake up, ok at 6:45 i panic bc i snoozed my alarm, but then I wake up, i take the chicken, a bag of salad, avocados, tomatos and salad dressing to work. At work i reheat the chicken and then i spend 2 minutes making my lunch and I have enough food for 3 lunches for the week and this is about a 4.00 meal (mostly bc avocados sometimes cost $1.50 each)
When you say you can only afford fast food or you don't have time. You're really saying you haven't tried.
Cook, it's much cheaper and faster.
It's like $10 a kilo for chicken breast in Australia and about $16 for salmon. And our meats and fish come from Here allegedly:-/0 -
Dried beans, tofu. Frozen fruits and vegetables are cheaper in the long run, as there is no waste. Cabbage, turnip, onions. Canned tomatoes. Make soup out of your leftovers. Steel cut oats.0
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Fast food is expensive unless you're hitting that dollar menu drive thru. Wendy's chilli is a really cheap fast food meal I love. I also find the cheapest things are my salads, English muffins, rice, bags of frozen veggies. Just shop the sales for your meat. And if all else fails, Wendy's chilli?0
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It's like $10 a kilo for chicken breast in Australia and about $16 for salmon. And our meats and fish come from Here allegedly:-/
IDK if you're speaking US dollars, as i'm pretty sure $1 US is > $1 australian.
Regardless though if your produce is more expensive for you, i would think so is your restaurants / fast food bill at a fairly proportional rate.0 -
I once watched a YouTube post about someone living in Australia, and they would visit like fruit and veggie stands and just buy fruits and veggies from their it was also low cost. Maybe take a look and see if farmer markets exist.0
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Cheap meats - ground turkey, chicken (legs and thighs especially), and some frozen fish fillets (not everything has to be fresh).
Buy frozen vegetables if you don't have time to chop, but generally buying fresh is cheaper in the long run.
Fruits, you should buy seasonally. Bananas and apples are fairly consistent in price throughout the year.
Don't spend a lot on snacks, instead go for a few that week like boiled eggs, granola bars, cheese sticks, and apples.
Shop around at different grocery stores if they're available. Places like Aldi and Sprouts are great for produce, meat, and dairy.0 -
Frozen veggies. Easy to microwave and quick sauté!! Go to your local dollar tree. Get a 1lb bag of brown rice and make a lot in advance and they have frozen veggies too for a dollar a nice big bag... banana are cheap. You can buy a five lb bag of apples for five bucks!!! Even sometime uncle bens 90 sec rice is on sale for a dollar and it two options in on bag.. the biggest container of oatmeal at biglots is four dollars and their bits and seeds are at a great price0
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Oh and I found that sometimes small deli's or corner stores produce section Shevardnadze great deals! Wait until the Summer for amazing farmers markets and you can haggle0
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Canned tuna, chicken thighs, frozen veggies, sweet potatoes. Brown rice, Beans,oatmeal and yogurt are all cheap and can be made a gazillion ways.0
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I'm in Australia, still a lot cheaper to cook than buy fast food, meat is cheap at Asian grocers, and usually veg are cheaper at farmers markets, but even buying at willies is cheaper than take away2
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thechaoswithinme wrote: »Frozen veggies. Easy to microwave and quick sauté!! Go to your local dollar tree. Get a 1lb bag of brown rice and make a lot in advance and they have frozen veggies too for a dollar a nice big bag... banana are cheap. You can buy a five lb bag of apples for five bucks!!! Even sometime uncle bens 90 sec rice is on sale for a dollar and it two options in on bag.. the biggest container of oatmeal at biglots is four dollars and their bits and seeds are at a great price
I regularly can get 5# bags of brown or white rice for $4 with coupons on a grocery store app. (Safeway's if you have one near.)0 -
thechaoswithinme wrote: »Oh and I found that sometimes small deli's or corner stores produce section Shevardnadze great deals! Wait until the Summer for amazing farmers markets and you can haggle
Please translate the autocorrect. It's got me laughing.
But yeah, you never know where a store will have a great deal.0 -
keynaspider wrote: »I'm currently a full time student working two jobs and planning a wedding. any tips on saving money while trying to eat healthier. right now all we can afford and have time for is fast food so any tips would be appreciated.
This is a complete fallacy. If you take the time to shop for a flat of protein (chicken, beef, what have you) preferably on sale and supplement with a bag of rice and a few bags of frozen veg (or fresh if its in season) you'll save money in the long run. Yes the initial outlay is a certain price - but divide it up by the number of meals you get out of it and the time you save by cooking at home and you are ahead in the budget world.
My typical lunch is a roasted chicken breast, half a bag of frozen veg and a dollop of ranch dressing. Average cost to me? $1.69.0 -
thechaoswithinme wrote: »Frozen veggies. Easy to microwave and quick sauté!! Go to your local dollar tree. Get a 1lb bag of brown rice and make a lot in advance and they have frozen veggies too for a dollar a nice big bag... banana are cheap. You can buy a five lb bag of apples for five bucks!!! Even sometime uncle bens 90 sec rice is on sale for a dollar and it two options in on bag.. the biggest container of oatmeal at biglots is four dollars and their bits and seeds are at a great price
I regularly can get 5# bags of brown or white rice for $4 with coupons on a grocery store app. (Safeway's if you have one near.)
....also your local ethnic grocery is usually cheaper for rice in bulk than the average grocery store. You may be carting home a 20lb bag of rice - but I guarantee it will be cheaper in the long run. Same goes for rice noodles, soba noodles, etc.0 -
Also check your local grocery circulars and apps. You can find some amazing deals.0
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keynaspider wrote: »I'm currently a full time student working two jobs and planning a wedding. any tips on saving money while trying to eat healthier. right now all we can afford and have time for is fast food so any tips would be appreciated.
Do you have a Grocery Outlet nearby? Their foods is always cheaper.
Do you have a wholesale fruit/veggie local farmer's type market nearby? We have one open year round, fresh locally grown veggies and fruits, and the veggies are always a great price.
The Dollar Store/Tree has some foods to work with too. Just be sure to check the expiration dates.
Fast food can get expensive, but there is nothing at all wrong with it. Buying food in bulk can help with expense in the long run, and cooking a crockpot of food will help time wise.0 -
thechaoswithinme wrote: »Oh and I found that sometimes small deli's or corner stores produce section Shevardnadze great deals! Wait until the Summer for amazing farmers markets and you can haggle
What is that? The only one I know of is Eduard Shevardnadze.0 -
Cheap meats - ground turkey, chicken (legs and thighs especially), and some frozen fish fillets (not everything has to be fresh).
Buy frozen vegetables if you don't have time to chop, but generally buying fresh is cheaper in the long run.
Fruits, you should buy seasonally. Bananas and apples are fairly consistent in price throughout the year.
Don't spend a lot on snacks, instead go for a few that week like boiled eggs, granola bars, cheese sticks, and apples.
Shop around at different grocery stores if they're available. Places like Aldi and Sprouts are great for produce, meat, and dairy.
I don't agree with the bold part. Granola bars, cheese sticks and apples can be more expensive than things like a bag of chips, or a block of cheese. Granola bars get pretty expensive too.
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Beans and rice! Super cheap and very versatile. I know it sounds cliche, but both are very inexpensive and go a long way.
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xchocolategirl wrote: »If you have an Aldi store nearby make sure to visit it! They have great prices, and I often fill my cart and not spend a lot.
^^^ This...I LOVE our local Aldi...we also have a great IGA. I generally go to IGA for meat bc the quality is great and they generally have great specials. This week I stocked my freezer with 2 weeks worth of meat for the price I would generally pay for half that time at Walmart.0 -
Fast food is expensive unless you're hitting that dollar menu drive thru. Wendy's chilli is a really cheap fast food meal I love. I also find the cheapest things are my salads, English muffins, rice, bags of frozen veggies. Just shop the sales for your meat. And if all else fails, Wendy's chilli?
Even the $1 menu is relatively expensive. I can get a 5lb bag of quick oats for $2, a loaf of bread for around 99 cents, a 3-4lb bag of rice for a dollar or two, 1-2lbs of navy beans for around $2. Beans are a big staple for me. The biggest help in learning to shop frugally is learning prices. Go to multiple stores, and take note of different prices every time you shop. There are 2 stores around here that tend to be super cheap, but some things cost the same there as they do at Walmart. A pineapple at Gerbes, which is usually cheaper at Walmart, is 3 something, but you can get a nicer one at Walmart for 2 something. Once you learn prices, you can determine what good prices and bad prices are, and buy extra of shelf stable things only when the price is right. Cooking doesn't have to be time consuming. This morning after my run and putting my son on the bus, I cooked up a batch of strawberry jam, and got some black beans started soaking for chili in a few days. I'll cook them this evening, and put them in the fridge so they are ready to go. I have to leave the house before 7am.1 -
meal prep and planning is essential for me because I try and stay on a budget also
I know some things might be different depending on location, but here are some of my favorites:
-frozen veggies. I have Giant Foodstores in my area, and I can get a very large bag of frozen broccoli florets for about $4. I use this a lot when I prep lunches for the week because I can roast it in the oven right from frozen (400 degrees for about 30 minutes, I generally will top it with some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and occasionally grated parmesan--the same stuff you get in the spaghetti aisle ), and it covers at least 10 lunches, and usually a bit extra for snacking on the day I make it.
-Zucchini. I use this to "bulk" some meals and spread them out further. I take a standard box grater and grate the zucchini very fine. it has no flavor, really, so I add it to things like spaghetti sauce, enchiladas, hamburger BBQ, etc. Anything that I use ground meat and sauce, I will usually add grated zucchini, and occasionally diced onion.
-family pack meats. I used to buy the store brand family packs of chicken breasts (usually around $10-$15 for 5-6 very large chicken breasts), but I've switched to Perdue because I get 10-12 smaller chicken breasts for about $12-$18, and they vacuum seal 2 breasts in a bag, so I can freeze portions I don't need right away. Also pork chops tend to be budget-friendly. Same with Chicken Legs/Thighs. I don't buy a lot of beef anymore (I like the lean ground beef, and that seems to never go on sale). I do use a lot of ground turkey.
-Rice. I have a rice steamer and I can put 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water in it and let it steam. I end up with 4 cups of beautifully fluffy rice that can accompany many meals. I can toss it in a pan with some sauce to add a little flavor. My fiance likes it plain with a little soy sauce and salt. I prefer white rice over brown.
I try and find recipes that can "flow" from one to another. Like on Sundays I prepare 10 lunches for the week (5 for me, 5 for him). I use 10 chicken breasts, but even the smaller ones are bigger than what I want to take to lunch so I trim off the tenderloin and shave a but off the bottom to make it more even. I cube them up and cook them in a recipe for dinner that night, or sometimes make some for lunch that day and the rest for dinner. That meal will get us through sunday/monday nights.
Tuesday I will make another recipe that may use the leftovers, which should get me through Tues/Wed night dinners. While that recipe is cooking, I might make something to go in the freezer.
Thursday I will make a larger meal that will get us through Thurs/Fri dinners and Saturday lunch. Saturday night we generally go out, or pick at whatever is in the fridge/freezer.1 -
Cooking at home will always be cheaper than fast food - if you do it every meal and eat leftovers if you've got them.
I once had someone explain to me that takeout was cheaper than eating at home, and she explained she'd have to buy a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of mustard and a container of salt, etc. in order to make burgers at home. I said "But you'll use them again the next time you have burgers at home?" and she explained that since she never cooks at home, they'd never get used.
Taking my family of 4 through the drive through for dollar-menu burgers, fries, and drinks would be $12 minimum, plus tax since its prepared food. For that I can buy REALLY good ground beef, buns, a bag of nice chips, and have money left.1 -
Eating cheap and healthy:
1) plan your meals in advance. When you're working a lot, it helps to know what your plan is when you get home.
2) Plan and shop only once a week or so. Too many visits to the store means more junk and snacks and money.
3) Plan for leftovers. Cook extra when you cook so many nights you only have to assemble and/or reheat.
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