Eating out vs. buying groceries
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NoFilter1977 wrote: »crazyycatlady1 wrote: »NoFilter1977 wrote: »Can't help with the eating out issue, but when you buy fresh fruits and veggies why not just buy less? My 2 yr old is the only one that really eats bananas in our house. He eats half a banana a day pretty much, so when I went to the grocery store I bought 2 bananas that will last a few days. Nothing goes to waste.
To be honest, sometimes I buy a lot and have all this stuff I'm preparing to eat for the week. I get bored pretty quick and don't end up eating it all. Sometimes a head of lettuce is too much. When I stick to my plan it works, but using all the veggies gets expensive even if there is no waste. I will end up spending sometimes upward of $150 a week for 2 people. Stuff just adds up. It doesn't help that we have different tastes and end up eating different items.
edit: the $150/week is for all groceries.
I didn't use to eat a lot of veggies (and no fruit whatsoever), and I had no problem losing the extra weight and also improving all my health markers in the process. Now that I've been doing this for a few years my eating habits have gradually changed and I now eat over 800g of veggies and fruit a day (and I fit that all in on a $100 a week grocery budget for a family of 5, but that's for another thread lol). But, if I had tried eating all those veggies and fruit when I was first starting out I would have been overwhelmed, would have gotten frustrated with all the things I was not eating/throwing out, and most likely I would have quit. Start with where you're at and don't force yourself to eat anything you don't actually want to eat. You may find that over time you feel inclined to make changes, but there's no rush
You need to teach me this $100 grocery budget for a family of 5! I really love vegetables, but I'm hoping the thread takes a turn away from the vegetable discussion. I'm trying to research this, but need some ideas outside my train of thought. I need to save money and don't wanna live of the value menu at McDonalds.
I'm sorry... it sounded like if the waste could be addressed, you wouldn't mind incorporating more vegetables. Wasn't implying you *have* to eat vegetables. Our family doesn't always have vegetables with a meal.2 -
Hmmm, I didn't take "small fridge" to mean no freezer, but if that's the case, disregard all my freezer recommendations, OP
I have a 9 cu.ft. It is in an RV. It has a small freezer. My girlfriend takes it almost completely up with her must haves.
I do have a little room in there for my ice and popsicles. lol. There is 1 bag of frozen onions and peppers dancing around in there tho.
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »NoFilter1977 wrote: »Does anyone know of places you can eat out at that are cheaper than trying to afford all of this healthy food that goes to waste? I try to buy fresh veggies and such, but they end up going bad before I can finish them a lot of the time. I'm just not a salad everyday kinda guy. I have a small fridge, so eating out is a choice I perhaps have to consider. Don't judge me :P
Sounds like there's a few different issues here. First, maybe don't buy things you are unlikely to eat. Become acquainted with what keeps well & what doesn't. Apples & cabbage keep forever; avocados & bananas max out in a couple of days. Buy what's on sale, not things that are out of season or otherwise expensive. Sounds like you may not have a freezer, but for others, frozen is a great option. Try to plan ahead, not just buy what you think you *might* eat (that always ends up costing me money).
Oh, I forgot cabbage! It does keep forever. You can extend avocado life by tossing them in the fridge when they get ripe, if you overbuy. Bananas can go in the freezer once they get more ripe than you like and used in smoothies or baked goods. I suspect they would work in pancakes from the freezer as well, but I've never tried them.
Hmmm, I didn't take "small fridge" to mean no freezer, but if that's the case, disregard all my freezer recommendations, OP
Thanks! I don't know why it never occurred to me to stick an avocado in the fridge! Do freeze bananas for smoothies
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NoFilter1977 wrote: »How close do you live to a grocery store? I like to buy daily or plan my meals for 3 days and only buy what I needs for that. I've figured out how to eat at home for only about $50 a week from doing this. Just takes a little planning.
I live ~5 miles (8 km) from the store. I guess I could start asking for better ideas for eating at home? I spent $50 just for our breakfast items for the week.
$50 is almost my entire grocery budget for a week. I have to know what you're having for breakfast that costs so much. I hope it's delicious, at least :drinker:2 -
diannethegeek wrote: »NoFilter1977 wrote: »How close do you live to a grocery store? I like to buy daily or plan my meals for 3 days and only buy what I needs for that. I've figured out how to eat at home for only about $50 a week from doing this. Just takes a little planning.
I live ~5 miles (8 km) from the store. I guess I could start asking for better ideas for eating at home? I spent $50 just for our breakfast items for the week.
$50 is almost my entire grocery budget for a week. I have to know what you're having for breakfast that costs so much. I hope it's delicious, at least :drinker:
Yep... a dozen eggs, a big tub of quick oats, and a little fruit to throw in it and we're good 5 -
gamerbabe14 wrote: »I go to the store probably 2-3 times a week because I only buy food for the next 2 or 3 days. And it's so much less expensive than eating out!!
I also am best friends with my butcher. I only buy (I'm single btw no kids) 1 or 2 pieces of meat at a time and never buy the frozen stuff since I just can't eat chicken 4 times a week and those packages have too many pieces for me. And I'll also buy veggies that don't go bad quickly like brussel sprouts and asaparagus/spinach, carrots. Works for me!
I hear ya! I went shopping for chicken. If I want to buy 2 breasts it cost $7. It cost $11 for about 6 breasts. I'm trying to wrestle with the idea of paying a lot for a little or a little for a lot..and have waste. We don't want chicken breasts 3 times in however few days chicken lasts in the fridge. I can't stand frozen chicken, so saving it is crossing the line I draw in my own sand. lol0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »NoFilter1977 wrote: »How close do you live to a grocery store? I like to buy daily or plan my meals for 3 days and only buy what I needs for that. I've figured out how to eat at home for only about $50 a week from doing this. Just takes a little planning.
I live ~5 miles (8 km) from the store. I guess I could start asking for better ideas for eating at home? I spent $50 just for our breakfast items for the week.
$50 is almost my entire grocery budget for a week. I have to know what you're having for breakfast that costs so much. I hope it's delicious, at least :drinker:
I'm also trying to envision that as well! I think I spend around $10 a week on morning food for my family-my sprouted grain bread ($3), couple boxes of cereal and bananas for the kids ($5ish), and then canned cinnamon rolls and baking ingredients for the weekends. Plus things like milk and then a bit of butter or light cheese spread for my toast (which is $1.29 for six servings). My husband usually just grabs whatever he can find on the way out the door
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red robin , tasty , healthy , great kids menu , not horribly expensive . steam fresh has really good frozen stuff , for adults and kids . and large food chains have them on sale all the time. i know where your coming from i have a fam. of 6 .0
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diannethegeek wrote: »NoFilter1977 wrote: »How close do you live to a grocery store? I like to buy daily or plan my meals for 3 days and only buy what I needs for that. I've figured out how to eat at home for only about $50 a week from doing this. Just takes a little planning.
I live ~5 miles (8 km) from the store. I guess I could start asking for better ideas for eating at home? I spent $50 just for our breakfast items for the week.
$50 is almost my entire grocery budget for a week. I have to know what you're having for breakfast that costs so much. I hope it's delicious, at least :drinker:
We have different tastes.. My girlfriend and I. I can't eat the high carb stuff she eats, cause diabetic, so I'm eating eggs and sausage. She did make me get a large bag o' cheese which she can't live without.. that's about $10 by itself.
edit: I think it may be skewed some because my girlfriend seems to mostly eat breakfast items when she eats. I'm totaling my breakfast up at under $2 a day.0 -
If you want to eat out then look up nutritional information for restaurants. Choose things that fit your goals.
If you are concerned about cost you will spend less eating at home as long as you use what you buy.
Eating at home:
Plan meals. Use what you buy.
Buy things with a longer shelf life. Carrots, potatoes, cabbage, apples, celery, oranges, zucchini last longer than berries, bananas and iceburg lettuce. Use the most perishable foods first.
Buy frozen or canned vegetables and fruits- or freeze excess fresh vegetables and fruit before they go bad. http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/108.htm
http://www.stilltasty.com
Make smoothies or fresh fruit sorbets to use up fruit. http://allrecipes.com/search/results/?wt=Sorbet&sort=re
Make a large pot of soup to use up vegetables. You can freeze most soups pretty well.
Minestrone, cabbage, vegetable, tomato, vegetable beef soup, potato soup, broccoli cheese soup, etc.
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/16369/soups-stews-and-chili/soup/?internalSource=hub nav&referringId=184&referringContentType=recipe hub&referringPosition=4&linkName=hub nav exposed&clickId=hub nav 4
Some good sites for recipes:
http://www.budgetbytes.com
http://www.skinnytaste.com
http://allrecipes.com
Some threads on budget eating:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10518784/healthy-food-choice-on-a-budget/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500423/costing-a-lot-more-money-to-eat-healthier#latest
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10490067/most-healthy-food-options-are-very-expensive-and-im-on-a-very-poor-budget-what-to-do#latest4 -
NoFilter1977 wrote: »How close do you live to a grocery store? I like to buy daily or plan my meals for 3 days and only buy what I needs for that. I've figured out how to eat at home for only about $50 a week from doing this. Just takes a little planning.
I live ~5 miles (8 km) from the store. I guess I could start asking for better ideas for eating at home? I spent $50 just for our breakfast items for the week.
Can I ask what you bought and what it cost? Maybe you live in an area with extremely high prices, but the only ways I can imagine spending that much for a week for breakfast for two would be either serving steak or seafood for breakfast several times, or buying individual frozen or refrigerated pre-made breakfast sandwiches or the like at $3.50 a pop (which would be at the high end of what you would have to pay for such a thing in my area; I generally pay more in the neighborhood of $2 to $2.50 each for such things, because I don't eat them much, so I only buy them when I see some I like on sale, and just have on hand for "emergencies" or when the mood strikes).
I can get a dozen eggs for $3 to $4 (actually more like $2 if I don't buy cage free), a pound of bacon for $5 to $6 (less on sale or if I buy the store brand), $4 for orange juice (I think that's the non-sale price, I don't honestly drink OJ at home that much), a loaf of bread (for toast) for $3 (less on sale), a box of cold cereal or a box of oatmeal for $3.50, some butter for $4, a half gallon of milk for $3.50, and six bananas for $1.50. That's $29.50 at non-sale prices, with the cage-free eggs, and I would think that's more than enough food for a week's worth of breakfasts for two people -- I wouldn't think you'd use up the full loaf of bread or all of the cereal or butter, and probably you would have enough milk to use some of it for other meals (I'm picturing three to four egg, bacon, toast meals and three to four cereal and bananas meals). You might even have extra eggs and bacon, depending on how large a breakfast you like.3 -
Your breakfast budget is shocking. But I'll never push people away from eggs. They are so good at keeping blood sugars steady.
Here's how to make cheap fast food from a pack of minced meat. Add an egg, bread crumbs, pepper and milk. Form most in to meat balls and bake in your oven for about twenty minutes. Turn once midway if you are fussy. If you bought family size and the tray is at capacity, stuff the rest of the mixture in to a loaf pan for meatloaf. Freeze all you won't eat then.
Hubby starts eating these meatballs right off the pan.1 -
$50 per week for breakfast for 2 is $3.50 per person per day. You'd be lucky to buy coffee & toast for that price at a restaurant. $150 per week for all meals is $10 per person per day. Again, don't know where you would eat out for that.1
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I'm only in this for about 3 weeks now but I live alone and have to plan to not over buy. I have the storage space but I prefer to use what I buy. I do eggs, not for the cost but the nutrition, but luckily it covers both nicely (breakfast is 1 whole/2whites scrambled and a slice of high fiber toast). I get apples because they last the week and are easy to eat at work quickly when I find time. Lunch is evolving still, I usually pack a frozen lunch and I add frozen veggies since the meals are very saucy and the veggies soak it up and bulk out the meal.
Dinner - my suggestion is you look into stir fry. You can use less meat (eg buy just the 2 chicken breasts you mentioned, or whatever meat is cheap that week) and stretch it by slicing it thinly. You can change the flavor instantly with the condiments which don't go bad quickly at all. So you can go more thai, or sweet, or spicy, and changing up the extras (rice vs noodle vs quinoa) change it too. I think that would help with the boredom since you can change the taste and texture of the same base ingredients for whatever you want that day. Another thought is a middle ground of eating in and going out. In the 'ethnic' area where I live are indian packets and you just have to heat them up, but I add veggies and meat if I have it and eat it with rice or some naan bread. The packets are inexpensive, have a large variety, most are very flavorful, and good on their own if you are low on time or ingredients, and take up very little room. The brand by me is called Tasty Bite and I really like the Channa Masala adding in broccoli and onion and peas and maybe chicken if I have it. Your girlfriend can eat it with naan and you can go without to lower the carbs. My store has them for about $3.50 each but it's cheaper at the Indian store but that isn't as convenient for me to get to.
Good luck!!!4 -
It will definitely be harder without a decent sized fridge and freezer. Mine are always full with bags of chopped vegetables, bags of chopped cooked meat, containers of dinner/lunch, containers of yogurt/jam/granola parfait, eggs, the current batch of soup, the current batch of rice & beans (& veggies & meat).0
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There is no way you can eat out cheaper than eating at home, nor could you eat as healthily, nor accurately count calories.
Plan your meals around what is on special that week. Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season or buy frozen as they still contain their nutritional goodness. I also do fruit and veg shopping every 2 or 3 days to eliminate waste and have them fresher. If you are low carb and don't need to be for health reasons then up them a bit because a low carb diet is the most expensive as carbs are much cheaper to purchase. Meat is expensive which is why I stick to mainly minced meat, chicken breast, frozen fish and tinned tuna.2 -
Didnt read everything so sorry if its already been said, but perhaps you would enjoy hello fresh or blue apron.
Also I second frozen veggies! And alot of veggies you buy fresh can be frozen too, so don't think the garbage can is the only option.
I tend to keep apples, carrots, and bussel sprouts handy as I find they have a longer shelf life.0 -
NoFilter1977 wrote: »Does anyone know of places you can eat out at that are cheaper than trying to afford all of this healthy food that goes to waste? I try to buy fresh veggies and such, but they end up going bad before I can finish them a lot of the time. I'm just not a salad everyday kinda guy. I have a small fridge, so eating out is a choice I perhaps have to consider. Don't judge me :P
I don't eat out, so can't help on that point. Your query about groceries seems to touch on only veg. Don't you buy or eat anything else? You need to buy everything in smaller quantities so there's no waste. We hardly dump anything in our house. Today's leftovers are tomorrow's meals.0 -
NoFilter1977 wrote: »Heather4448 wrote: »A lot of the larger grocery store chains have salad bars. You could just grab one on the way home.
I have gotten those package salads from Walmart before. I think they are $4 or so. I wish they were bigger, but it probably is a cheaper option than buying stuff to make salads. Plus they are portioned out. Thanks for the idea.. well, you said "salad bar" but you made me think of this. Only salad bar near me is crazy expensive. Making a salad there would be in the $15 range.
Missed this the first time around, and just wanted to say I've tested this with the salad mixes- *definitely* not cheaper, even on sale for $2.50. However, part of the savings is that you get 6 times as much, which it sounds like you don't want. I won't lie- balancing cost with convenience and variety takes some effort in the way of planning & preparation, which not every family is willing to do.2 -
I used to always waste fresh fruits and veggies as well! I suggest buying frozen veggies, that is how I cut down on waste. If you use the fruit in smoothies, buy them frozen. Honestly, I only really keep apples in my apartment because they last a very long time compared to other fruits (like bananas).1
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