1400 calorie shopping list

Dorothylattea
Dorothylattea Posts: 3 Member
edited November 18 in Getting Started
I get paid every two weeks, looking for a shopping list to help me maintain 1400 calories for 14 days, I am on a budget.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    We are all on a budget. You can spread your shopping any way you like. You should definitely buy and eat food you like and put together your own menu based on your own needs and preferences and available resources. It will take an effort, but be so worth it.

    I usually do my shopping twice a week. I think of my food choices as a pyramid - from more to less in quantity but everything just as important - on the bottom are the staples: grains, potatoes, sturdy vegetables like carrots and onions, butter and oil, frozen vegetables, next level up is fresh fruit and vegs and dairy, next level up is fish, meat, eggs and nuts. Simple real food ingredients are usually cheap and versatile and easy to make into delicious meals. I also have a pyramid for price - I choose the cheaper foods of each category more often, and the more expensive foods less often. I will balance price and quality of an item and how much I want it to how much I'm willing to pay for it. This keeps my food bill down, creates a natural rythm as well as variety, and I get to look forward to the special foods because I don't have them every day.

    And then there are the usual tips like buying in bulk, buying in season, cooking at home, avoiding waste.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    What have you been buying before restricting to 1400?
  • labrinaax23
    labrinaax23 Posts: 4 Member
    Try food shopping in unconventional places to keep the budget down. Dollar tree or your area's version of a dollar store may have a frozen food area. I've found frozen microwaveable steam spinach, frozen fruits, etc. which are good to last 2 weeks and you can use however you like.
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,246 Member
    That's tough not knowing what you may already have on hand. I usually have the staples like rice, beans, lentils and oats which I buy in bulk (or large containers) on hand so I don't buy them each grocery run.

    So weekly I buy whatever protein (chicken, fish, beef) is on sale and lots and lots of veggies. I usually meal prep with the meat in a crockpot, then cook up some rice and/or beans. Most of my meals are a variation of a rice and veggie bowl. Look for discount grocery stores in your area. I found several just by "googling" discount grocery near me. Crazy low prices and I never knew it was there!
  • latanyasmith109
    latanyasmith109 Posts: 2 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    We are all on a budget. You can spread your shopping any way you like. You should definitely buy and eat food you like and put together your own menu based on your own needs and preferences and available resources. It will take an effort, but be so worth it.

    I usually do my shopping twice a week. I think of my food choices as a pyramid - from more to less in quantity but everything just as important - on the bottom are the staples: grains, potatoes, sturdy vegetables like carrots and onions, butter and oil, frozen vegetables, next level up is fresh fruit and vegs and dairy, next level up is fish, meat, eggs and nuts. Simple real food ingredients are usually cheap and versatile and easy to make into delicious meals. I also have a pyramid for price - I choose the cheaper foods of each category more often, and the more expensive foods less often. I will balance price and quality of an item and how much I want it to how much I'm willing to pay for it. This keeps my food bill down, creates a natural rythm as well as variety, and I get to look forward to the special foods because I don't have them every day.

    And then there are the usual tips like buying in bulk, buying in season, cooking at home, avoiding waste.

    This is a great reply. I cant wait for this to become a lifestyle for me
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    I usually make a breakfast casserole on the weekend that I eat throughout the week for breakfast so I use a chub of turkey sausage ($3.50), 2 servings of shredded frozen hashbrowns (about $1 or less), 6 eggs (we have chickens so I am not even sure what the cost of eggs is anymore, 1.25 maybe?), and cheese to top it (about 1/4 of a small bag of shredded so around $.75). = around 260 calories breakfast for about $1.30 per serving. I usually eat a piece of fruit with it, whatever is in season/on sale.

    I tend to just do sandwiches for lunch or buy microwave meals on sale when I get bored with sandwiches (buying $.99 store brand bread, deli meat and cheese its around $1.50-2.00 for a sandwich. If I see a really good deal on deli meat I buy a bunch and freeze it, tastes fine thawed out to me). Where I live we have a store called safeway, they have a store brand called "eating right" that makes microwave meals that are quite good IMO and you can get them for $2.00 each usually. That's the cheapest ones I have found (that I am willing to eat!) I usually eat baby carrots with lunch, they are cheap.

    Dinner is different almost every day, but yeah, just buy store brand stuff where you can, rice and frozen veggies are super cheap so its easy to throw together a stir fry. I like fresh veggies, but if I am busy I buy more frozen or canned so that I cut down on any waste from buying something I intend to cook and then not and having to throw it away.

    Budget saving tips: buy in bulk when on sale, buy the cheap staples and build meals with them, cook at home, look for store brands, buy stuff that will store well.
  • nevadavis1
    nevadavis1 Posts: 331 Member
    I end up spending the bulk of my budget on fresh vegetables and salad greens and then most days I eat salads for lunch and dinner. But that's just me. Others have other solutions. Beans of course are relatively cheap and nutritious, I usually have them twice a day too. Bulk oatmeal... But everyone is different.
  • abbynormalartist
    abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
    Just a few cheap, healthy and versatile ideas: eggs, bananas, healthy wraps (there are low calorie, high fiber ones out there), frozen vegetables, shredded cheese (keep in the freezer so it stays fresh).
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited May 2017
    Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but for me whole chickens are a great budget item. If you have access to a Costco, they sell them in multiples of two for less but even at a regular grocery they are cheap for the amount of food as long as you aren't insisting on free-range/organic/etc.

    Roast the chicken then use the carcass for chicken stock. I can easily get a week's worth of meat and 4-5 cups of concentrated stock from one 3-4 lb bird. I use the stock to cook rice, grits, etc as well as for soups.
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