Waist AND Wallet Friendly. Help?

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HollandTaylor
HollandTaylor Posts: 19
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! I'm getting my very own first ever apartment August 1st. Gonna be buying my very own groceries for the first time. I've had to buy a few things here and there before but never had to budget, stock my own kitchen, yada yada yada... So... I don't make a lot of money at all. Gonna be super tight with my wallet (Who isn't nowadays right?) BUT I do NOT want to have to sacrifice my health over that. Any tips or suggestions on how I can shop to eat healthy AND stick to a budget? Like I said in the title, the goal here is to be waist and wallet friendly. :) I'm not afraid of the kitchen. I can cook. Just not sure exactly WHAT to cook or how much it'll cost me... So maybe even some cheap healthy recipe suggestions? I guess an upside is that I'll be buying for one and not a whole family just yet. I just want to start my life off right. Any little tips, suggestions, or even just some quick bits of encouragement are more than welcome and appreciated. Thank ya'll!
~Meag

Replies

  • vegansara
    vegansara Posts: 192 Member
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    My first response is to take advantage of a Trader Joe's if there is one in your area! And that is great that you are not afraid of the kitchen, you'll do fine :)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
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    Agree with vegansara-- Trader Joe's is fantastic. Frozen veggies are also really great because you don't have to worry about spoiling, you can portion out enough for one person, they're always sitting in the freezer when you need them and you can add instant nutrients to pastas, stir fry, sides, etc. They're also reasonably priced!
  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    Good advice from vegansara. I think if you cook for yourself mostly, you'll actually do a lot better buying and making than buying the processed stuff.

    My main tips are coupon cutting (carefully, they do mostly cover the junk and not the essentials, but TP and papertowels, sometimes hygeiene essentials are in there) and weekly flyers.

    Get the flyer, write the menu plan, and buy what you need to make the dinners you want. Eat smaller portions of leftovers for lunch or use part of last night's dinner for lunch the next day-- we had pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches one night, so I ate some BBQ chicken leftovers over spring mix with some added in veggies for salad the next two days.

    I'd also check for farmer's markets in the area. They usually offer produce a lot cheaper and often times organic for less than the grocery store.

    Get meat from the butcher's special area. It is just a bit older, so make it or freeze it right away.

    GL!
  • Sadie98072
    Sadie98072 Posts: 212 Member
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    Make friends with your local fruit/veg market. Find out when they have the cheapest produce for sale and make sure you are there to take advantage.
    Near where I live there is a massive market and between 2-3pm on Saturdays they are just getting rid of produce. Its the same stuff that was for sale for more money earlier in the day but they need to get rid of stock so out it goes.
    Also check out recipes involving lentils/chickpeas/legumes. It is much cheaper to eat vegetarian meals than it is to eat meat based meals. Not saying you should go vego all the time, but a few times a week does make a difference.
    When you do cook, make enough for a few people and just freeze the extra portions or use the left overs as your lunch the next day.
  • nicothepotato
    nicothepotato Posts: 306 Member
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    I like to shop for bulk grains and beans. I don't mean buy it at Cosco, I mean go to the bulk foods section of a normal grocery store and bag it yourself. I save my big jars and bottles and put the bulk rice, oatmeal, beans I buy in them. It's cheaper and Earth friendly! It's also great because you decide how much you buy. You don't have to get the 4 pound bag when you'll only eat 1 pound in a year. Double check the packaged section though. Sometimes there's a sale and it's cheaper to buy it packaged.
  • HollandTaylor
    HollandTaylor Posts: 19
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    Wow! Didn't expect anyone to respond so quickly. I don't believe I've ever heard of Trader Joe's before but I'll check. And I'm sure there's a farmer's market somewhere. I mean it's Texas for goodness sake. :P I'll just have to figure out the closest one to me in the Houston area. Or well...a bit north really. But anyway I'll look. Thank ya'll so much! I appreciate every little bit ya'll have to say. Keep it comin! :)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Whole chickens are surprisingly cheap. Cook one, strip all the meat off (you can even not eat the skin but I eat it), freeze some, use it for salads, wraps etc.
    Spinach, or heads of green leaf lettuce are cheaper than bagged salads. Buy whole carrots and celery over the pre-cut stuff.
    Eggs are super cheap.
    Lean hamburger in the little tubes is actually cheaper than the stuff packaged on the styrofoam.
    A lot of stores now have store-brand whole wheat pasta. I think Safeway has storebrand whole wheat bread.
    Buy fruit when it's on sale, otherwise stick to orange, apples and bananas (berries are SUPER expensive when they are on sale)
    Farmer's Markets are generally good places.
    Canned no-salt black beans, corn, tomatoes, veggies are generally less than a $1 (again look for store brand).
    Real (not instant) oatmeal is great and cheap.
  • SageLikeTheSpice
    SageLikeTheSpice Posts: 32 Member
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    Something I've recently discovered is buying less of things that go bad. I was used to getting processed foods that would stick around longer, and once I started getting the more expensive and fresh stuff that tends to be better for you (around the same time my wallet was getting tight because my roomie had no job), I wasn't good at getting the right amount and tended to get more than I could eat before it went bad. This was especially true if I thought I was smart to go with a bigger shopping trip and cover several meals, but then I had a limited time to eat those meals before they went bad. So, yeah, my advice is to go with smaller grocery trips and smaller amounts of the stuff that's going to go bad.
  • jfluchere
    jfluchere Posts: 346 Member
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    Eggs, can tuna for protein
    rice
    beans
    tofu
    oatmeal
  • daniey89
    daniey89 Posts: 23
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    Wow good on you! Oatmeal is a great choice for breakfast, cheap, filling and waist friendly. Homemade salads and soups with seasonal fruit and veges are goodies too. Are you near a farmers market? For dinner Tofu or chicken and vege stirfrys are good, Homemade vege pizza and or fritattas. Check out this website, it is a NZ website but i'm sure it will give you heaps of ideas as they have a budget friendly chapter www.healthyfood.co.nz.

    Best of luck :)
  • foodforfuel
    foodforfuel Posts: 569 Member
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    I am so excited for you!!!! Your first apartment!!! That is going to be so much fun, and you have such a great attitude about starting off right!
    If you have a Kroger in your area, I highly recommend the Kroger brand Lite non-fat yogurt. Here they sell it 10 for $4.00, and it's really good. I also like their Canadian Bacon.
    All best wishes for you in your new place!
  • HollandTaylor
    HollandTaylor Posts: 19
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    Thank ya'll! :) I'm so glad that I like the foods ya'll are telling me! haha I didn't realize beans and rice were health foods. I can't remember where the Kroger is in that area but I'm sure it isn't far away. I really need to find a farmer's market I guess. :) I'm so excited. Thank ya'll! I just don't want to be stuck on ramen noodles for the whole 6 months. But I'm also sick of fast food and eating out which has been my only option for the past 3 months due to lack of kitchen, pantry, or own living space other than a couch at my aunt's. Grrrr....so ready for this space. What are some of ya'll's favorite yummy nutritious recipes? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.... Snack, Dessert? Cheap pre/post workout snacks or smoothies?
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I am a junkie for ground turkey. I find that when it is frozen, it's usually $1.60 a pound, and sometimes I can get it on sale for only $1. It's very high in protein, and low calorie.

    Beans are also a good protein that are cheap. So are eggs.

    For produce, the more common something is, the cheaper it will be. If you have exotic tastes, the food gets more expensive. I agree that farmer's markets are awesome this time of year.

    I also get a lot of my veggies frozen. Frozen stuff never spoils, and is always ready and waiting.

    Potatoes are cheap, but I wouldn't say they are great for weight loss. Obviously a baked potato is going to be more nutritious than french fries, so a baked potato here and there is ok. Just look it up and see if you want to fit it in your calorie goals or not.

    Sometimes I like to go grocery shopping late at night, when there are fewer customers so I can take my time and really read the labels and decide what I want. Do you have 24/7 grocery shopping in your area? Not every place does, but if you can go when it's not busy, it is nice.

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