Asking 4 tight budget grocery ideas

you can buy boxed chicken breast and I find that it usually goes a long way!

Lots of chicken and fish. Those are meats that can be prepared lots of different ways and paired with lots of veggies. If you like fish, I reccomend trying the Swai. It is available at Walmart in the frozen foods area. Grill it, broil it, pan fry it whatever. It is a white fillet with a mild flavor. My boys love it!

Do you have Aldi near you? They're save you SO much money! I always keep frozen chicken, frozen tilapia, and canned tuna around. I also buy the large containers of plain oatmeal and plain yogurt. Both of these will fill you up and you can add in fruits, nuts, etc. to switch up the flavors. Cottage cheese is also great for trying to lose weight, just watch the sodium in it. Good luck!

Store brand rice and store brand seasoned black beans. If you can afford a cheap bottle of salsa to add to it even better. Very fulling and tasty. I make 4 servings of rice, add the black beans and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salsa. I also add whatever spices I like - although I don't know what you may already have in your pantry - I like Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic, etc.

Black beans! Cheap and delicious. You can do a lot with them!

Farmers markets are a great choice, sometimes as they're closing or packing up you can even get BETTER deals.

im in the same position and heres wat ive found. the supermarket own brands r not only cheaper but they beta 4 u calorie n fat wise. i get a bag of pasta 4 17p n it does me 5 meals. u dont have 2 spend massive amounts 2 eat healthy x

I would say boneless, skinless chicken. Pretty cheap if you buy it in a family size and you can make it tons of ways. My favorite is to take it and pour some salsa over it in a casserole dish. Bake it til it's done then put some cheese over it and melt that. SO yummy and healthy. I usually make some brown rice with it.

Lentils and quinoa are great bulk food items that can be made into soup or mixed in with salad for an extra dose of protein! Lentil and quinoa soup can be made in bulk and is very hearty for the winter time.

Every week, I usually get a rotisserie chicken, and I use it for lunch or dinner throughout the week. That, or I get frozen chicken breasts and cook them on Sundays and then distribute portions throughout the week. I'm not sure if you're a vegetarian though!

I usually buy romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, carrots, celery, and cucumbers. As soon as I get home, I cut them all up and put them in a large, sealed container, so I can just easily make a salad whenever I want... frugal and easy in case I'm too tired to make anything! Add some avocado and the rotisserie chicken, and it's very filling.

I purchase a lot of corn tortillas instead of bread. It's taken some getting used to, but I use it for breakfast burritos (eggs, pico de gallo, avocado). Very simple, but very filling for the weekends.

Oatmeal is your friend. Combined with strawberries, banana, and blueberries, it's a very nourishing start to the morning.

My first month of eating like this was about $200.00, but I was buying a bit much. Now, I'm spending maybe $150.00 a month. I actually go to the grocery store twice a week to make sure I always have fresh ingredients. I also don't want anything to go bad, so it's worth it. It's actually made my shopping experience cheaper!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html

her show is called $10 dinners (for a family of 4)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/melissa-darabian/index.html

Also, I second farmers markets. I buy my lean proteins when they're on sale. I make a crap ton of soup from scratch.

I love ground turkey. walmat uasually has teh frozen Jenn- o at a good price. But check your labels to make sure it's white meat turkey and doens't have the skin mixed in making it more fatty.

greek yogurt - pricer than reg. but that's all ai eat fro breakfest so 1.00 to 1.25 for breakfest isn't too bad
nuts (almonds and walnuts are best) buy a big bag inested of teh 100 cal packs that are more expensive
frozen chicken breast
lettuce (I can make almost anything into a salad)
canned tomatos - you can make pasta sauce or top a fajita or taco salad, put in chilli instead of more meat
generic cheeros and bananas

feel free to look at my journal and see what I eat. I'm not on a super tight budget but I do watch my pennies. And i'm not perfect I love sweets. I buy a lot of meat in bulk and freeze it. so chicken one week lean ground beef the next etc. in no time you will have all kinds of stuff in your freezer.

Best of luck to you.

Shop the bulk bins for your grains/beans/nuts and seeds. Generally, from the bulk bins I get steel cut oats, quinoa, brown rice, almonds, flax seed, chick peas, black beans, pinto beans, whole wheat pastry flour, wheat bran, lentils. Definitely shop the sales on produce! In addition to being cheaper, the stuff on sale is usually what's in season, so it tastes better too!

~~Veronica

Oh also if you get good deals on fruits or veggies at the farmers market while things are in season and cheap freeze them. I do it with strawberries because I buy frozen strawberries to put in my slimfast shakes and make a milkshake with them.

Black beans! Cheap and delicious. You can do a lot with them!

I second this. They are great in salad or by themselves..I also suggest looking for clearance items like greek Yogurt and hummus. They are very expensive here, but I find them on clearance for 75% off usually. I eat them that week and they are always good.

hi! I buy A LOT of chicken because it can be prepared in many ways and its cheap. I never fry of course, only bake and grill. My staples are salmon, tilapia and flounder. Brown rice, green beans, squash, almonds, and sugar free jell o are a few of my favorites as well. I stick to a pretty tight budget in my household as well as it is only my husband and I.