Eating healthy in a budget
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todsgirl1986
Posts: 1 Member
Can anyone share their healthy budget friendly grocery list with me??
0
Replies
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It depends upon what you deem "healthy"
Eggs
oats
potatoes
sweet potatoes
frozen veggies
bananas
bagged apples
chicken
tuna
beans (especially dried)
legumes (especially dried)
rice
yogurt
https://www.budgetbytes.com/8 -
budgetbytes.com is a good website for budget friendly recipes. It's not necessarily intended to be a healthy eating site, but I have found most of her recipes to be easy to make and generally "healthy".2
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When I'm trying to save money, I usually eat things like oats, rice, potatoes, canned tomatoes, dried beans, frozen vegetables, cabbage, carrots, onions, and seasonal fruits and vegetables (the cheaper ones anyway).1
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It wouldn't work. You have to buy what you think is healthy, what you like and can afford, and whatever is accessible in your area. My general tips tend to include looking for sales, but don't be fooled; look at value, not just price; don't be picky, but don't deliberately choose foods you know you don't like; balance your meals so you get enough of everything; rotate and alternate and buy just what you need and eat it up - or store it properly, and then eat it; "shop" from your freezer and pantry first; cook from scratch, liberate yourself from recipes; plan meals so you have balanced and tasty meals and eat up everything in time; buy fresh or frozen according to price and use; get to know the seasons for different foods.10
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Lentils and leftovers! Lentils will bulk any meat meal without affecting flavour, and don't cook anything you can't use twice in one form or another - it really helps me to have go-to leftovers to microwave or put in a salad or sandwich when I simply cant be bothered and would reach for the take away menu !0
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get the sales flyers for your grocery store and plan your meals around that - pick 1-2 proteins (chicken, pork, turkey are my go-tos); vegetables (sweet potatoes were recently $1/2lb etc)1
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Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.
Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.
Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.3 -
Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.
Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.
Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.
That's not really the best strategy, for a lot of reasons. Things like rice, beans and legumes are kept in the numbered aisles where I live, and they're all on my "cheap and healthy" list for sure. Depending on the season and your location, canned tomatoes can be cheaper (and of better quality) than fresh. Frozen vegetables are usually in the center of the store where I live as well, and they're usually a good buy too.
OP, I focus on buying produce that is in-season, since it's usually cheaper and is going to taste much better. I like bulking out meals with things like greens, frozen veggies, beans/rice/legumes, etc. When I'm trying to save money, I tend to either make my grocery lists based on the store flyer OR go to the store with a rough meal template (it needs a grain or green for the base, a protein and some other kind of veg) and then buy whatever is on sale that will fit that template.6 -
Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.
Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.
Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.
Does this actually save you money? I find my cheapest meals tend to be those that include things like pasta, rice, oats, canned tomatoes, and dried beans.9 -
Frozen veggies
lean cuisines if they are on sale
Hamburger meat
Chicken thighs
Lentils
Beef and chicken broth
Spaghetti squash, fresh spinach, yams
French vanilla Greek yogurt
Herbal tea bags0 -
Being flexible and eating what you have will also save you a lot.
I used to buy a bunch of veggies every time I felt like going on a diet and then ended throwing a lot out.
Now I buy a lot less and focus on sturdy and frozen veggies. Cabbages both Asian and conventional keep well. I peel from the outside in and they make many meals.
I’ll bulk cook onions and butter in my slow cooker for caramelised onions. These get frozen in ice cube trays. I cannot express how much they enrich sauces.
Which brings me to sauces. Learn a few basic sauces like an Italian tomato based, curry, white sauce and Mexican.
I plan my meal around my protein and I have a bulk recipe for each kind. It takes just as long to roast a tray of meatballs as it takes to make I single portion. Freeze the rest and you have home made ready meals any time you like. The same thing with roasting a pork loin, beef, or whole chicken.
The bones can be slow cooked with onion, carrot peelings, water and spices for your own soup stock and a base for many more meals.0 -
Certainly, there are food items in the center aisles that are necessary and good buys. In addition to those you mention are whole grain cereals like steel cut oats and grits from whole corn; canned small forage fish like sardines, kinds of vinegar are also necessary pantry items. But I'm sure you will agree that a lot of the products in those aisles do not contribute to good health or a friendly grocery budget. I'm not as enthusiastic about frozen foods as you might be but frozen peas and corn make sense to me. Dried beans are great. I don't buy them often though. Beans are harvested once per year. I buy the ones I use most in bulk and use them up by year-end....
That's not really the best strategy, for a lot of reasons. Things like rice, beans and legumes are kept in the numbered aisles where I live, and they're all on my "cheap and healthy" list for sure. Depending on the season and your location, canned tomatoes can be cheaper (and of better quality) than fresh. Frozen vegetables are usually in the center of the store where I live as well, and they're usually a good buy too.
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A three item limit; the 4th has to wait 'til next week. I thought it obvious that was tongue in cheek; probably a mistake on my part. But I limit myself to very few items on the grocery list for all that stuff. I know a bit about cooking and grocery shopping and I'm not immune to the marketing wiles of big food industries. "Shop the perimeter and stick to the list in the center," is advice I've heard more or less continuously since the late 60's and I think it is sound and helpful to pass it on here when someone asks for a shopping list.
Yes, it saves me money. I buy all those things you mention. But most of the items in the center aisles I have never bought and I can't remember the last time I bought crackers, cookies or most anything of the sort that gets talked about in the continuous new products thread that I got home and said, "That saved me money," or "This will make me healthier."janejellyroll wrote: »...
Does this actually save you money? I find my cheapest meals tend to be those that include things like pasta, rice, oats, canned tomatoes, and dried beans.
4 -
Certainly, there are food items in the center aisles that are necessary and good buys. In addition to those you mention are whole grain cereals like steel cut oats and grits from whole corn; canned small forage fish like sardines, kinds of vinegar are also necessary pantry items. But I'm sure you will agree that a lot of the products in those aisles do not contribute to good health or a friendly grocery budget. I'm not as enthusiastic about frozen foods as you might be but frozen peas and corn make sense to me. Dried beans are great. I don't buy them often though. Beans are harvested once per year. I buy the ones I use most in bulk and use them up by year-end....
That's not really the best strategy, for a lot of reasons. Things like rice, beans and legumes are kept in the numbered aisles where I live, and they're all on my "cheap and healthy" list for sure. Depending on the season and your location, canned tomatoes can be cheaper (and of better quality) than fresh. Frozen vegetables are usually in the center of the store where I live as well, and they're usually a good buy too.
...
A three item limit; the 4th has to wait 'til next week. I thought it obvious that was tongue in cheek; probably a mistake on my part. But I limit myself to very few items on the grocery list for all that stuff. I know a bit about cooking and grocery shopping and I'm not immune to the marketing wiles of big food industries. "Shop the perimeter and stick to the list in the center," is advice I've heard more or less continuously since the late 60's and I think it is sound and helpful to pass it on here when someone asks for a shopping list.
Yes, it saves me money. I buy all those things you mention. But most of the items in the center aisles I have never bought and I can't remember the last time I bought crackers, cookies or most anything of the sort that gets talked about in the continuous new products thread that I got home and said, "That saved me money," or "This will make me healthier."janejellyroll wrote: »...
Does this actually save you money? I find my cheapest meals tend to be those that include things like pasta, rice, oats, canned tomatoes, and dried beans.
I agree with you that there are a lot of products in the center aisles that aren't great for budget eating (but there are lots of products in the meat, dairy, and produce aisles that aren't so great either), it's just that I think there are a lot of great products for budget eating in the center aisles too. I personally would find it more challenging to eat a balanced budget-friendly diet practicing a restriction like that. My philosophy is that it's more about what I choose than where I'm choosing it.1 -
Such great suggestions!!!0
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Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.
Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.
Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.
What if I am out of coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes and peanut butter? There's nothing wrong with any of those products to justify leaving them behind. Thats a very random and unhelpful rule. Besides the fact that not all grocery stores have the same layout. In mine, the ice cream and candy are on the perimeter and the produce is in the middle.
I think that, because we are all adults who can comprehend concepts without silly rules, we can say "try to buy more fresh or frozen produce, lean meats, etc" without assuming that people can't figure out where in the store to find these products.
Sorry for the rant, but "shop the perimeter of the store" is my #1 pet peeve when it comes to weight loss advice.4 -
Buying in season for fruits and vegetables and focusing on whole foods bought in bulk tends to help me out.0
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Dry pasta is also really cheap. You can buy a jumbo box of oatmeal and 10-20 lb. bag of rice and that will save you in the long run. For me the most important thing is to cook and drink at home to save money. Coffees, alcohol and meals at restaurants add up very quickly.1
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It really does depend upon how little money you wish to spend. Dave Ramsey recommends rice and beans, with beans and rice for variety.1
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Someone else asked the same question a couple weeks ago and I actually made a list of choices. Instead of duplicating that effort, here is another strategy.
Don't allow yourself to buy any more than three items for human consumption from any of the numbered aisles in the store. Soap, toilet paper, and charcoal don't count; buy as much of that stuff as you want. But if you want coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter, one of those has to wait 'til the next trip.
Everything else has to come from the produce, meat & fish, or dairy sections on the store perimeter.
Coffee, cooking oil, canned tomatoes, and peanut butter are in three different aisles in the stores I shop in (canned tomatoes and cooking oil are in the same aisle). Also, I really don't see the point to this arbitrary rule, which suggests it's better for my budget and health to buy a bag of potato chips because it's in a different aisle than it is to buy a fourth variety of canned or frozen vegetables.2 -
Chicken, Beef (mince usually), Fish (canned tuna for lunch, or fresh fish for dinner), Eggs (boiled) form the "bulk" of meals. Learn to season.todsgirl1986 wrote: »Can anyone share their healthy budget friendly grocery list with me??
The rest comes from vegetables like Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Carrot, Cucumber, Beetroot, Mushrooms, Pumpkin, Capsicum/Peppers, Broccoli, Cauliflower.
Then fruit like Apples, Pears, Watermelon, Bananas (frozen then blended with ice you can make an ice-cream like meal), Pineapple, Oranges as snack type things.
Obviously exactly what you go with depends on what's cheap in your area and the season.
Yes, you can go with bread, pasta, rice, beans pretty cheaply but I wouldn't really call them "healthy" as they are just empty carbs.
A key part for the budget is avoiding buying prepared/fast food, going to restaurants, buying coffees or snack foods when out of the house. About the only prepared food you should be buying is rotisserie chicken, from a supermarket when you're buying the rest of the stuff.
An ideal "cheap & healthy" dinner would be 200 to 300grams of beef or chicken, 2-3 boiled eggs and your selected vegetables. That would be around 2600 kilojules.1
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