Eating healthy in a budget

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).

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 !

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.

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.

OldHobo wrote: »

AliceDark wrote: »

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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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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.

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.

janejellyroll wrote: »

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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.

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."

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.

OldHobo wrote: »

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.

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.

OldHobo wrote: »

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.

I don't think anyone has mentioned pork tenderloin. It's surprisingly low calorie, good protein, and especially if you get a large one on holiday special, very inexpensive. Cook a giant tenderloin, freeze what you can't eat quickly, and use it to make sandwiches, stir fry, etc.

rheddmobile wrote: »

I don't think anyone has mentioned pork tenderloin. It's surprisingly low calorie, good protein, and especially if you get a large one on holiday special, very inexpensive. Cook a giant tenderloin, freeze what you can't eat quickly, and use it to make sandwiches, stir fry, etc.

I wish it were cheap here, it's one of my favourite meats. But here it's now become one of the most expensive of the three major meat types (Beef, Pork, Chicken), and costs often double what a piece of Chicken Breast is.

Bringing dinner leftovers for lunch the next days saves about $200+ per month over butting lunch at McDonalds in weekdays.

A lot of great comments already, so I’ll spare you my list of healthy foods and just add that sometimes you have to shop around to learn where the best prices are - like I can buy Cashew Milk at Acme for $3.99 a carton or I can wait until my next trip to Walmart where I know the cartons are always $2.99.

Meanwhile, I could buy my case of diet Sunkist while at Walmart for $3.79... or I could be savvy and stock up at Shoprite when they have their 4 cases/$10 store coupon.

I don’t buy fresh veggies at any of those locations unless I am desperate because I KNOW the best veggie prices are to be had at my local farmers market. Cartons of eggs are well priced there, too - 2 cartons for $1.50 sometimes.

Beyond that, I take advantage of bargain outlets like Aldis and some local mom and pop shops. You really just need to do the legwork a couple times until you figure out what prices are consistently best at what places - then stock up appropriately.

Good luck!

Do you meal plan regularly? I plan out meals for a month at a time so I can group "like" things together. For example, if I am making something with chicken then I will plan something else with chicken for the following week, or week after, and then I will purchase bulk chicken from Costco as that's way cheaper than buying just a couple pieces at my regular grocery store.

Regular staples on my list are
- eggs
- cheese
- rolled oats
- fresh vegetables (mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, carrots)
- bananas
- apples
- berries (raspberries, blackberries, etc depending on season)
- bagged salad
- canned veggies like green beans when fresh isn't in season
- ground turkey
- chicken thighs (cheaper than breasts and not as bad calorie wise as they are sometimes made out to be)
- english muffins (I make my own egg mcmuffins without the meat portion)
- potatoes
- rice
- pasta
- pasta sauce


Since I meal plan way ahead this list will be largely dependant on what I'm planning to eat but I do eat eggs and oatmeal almost every day - it's just dinner that changes.

Do you have a costco near you? Some things - if you use them - are waaaaay cheaper there and are a much better deal. For example, I can get 2KG of Kraft smooth PB for $7 at Costco so I only buy PB like 3 times a year and I use it every week to make overnight oats. Eggs, I can get 2 dozen eggs for $4.99 at Costco - these are the large, Grade A eggs. Not organic, not free range but just eggs. 2 dozen will last me almost a month (as I eat one every day). Ground turkey is about $25 for 4lbs (individually packaged, but comes together). Chicken thighs I can get 25 pieces for about $20 - $25, depends on weight. English muffins, 4 packages of 6 pieces is $4.99 - that's another whole month worth right there. There about $3/package of 6 at the grocery store. If the items are ones you will use and/or things you can freeze you will save big time shopping at Costco. If you're single, or your family won't eat the same things you do, I would highly recommend you do not buy much produce at Costco - trust me, from experience you likely cannot eat it fast enough to make it worth while. There are a few exceptions to this: berries (when in season), pre-packaged Kale salad, and bananas . . . just my experience, so take it with a grain of salt of course.

If you can meal plan for a couple weeks at a time then you can likely figure out what you need to buy and then purchase what you need. This will help to avoid single recipe things. Try to find recipes that use similar ingredients and find ones that are simple. I eat really simple most weeks - sometimes I branch out and try new things but for the most part I just eat simple, normal food. I am single, but I spend about $50 CAD/week on groceries. More if it's a week to stock up on things like eggs or Costco items. This amount includes things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, dish soap, feminine hygiene (which also buy from Costco if you can BIG SAVINGS there) and the like.

This is long winded, sorry but one more thing: I don't eat red meat, and I don't even eat meat every week. I have found that since I reduced my meat intake to very minimal amounts my grocery bill has gone waaaaay down. Items like lentils can "beef" up any meal. For example, on Pinterest I found a recipe to make shepherd's pie with lentils instead of meat and I love it. I know the difference, but I don't even notice it texture wise. Flavour I just use some spices to mix it up a bit.

Hopefully this helps, and good luck!