How to cut down grocery bill, and still eat healthy?
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I bulk prepare meatballs from a family pack of hamburger. They are all baked at once and those we don't have that day are frozen for future meals. Home made ready meals.
I prepared a pork loin roast today. Again, way more than we can eat at a sitting, but the sliced leftovers will also be frozen for future meals.
A roast beef or chicken will produce soup bones and stock for soups and stews later in the week. I consider the soups and stews to be practically "free".
I stopped wasting so many vegetables by buying frozen, stocking the sturdier vegetables, and buying very small quantities very frequently of the rest. That way nothing goes bad. I now peel off cabbage and lettuce leaves from the outside going in, leaving the stalk intact. It lasts better that way.
Sturdy vegetables include onion, cabbage, and carrots. I prefer romaine over other lettuces for the same reason.
[Edited to add] OH! How can I forget potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash? I keep a squash on the counter when I'm in the mood to make my vegetarian curry stew.3 -
888sisters_weight888 wrote: »abbynormal52 wrote: »Not where I live, but they have garden spaces to rent for a season, or, some I think are free. I may check it out if I get up the willingness. I have heard a lot gets stolen even though it's in a "secure" area., but I can check. We do have a seasonal Farmer's Market where I am going to be frequenting each Friday. I think it's only one day, have to check that too;)
Fortunately for you Denise, the Farmer's Market might very likely benefit your budget. In these parts I've found that it is sometimes defeatist, having to deal with inflated prices, so buying off the farm directly sometimes is a consideration for me.
Appreciated kshama2001's recommendation for edible gardening, for my sister and I will soon be investing time to start and develop ours, preferring hanging themed gardens Vs taking over spaces in the backyard. We're starting with our vegetable cutaways. Hydroponics first to nurse the roots then transplant and we're going to sprout beans again.
I had a dear friend in Texas that bought (I think it was called) a Tower Garden. Might be wrong about the name, but it was set up in her home and she grew lettuce and I can't remember what else. Shoot, even to have fresh lettuce and what ever else I could fit in there, would be worth it. I'll see if I can get a link to one and put it here: Cool here is one, almost identical to hers:)
Just wanted to add that I've heard the Farmers Market is cost-effective, but living alone, I don't know. I need to get a FoodSaver setup for sure. I just buy little bits at a time and shop more often. I think I could do better buying more, and preserving it some way;)
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concordancia wrote: »MerryMavis1 wrote: »concordancia wrote: »What do people but at Aldi that is cheaper?? Every time I have taken the time to comparison shop, Also might have a few things cheaper, but then other things are way more expensive and it averages out that other stores are cheaper. Perhaps our Aldi's just has higher prices because it is in a food desert while I drive further to Ralph's?
Oh gosh, everything lol. Snack foods, breakfast type stuff (oats, syrup, cereal, granola bars etc), coffee, baking supplies (waay cheaper), dairy (1.88 for 12 oz shredded cheese, real butter for $2, gallon of milk for $2 etc), fresh/frozen produce, paper goods, pet food, bakery items, meat/frozen meat, grains/bagged and boxed goods etc etc etc. I love Costco and Daily Deals too, but Aldi has the lowest prices for a complete shopping trip (Costco and Daily Deals I only get a few things at each that are good deals).
The produce selection here suuccckkksss. I can't even get decent onions. For some reason the next nearest store doesn't have decent onions, either. They just have these two packs of mammoth onions. Aldi's (here) doesn't carry whole grain wheat, and when I have checked for spices, they didn't have what I wanted either (dried onion and garlic salt, as I recall). The pasta is more expensive than my regular store, as is the milk.
Aldi near me has beautiful produce (3 kinds of onions in 2&3 lb bags, not mammoth) at 1/3 the price of my nearest Tom Thumb, which is way less than Whole Foods. I’m sorry it’s not the same for you!
OP, I can’t think of anything cheaper & more filling than beans and rice. There’s so much variety in dry beans, they cost ~$1/pound, and they have a really long shelf life. They’re so hearty, a little meat goes a long way with legumes. Also a big fan of eggs, although the price is up sharply the past 2 weeks, it’s still the best deal on fresh protein, and talk about versatile! Whether you buy whole chickens or thighs&drumsticks, save the skin & bones for stock. I use a gallon a week! Pots of herbs are a godsend. More of a convenience than a cost savings, but it’s great to snip just what you need without waste. For meat, you just have to shop the sales and use your freezer. With a little planning, you can definitely eat great (and healthy) on a budget.4 -
I bulk prepare meatballs from a family pack of hamburger. They are all baked at once and those we don't have that day are frozen for future meals. Home made ready meals.
I prepared a pork loin roast today. Again, way more than we can eat at a sitting, but the sliced leftovers will also be frozen for future meals.
A roast beef or chicken will produce soup bones and stock for soups and stews later in the week. I consider the soups and stews to be practically "free".
I stopped wasting so many vegetables by buying frozen, stocking the sturdier vegetables, and buying very small quantities very frequently of the rest. That way nothing goes bad. I now peel off cabbage and lettuce leaves from the outside going in, leaving the stalk intact. It lasts better that way.
Sturdy vegetables include onion, cabbage, and carrots. I prefer romaine over other lettuces for the same reason.
[Edited to add] OH! How can I forget potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash? I keep a squash on the counter when I'm in the mood to make my vegetarian curry stew.
I need to do this, I mentioned it in another reply;) I've only played with the idea of getting something like a FoodSaver to vacuum pack things with. I really need to get one, if I'm smart;)
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Consider a shopping/recipe app which figures out the cost per serving of your common meals. It took me a while of saving receipts and adding information to get it to be useful, but when I did it was very helpful.
Where to get the best deals depends on your location and what you like to eat. I buy chicken thighs in bulk at Costco and freeze what I can't use, and cook a large pork loin at the beginning of the week, eat it over several meals, slice and freeze what I can't use for adding to stir fry. Olive oil also comes from Costco, in bulk. Fish comes from an Asian market which has less expensive, uncommonly used by Americans, types of fish. Fresh veg from the same market, best prices there. Breakfast every day is cottage cheese, steel cut oats with frozen berries and apples, made with milk - very filling and not expensive. I spend money to get best quality on things I care about but eat rarely, such as steak and bread.
Eggs, tuna, legumes, ground turkey, and cottage cheese are all cheap protein sources. Ground turkey / black bean chili is cheap and good!2 -
I use ziplock and squeeze the air out.
Sauces, dips and stocks are frozen in the ice cube tray first.
As for vertical farming I can do you one better. This is an open source instruction manual to build your own (cheaply).
http://www.windowfarms.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Version-3.0-DIY-Instruction-Book.pdf2 -
for me:
i plan my weekly meals around what protein is on sale; i do lots of carbs - so things lie rice; barley; potatos etc are cheap (sweet potates were .99c at the store this week; barley is like 1.50 a bag) - between those 2 things i can make lunch for a week on about $2.504 -
I use ziplock and squeeze the air out.
Here's a neat trick I started doing for the past 2 weeks, as a lot of our things are still in storage in SD. Works rather well, even with meats using a Ziploc or Freezer bag.
https://youtu.be/XrZPLF0ezw8
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I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.0
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I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
I was at Daily Deals yesterday (an overstock/close to expiration date kind of store), and they had HT for $1.50 a container-I about died LOL. The dates were good on it so needless to say-I now have about 2o of them stuffed into my freezer
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rheddmobile wrote: »Consider a shopping/recipe app which figures out the cost per serving of your common meals. It took me a while of saving receipts and adding information to get it to be useful, but when I did it was very helpful.
Where to get the best deals depends on your location and what you like to eat. I buy chicken thighs in bulk at Costco and freeze what I can't use, and cook a large pork loin at the beginning of the week, eat it over several meals, slice and freeze what I can't use for adding to stir fry. Olive oil also comes from Costco, in bulk. Fish comes from an Asian market which has less expensive, uncommonly used by Americans, types of fish. Fresh veg from the same market, best prices there. Breakfast every day is cottage cheese, steel cut oats with frozen berries and apples, made with milk - very filling and not expensive. I spend money to get best quality on things I care about but eat rarely, such as steak and bread.
Eggs, tuna, legumes, ground turkey, and cottage cheese are all cheap protein sources. Ground turkey / black bean chili is cheap and good!
The app is a great idea, and this month, I've saved all my receipts so I can see how much I spent. I have android so Google PlayStore will probably have an app I can try out;)
I love my steel cut oats. I finally tried them about a year ago now. I like mine with raisins, blueberries, br. sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon;). I buy them in the bulk section of our health-food Market.
Funny how little "local" products they have though. I live in the far North of California, and really isolated from things. We at least have a Safeway, Grocery Outlet (love GO the best but they are hit and miss with product) Walmart (it'll due when you don't have a lot of choice), and then our fresh, fish market.
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MerryMavis1 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
I was at Daily Deals yesterday (an overstock/close to expiration date kind of store), and they had HT for $1.50 a container-I about died LOL. The dates were good on it so needless to say-I now have about 2o of them stuffed into my freezer
lol that is amazing. 1.50??0 -
I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
That's a lot, way more than I would have to spend. But I do tend to buy the best product I "can" afford;) Living alone I can do that, but if I had a family to feed, well, I don't know how some folks can even feed their families in America.
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I use ziplock and squeeze the air out.
Sauces, dips and stocks are frozen in the ice cube tray first.
As for vertical farming I can do you one better. This is an open source instruction manual to build your own (cheaply).
http://www.windowfarms.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Version-3.0-DIY-Instruction-Book.pdf
That's what I do now. I buy the best bags I can find, which happen to be Ziplock Freezer;) They work, but I don't buy enough to see how long they would actually last.
Building my own Tower Garden, hmm, I'll take a look. I've probably got all the tools I need;)1 -
777Gemma888 wrote: »I use ziplock and squeeze the air out.
Here's a neat trick I started doing for the past 2 weeks, as a lot of our things are still in storage in SD. Works rather well, even with meats using a Ziploc or Freezer bag.https://youtu.be/XrZPLF0ezw8
This is awesome!! I can do this, a LOT cheaper than buying a FoodSaver, plus save the space in my small kitchen! Thanks soooooooooo much Gemma!! Denise
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abbynormal52 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
That's a lot, way more than I would have to spend. But I do tend to buy the best product I "can" afford;) Living alone I can do that, but if I had a family to feed, well, I don't know how some folks can even feed their families in America.
Yeah I'm broke. I am living off my savings for groceries. I live in NYC.0 -
deannalfisher wrote: »for me:
i plan my weekly meals around what protein is on sale; i do lots of carbs - so things lie rice; barley; potatos etc are cheap (sweet potates were .99c at the store this week; barley is like 1.50 a bag) - between those 2 things i can make lunch for a week on about $2.50
There are so many foods I've yet to try. Thanks for the reply Deanna, this is kind of how I shop, I just need to spend a little more time planning;)
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MerryMavis1 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
I was at Daily Deals yesterday (an overstock/close to expiration date kind of store), and they had HT for $1.50 a container-I about died LOL. The dates were good on it so needless to say-I now have about 2o of them stuffed into my freezer
lol that is amazing. 1.50??
Yes! It's $6 at the regular store so it was a crazy deal, must have been an overstock situation? Only two flavors, red velvet and then the chocolate almond, but I like both so loaded up on both.4 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »MerryMavis1 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
I was at Daily Deals yesterday (an overstock/close to expiration date kind of store), and they had HT for $1.50 a container-I about died LOL. The dates were good on it so needless to say-I now have about 2o of them stuffed into my freezer
lol that is amazing. 1.50??
Yes! It's $6 at the regular store so it was a crazy deal, must have been an overstock situation? Only two flavors, red velvet and then the chocolate almond, but I like both so loaded up on both.
I looked up Halo Top as I never heard of it, Ice Cream;) Have to try some if I can ever find any around here;)
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abbynormal52 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
That's a lot, way more than I would have to spend. But I do tend to buy the best product I "can" afford;) Living alone I can do that, but if I had a family to feed, well, I don't know how some folks can even feed their families in America.
I've fed a family of 5 on as little as $50 a week when things were really tight. Lots of pre-planning and doing simple meals. As my grocery budget has gone up I've gotten more lazy with menu planning, using up leftovers, baking etc. I really should work on these things again, they save so much money!4 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »MerryMavis1 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
I was at Daily Deals yesterday (an overstock/close to expiration date kind of store), and they had HT for $1.50 a container-I about died LOL. The dates were good on it so needless to say-I now have about 2o of them stuffed into my freezer
lol that is amazing. 1.50??
Yes! It's $6 at the regular store so it was a crazy deal, must have been an overstock situation? Only two flavors, red velvet and then the chocolate almond, but I like both so loaded up on both.
Yeah it's closer to 7 here. I really don't like that chocolate almond though. I'd eat it for 1.50.1 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »abbynormal52 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
That's a lot, way more than I would have to spend. But I do tend to buy the best product I "can" afford;) Living alone I can do that, but if I had a family to feed, well, I don't know how some folks can even feed their families in America.
I've fed a family of 5 on as little as $50 a week when things were really tight. Lots of pre-planning and doing simple meals. As my grocery budget has gone up I've gotten more lazy with menu planning, using up leftovers, baking etc. I really should work on these things again, they save so much money!
Have you used coupons much? I wonder if people really save a lot doing that. I have used one or two, but rarely in my whole life. People also get so impatient in grocery lines, I can't help but think it may not be worth it. But, feeding a family would be a whole, different thing and I commend you for doing so well at it.
I don't know what kind of wife, or mother I would have been nowadays, but especially don't know how I would have manage being born a century earlier!!
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I save money on food by scanning the weekly supermarket ads for sales and buy fresh produce that I need at the cheapest price a week at a time.
I buy meat/seafood in bulk and use a Foodsaver to freeze it. The lastest meat purchase was 5# of chicken thighs for 69 cents/#. Lastest seafood deal was 6# of fresh salmon fillets for just $4/#. Typical price for salmon is $8-10/#.
Meat sealed by the Foodsaver will last for months and months. Just defrosted 4# of pork belly that I bought in Nov 2017 and it looks the same as the day I bought it.
I also buy dry, canned or bottled goods in bulk where ever I can find them for the cheapest price. Last best buy was 24 cans of Progresso lentil and split pea soup (12@) for just 88 cents/can. A can of these typically sells for $2/can.
Use coupons when I see/find them for things I want/need to buy.
BTW, I live alone and my frig/freezer and cupboards are always full.
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I don't think I'll be adding anything new here, but Aldi and Lidl are very good for meat and veg at decent prices. I love fruit - particularly berries, but it was costing me a fortune buying them fresh as I eat them every day. Buying them frozen has saved me so much money - I got 1kg of mixed berries from Aldi at the weekend for £2, whereas a punnet of strawberries (400g) can be anywhere between £2.50-£4. I actually picked that tip up from the BBC programme 'how to eat well for less'.
I also cook in bulk occasionally and portion it out - my partner doesn't eat anything I eat so I either have the same thing for a couple of days or freeze them for a quick meal at a later date. Bulking food out with beans and veg makes meals go further and adds some much needed fibre
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abbynormal52 wrote: »MerryMavis1 wrote: »abbynormal52 wrote: »I struggle with this too because I don't eat super cheap things. If I eat yogurt, it's FAGE and I eat a whole medium tub at once. I can eat that every day. I love Halo Top. I probably do about 600 per month or more just for myself.
That's a lot, way more than I would have to spend. But I do tend to buy the best product I "can" afford;) Living alone I can do that, but if I had a family to feed, well, I don't know how some folks can even feed their families in America.
I've fed a family of 5 on as little as $50 a week when things were really tight. Lots of pre-planning and doing simple meals. As my grocery budget has gone up I've gotten more lazy with menu planning, using up leftovers, baking etc. I really should work on these things again, they save so much money!
Have you used coupons much? I wonder if people really save a lot doing that. I have used one or two, but rarely in my whole life. People also get so impatient in grocery lines, I can't help but think it may not be worth it. But, feeding a family would be a whole, different thing and I commend you for doing so well at it.
I don't know what kind of wife, or mother I would have been nowadays, but especially don't know how I would have manage being born a century earlier!!
I used clip coupons back in the day, but Aldi/Daily Deals don't do coupons, Costco does instant ones and then the two local grocery chains by me now have customer loyalty programs where you get instant coupons when you swipe your rewards cards. So I'll get discounts that way but it's not really intentional anymore.1 -
The thing that is so subjective in posts like these, is what one deems 'a lot of money'.
When it's just my son and I, which it is most of the time, I spend (give or take) $75 a week. We eat mostly fruits, veg, and meat (generally chicken but will pick up others if its on sale). When my fiance is home, add another $40 to it, mainly because I cook more 'complicated' meals and bake when hes home.
There is no Aldi's in my area, but where i moved from there was, and I loved it, primarily for the spices, produce and snack type foods and baking supplies. Milk, butter and eggs were also significantly cheaper. Was never a huge fan of their meat and the only canned goods I regularly buy are canned tomatoes (which I did get there but were price wise on par with walmart most of the time). I will still stop at Aldis when I'm down that way, but it isnt often.1 -
Meal planning is a good idea if you have a tight budget or want to lower costs.
Low budget friendly foods where I live are oatmeal, tuna, whole chicken or chicken thighs, dry beans, lentils, rice, pasta, bread, peanut butter, eggs, potatoes, carrots, apples, ground turkey, cabbage, onions, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables
Soup can be very economical, freezes and reheats well.
Buy things whole and skin, shred, bone, cut them up yourself.
Buy store brand/generic when you can.
Buy produce in season or grown locally.
Look at what is on sale when making your shopping list.
Use meat cut up and put in a mixed dish instead of a large piece of meat alone.
A slow cooker can be useful.
http://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/
Low budget menu planning and recipes:
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/70dollarmenu.htm
http://www.budgetbytes.com
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/03/35-meatless-meals.html
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/favorite-recipes/
http://www.lentils.org/recipes-cooking/recipes/
Some MFP threads you may find useful:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10518784/healthy-food-choice-on-a-budget/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10500423/costing-a-lot-more-money-to-eat-healthier/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10490067/most-healthy-food-options-are-very-expensive-and-im-on-a-very-poor-budget-what-to-do/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10020804/looking-for-vegetarian-recipes#latest
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10614805/need-quick-cheap-nutritious-food#latest
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Good ole rice and beans if you want to be cheap. Good mix of carb and protein. Can put some spinach in there for greens.3
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abbynormal52 wrote: »Hmm, had never heard of ALDI but I found this interesting when I did a search: https://marketwatch.com/story/5-reasons-not-to-shop-at-aldi-and-one-big-reason-why-you-should-2017-06-13
"Shoppers should be aware of a few ground rules: Customers need to bring a quarter if they want to use a shopping cart: They deposit the coin and get it back when they return their cart. Customers bag their own groceries: Bags are available for purchase at checkout or shoppers can use old boxes for free)."
Ha ha welcome to every food store in England. I don't think I have ever had anyone pack my bag for me. I'm not sure I would want someone else packing my food.
I have to admit, I started shopping in Aldi 3 weeks ago and I haven't gone to any other store. I like the fact that there isn't 12 brands of coffee to chose from. Not only have I saved money, I've save time not having to chose. Want bread?, here's bread. Want eggs, here's eggs.
But back to the OP I was going to say have you considered changing where you shop first? Or using own brands instead of branded foods. I'm pretty sure own branded cola is about £1.50 cheaper than Coca-Cola over here.2 -
I don't think I'll be adding anything new here, but Aldi and Lidl are very good for meat and veg at decent prices. I love fruit - particularly berries, but it was costing me a fortune buying them fresh as I eat them every day. Buying them frozen has saved me so much money - I got 1kg of mixed berries from Aldi at the weekend for £2, whereas a punnet of strawberries (400g) can be anywhere between £2.50-£4. I actually picked that tip up from the BBC programme 'how to eat well for less'.
I also cook in bulk occasionally and portion it out - my partner doesn't eat anything I eat so I either have the same thing for a couple of days or freeze them for a quick meal at a later date. Bulking food out with beans and veg makes meals go further and adds some much needed fibre
I LOVE THAT SHOW! That is why I started shopping in Aldi. To be honest my DH hasn't noticed I'm not buying branded things. I actually got a double thumbs up the other day for the burgers I made. He doesn't have a clue I saved £20 on the weekly shop this week.2
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