Eating healthy on a very low budget?

For breakfast: oatmeal, or scrambled eggs, toast and bacon

For supper I often buy a box of Stampede frozen New York strip steaks from Walmart. A box of 5 costs $10. Not the best steaks in the world but good enough for me - and they are only ~190 calories each.

Spaghetti is cheap.

Salmon patties are pretty cheap. Here is my favorite recipe.

https://allrecipes.com/recipe/58868/oregon-salmon-patties/

You might could get some ideas here. The $10 dinners are for a family of 4 - so 4 suppers for you alone.

https://foodnetwork.com/search/ten-dollar-dinners-

kimny72 wrote: »

Beans, lentils, oats, rice, frozen veggies, eggs, store brand whole foods, in season fresh fruits and veggies, root veg like potatoes and carrots, cabbage, raw chicken parts, canned tuna. I supplement that sort of stuff with ramen, pasta, processed food on sale, and store brand cereal or ice cream. Remember, you don't only have to eat certain foods to eat "healthy", just make sure you're getting some nutritious food, and enough protein, fat, and fiber.

I know a couple of "cheap and healthy" recipe blogs are recommended all the time, I'm sure someone will be along with those soon.

This is great advice. Also consider learning to like cheap veggies that last, like cabbage, onions, carrots. Cabbage is very cheap and versatile and it stays good if you wrap it up tight and buying dried beans will save you a lot of money as well.

My mom was a (retired by kids) dietitian (So okay, she was a stay at home mom after that), so I kinda know something about this, since we had a big family and we never had a lot of money. Always keep a eye on reduced for quick sale, also if you clip coupons (only possible if you're not on food stamps), only get stuff you need.

Keep a eye out for in-season produce too. Oh and if you're near a farmer's market? You might want to look for some deals there. There was once a farmer's market out here that'd sell the ends of lunchmeat as "dog food"; the lunchmeat was perfectly fine to eat by humans. Far as I know they do not do that anymore, but you might want to keep a eye out for that kind of thing. (I don't know if salvage stores are good for anything but dry goods though anymore, they're having shorter and shorter date stuff..)

Also thank you Kim; since when I cook, I have to cook for 4 anyway, I'm always looking for cheap dinners that take ground beef (we get that from our church) that I can do without buying much or asking my brothers to buy much. Now a days I'm also looking for stuff that isn't drowned in cheese either; um, cheddar cheese can get really caloric real fast! Maybe I can get some ideas from that as well.

As for where one of my go tos is: I use Budget Bytes a lot for ideas. I can't always use what she has since we don't have it, but that may also give you some ideas. ^^

I do my meal planning a bit backwards. I look for the sales and pick up the stuff that's inexpensive, and then go to myfridgefood.com and look up recipes with those foods. It can save considerable amounts. Another site I've used recently which was posted here is this one:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/

Kimny has listed some great options. I also look for stuff that is close to expiring, stores will mark those things down 30% (meats in particular) and then bring them home to freeze (if not previously frozen). I also usually keep some diced and stewed tomatoes on hand to make pasta sauces.

ETA: Large batch cooking can also be a great thing. Make large quantities of stuff, and then freeze it in single serving sizes. That way you have great grab and go meals that you already know the calories for. I enter in the recipes as I'm making them, so it's all in there when I'm finished. A full day of cooking could cover you for most of the month with 5-6 recipes. For beans and lentils, if you get the dried ones they are less expensive, and rehydration takes some time, but it's not too bad. Especially if you have a slow cooker.

I found a website that gives you a list of healthy & cheap foods.
https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/

Look into your local foodbanks and basic food assistance through DSHS to supplement your food options. Many organizations are available to support ending hunger for individuals with limited income.

Hello, I'm new here but I saw your post and $25/week is doable; I've done it and still use the tricks I learned. I would recommend making meals from leftovers, if you don't do that already. You can add leftover meat or veg to basic sauces and serve with pasta, rice, chickpeas, kidney beans etc.

I use a basic tomato sauce:
Chop an onion
Fry with garlic paste (cheaper than fresh)
add 1 tbsp tomato paste
Add a tin of tomatoes & salt to taste
Simmer for 20 minutes.

For pasta sauce add Italian herbs.
For chilli add chilli and kidney beans.
For curry sauce add ginger paste, chilli & curry powder.
For satay style sauce add 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter.
Fry all the ingredients together, adding the tomato paste and sauce last. This lets the flavours develop.

Always have tinned tomatoes, garlic, ginger and tomato pastes, packets of curry powder, chilli powder/flakes, and fresh or frozen onions in your kitchen, as these simple ingredients can form the base to many a good meal.

Dried beans, lentils, oats (for homemade granola, muesli, oatmeal and flapjacks) and rice are a must (pep up rice by adding sauteed onion and a teaspoon of creamed coconut when pairing with a spicy sauce) Popping corn is good for healthier snacks, and experiment with making vegetable crisps.

If you're feeling adventurous, you could also get wholemeal flour if you want to try making your own bread, flatbreads, pizza, low sugar cookies and low salt crackers. You can buy pectin for making low/no sugar jams and marmalades if you have frozen or fresh fruit you don't know what to do with, or you can stew fruit with a dash of stevia or sweetener to make a yogurt fruit compote sprinkled with toasted oats.

Consider switching to cheaper long life (UHT) milk as it keeps unopened on the shelf for months, and a couple days longer than fresh (which goes off fairly quickly) when opened. If you want to really go frugal, buy powdered milk and make up the quantity you'll be using for the next day. Let it keep overnight in the fridge as then it might taste a bit more like fresh.

If you have a fair bit of freezer space, you can freeze just about anything; meat, fish, soft fruit, stewed fruit, baked goods, soups, stews, curries, cream, butter, even milk.

I hope you find some of these tips useful. The trick to eating well on a budget is finding little ways to economise and being inventive in the kitchen. Good luck and good eating!