Suddenly on one paycheck-- Budget Foods??

Best of luck with your situation

Here's a good article, with a few surprises (coffee being my favorite): http://www.divinecaroline.com/22177/52070-twenty-healthiest-foods-1

If you're on Facebook check out Surviving and Thriving on Pennies. She feeds her family of 6 a mostly organic diet for $50/week. Go back a ways in her blog. Everything through the summer is about her garden. Great stuff though.

I'm also a huge proponent of saving in other ways to have more to spend on quality food. I make my own laundry detergent ($.03/load), dish detergent (about the same), lotion (super cheap), etc. Super easy to do and extra money to use elsewhere.

Definetely check out the bulk aisle! You can get quinoa, couscous, oatmeal, spices, etc super cheap. I also check online for flyers and shop accordingly. You can find some good deals! Farmers markets are good for fruit and veggies too! Usually cheaper and better too! Good luck with everything!

Bump

I buy alot of frozen veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, etc. We also eat alot of dry beans. Used as your protein, can be a cheap alternative to meat. I look for chicken breast on sale for 99cents per pound, which happens every couple of weeks. Then buy it in bulk and freeze it separately.

I don't do alot of couponing because so much of those items we do not eat. But I do ad match.


It is sad but true that healthy foods cost more.

Hope your situation gets better soon.

Frozen chicken and veggies have become my best friends. Also I plan our dinners based on what is on sale. I've had to learn to feed 6 on 1 paycheck. It's hard at first but it does get easier.

You can buy big bags of bean and brown rice - the dry stuff is sooo much cheaper than the canned. Do you have any farmers markets in your area? If you go towards the end of the day, they're pretty good about haggling for prices on the fresh produce.

I buy family sizes of chicken and lean meat. I then weight it out into serving sizes and freeze. That way, its allways just what I need per meal. Per person. We eat dry beans, canned no sugar fruits ( store brands) . I go to the store about tiwce per month. Once to walmart, and once to Aldi's. I shop Aldis frist. Then to walmarts to get what I can't get at the other store. I watch for sales, then buy up alot. and put in spare bedroom, when there is not room in my kitchen. I measure everything we eat in serving sizes. I also got smaller plates. that way it looks really full. Fools the eye. By going only about twice per month. It keeps down on buying extra things that are not on my list.

Here are a couple of tips to help save on fruit that might be going bad:
1. Use them to bake. You can make small scones or cookies without too many calories (check out recipes online- allrecipes.com is my favorite site) and freeze any you don't eat right away.
2. Throw the fruit in a blender and freeze it in approximately 2 cup portions. Then, buy a large container of plain, lowfat yogurt. Mix one of the frozen fruit portions with some yogurt and a little orange juice, if you have it on hand, for a wonderful smoothie. Makes a great breakfast.

Remember that if you buy too many veggies or fruit, you can usually freeze them before they go completely bad. We take odds and ends of broccoli, string beans, snap peas, and carrots and freeze them make lovely stir fries in the future - if you're a meat eater, this is a great way to save on meat because you can get away with about half as much as you might otherwise use in a stir fry.

And, lastly, you might want to consider volunteering once or twice a week in a soup kitchen or at community dinners. You'll be giving back to your community and probably feel good about doing something really productive - looking for work can be a downer at the best of times. Plus, you'll be really appreciated - volunteers are needed everywhere. Such dinners usually feed their workers, which means one less meal to pay for a week.

Good luck!

Bump

I am a full time student, work part time and my wife is unable to work due to uncontrolled MS. We spend about $150-$200 a month on food and here are a few pointers.

1. Trader Joes is your friend, just stick to the store brands, healthy and cheap.
2. Shop relatively frequently to keep produce from spoiling w/ only one person working you have the time.
3. Buy meat when it is on sale and freeze it, then plan your meals around what is in your freezer. You will be shocked how much money this saves.
4. Try ethnic supermarkets, they are usually way cheaper than the big chains.
5. Hit fruit stands/flea markets for produce. I bought 1/2 a bushel of oranges for $5 last week, and they will last for a month.

I didn't really read any of the replies, so sorry if I repeat anything.

If you have a bulk food store, check that out. I usually get nuts/grains etc when they're on sale.

Whatever you get, buy bulk (obv) cause it'll be cheaper, and remember 95% of stuff can be frozen, to prolong its life (milk, cooked pasta, cheese etc) so don't be afraid to buy a lot of fresh stuff. You can clean/portion vegetables (onions, peppers) and freeze em in baggies, once thawed they cook up fine, with very minimal loss in quality. (theyll get slightly softer due to ice partical damage, but work perfectly in dishes)

If you're any good at cooking, take something cheap like popcorn or rice crispies (anything) and turn it into some sort of cake, cookie or snack bar. It's a decent way to spice up cheaper foods, make them a litle more interesting to eat.

Any sort of meal at a really cheap price can be used or manipulated into something 10x better. Stewing beef, ground beef, flank steaks. I've gotten pounds and pounds of lean ground beef really cheap, and turned it into bags and bags of beef jerky. A fairly healthy, and waaay cheaper version then store bought.

Start checking flyers if you get em and look for sales. I snatch up vitamins/supplements from local pharmacies when they're either half off, or 2 for 1, and can save $50-100 dollars on less then 10 items. The same will apply for foods. Again, virtually anything can be frozen.

If some of your fresh foods are nearing the end of their shelf-life, cook them, they'll last another week or so longer.

If you have any farmers markets nearby, its a chance to get stuff (often better quality) for better prices, and you'll be supporting someone locally.

Hope some of that helps, and hope things work out for you guys!