Healthy and Affordable Meals?

I keep a lookout for prices on fruits and veggies then buy when they are cheapest. I haven't noticed that big of a change in what I spend since I switched to buying healthier. I switched from ground beef to jenny-o lean ground turkey and it seems like my local grocery store always runs specials on those (or I buy in bulk at Sam's). If you are grocery shopping for only you, try not to stock up on a bunch of fruits and veggies all at once because then they will go bad and you will definitely be wasting money. Here's one way I look at it: I can spend $1 on a bag of baby carrots or $1.50 on a can of pringles. Or, I can buy about 5 apples for a bag of chips (which is mostly filled with air anyways!) so I guess it's just a matter of perspective. They are little choices that make a big difference without breaking the bank.

Hi Neffme,

I understand what your saying. here is a few tips I've learned from grocery shopping.

1) Watch your local grocery store for sales. There you can find frozen fruits and veggies for pretty reasonable price and be able to stock up. Example 16 oz of frozen veggies for $1 or 10 for 10 sales. Frozen fruit I don't see that as much but they can have decent sales too.
2) For fresh fruit buy what is in season. It will cost much less. Like right now apples and pears are in season so I picked them up for 88 cents per pound. Also if you buy week by week you waste less and are able to eat all the fresh stuff before it goes bad Also, you can freeze what ever you don't use such as strawberries, blue berries, peaches. Banana's you can freeze but then they usually need to go in something such as a shake or banana bread.
4) Fresh veggies try local farmers markets during the summer and then set aside a certain amount of grocery budget each week for fresh vegetables and watch sales.
5) For meats & cheeses which are the most expensive watch for sales and then stock up. Where I live we have a Hyvee that will put chicken on the bone for $1 a pound which is really good and they are in 10lb bags. I buy a couple of those. Split them into freezer bags and use it up as I need it Same with ground beef in 10lb tubes. Just measure it out into 1-2lbs and put into freezer bags so you can use as you need it.
6) Meal planning. I have found this to help me in many ways so I can also look a head to knowing what calories I will be eating. This also helps with budgeting for food too.

Processed foods may look cheaper but the ingredients are cheaper too. If you can get use to making your own food from scratch it will eventually work to costing less. Especially if it helps keep you healthier and out of the hospital and Dr's office. I hope this helps some. I wish you all the best as a young professional starting out. You can do it!

I shop for my produce at the hispanic and asian markets, much cheaper than Albertsons or the "normal" grocery chains. I can get bags and bags of wonderful fresh fruits and veggies for under $50 a week, including avocados. Better yet, they have their weekly specials on their websites so I can optimize the time I go (can only get there about once a week).

Another option is frozen veggies and fruit from Costco, or canned when on sale. Canned tomatoes are really good if you are going to be cooking with them - more flavor than most fresh and why use fresh if they are going to be mush anyway, lol?