Eating Healthy on a tight budget (both monetary and time)

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JessicaMarie9382
JessicaMarie9382 Posts: 197
in Food and Nutrition
I want to eat organic and healthier, but it seems more expensive and time consuming. Can anyone help me out with fast, easy and cheap food/meal ideas? I would greatly appreciate it!

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  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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  • leachan79
    leachan79 Posts: 15 Member
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    Yea, totally agree with u. It's more expensive to eat healthy! Strange..hahahaha
  • JessicaMarie9382
    JessicaMarie9382 Posts: 197
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    Yea, totally agree with u. It's more expensive to eat healthy! Strange..hahahaha

    And people wonder why Americans are over weight! Ugh!
  • k9hrd
    k9hrd Posts: 351 Member
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  • peacefrog08109
    peacefrog08109 Posts: 44 Member
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    On a day when I have several hours, I'll go to a local farmer's market, buy a bunch of different veggies, cook them up and freeze them. I also cook a lot of soups and chilis and freeze them as well. I have a deep freezer so it's pretty easy for me.
  • brucedelaney
    brucedelaney Posts: 433 Member
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    Fresh in season fruit is healthy, celery and carrot sticks are healthy, I buy fresh 5-6lb lean chicken breast packages every week from my local walmart at 1.88 a pound. Canned tuna fish in water can be as little as 3 6oz can's for a dollar. Lowfat yogut 2 or 3 for a dollar if you don't need greek yogurt. Low fat popcorn.....

    I could go on for a while... but I digress
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    A bag of dried Lentils is cheap, and they don't need pre-soaking like most beans.

    1 cup of water to a boil add 1/2 cup Brown rice and lentils and whatever veggies you like, cook on a low flame for 20 minutes.
    The lentils and rice make a complete protein, but if you want, for a little extra yumminess, you can add some cheese over the top after you take it off of the heat.


    Very easy, 5 minutes prep but a while in the oven, but you can do other stuff.
    1 10oz. package of frozen spinach thaw and drain well.
    Thinly slice a potato. Thinly slice or grate some cheese.
    In a lightly oiled oven-proof pan layer Potato/Cheese/Spinach ending with Potato and Cheese.
    350* oven for 30-40 minutes until brown and bubbly.
    (Potato and Cheese make a complete protein.)

    I used to make this when I was in college, before Microwaves were common.
    I bet you can Zap it in the MicroWave to cook it through, then brown it under the broiler for 5 minutes or so.
    You'll have to play with the times.
  • thatchocolatechic
    thatchocolatechic Posts: 18 Member
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    It is oddly more expensive to eat healthy on a budget. Ears of corn are very inexpensive as well.
  • chchchangess
    chchchangess Posts: 68
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    I've recently started giving myself a $25 a week limit on groceries, and so far here's what worked for me:

    -old-fashioned oats in bulk
    -giant bags of baby carrots and frozen vegetables from Costco
    -apples, bananas, and oranges
    -buy one/get one free deals at supermarkets
    -tofu scrambles (one block of it is enough for 3 for me)
    -pb&j or hummus and veggie sandwiches
    -chilis and soups

    the only thing I found that I can't afford anymore is a lot of fresh vegetables for salads, which is a shame because I love salads. :(
  • shasta4
    shasta4 Posts: 1
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    I too am trying to eat healthier and more organic on a budget. I have a family of 6. I buy organic when I can and if I can't I try to rinse very well. I make green smoothies everyday twice a day. I buy a lot of stuff from Costco. I buy bananas, frozen berries, organic spinach, organic peanut butter, organic strawberry jam, organic eggs, organic tortilla chips, organic brown rice, organic spaghetti noodles, organic spaghetti sauce, bread, almond milk, tortillas, cheese, veggie burgers, Clif bars and twisted fruit from Costco. When farmers markets are in season I buy fresh fruits and veggies from there and if it starts to go bad before I can use it all I put it in the freezer and throw it in my smoothies. I buy tons of organic rolled oats when they go on sale. Buy beans and other stuff in bulk when you can. It's generally cheaper and you pick how little or how much you want. It is possible and worth it. We are a one income family and try to stretch our dollars too.
    Dinner ideas:
    1. Spaghetti is usually on our menu a couple times a month because it is so cheap and I usually add some veggies and black beans instead of meat (organic meat is so expensive and I won't eat meat if it's not organic).
    2. Brown rice, grilled boneless skinless chicken, and steamed veggies (I add a little teriyaki to the brown rice and chicken).
    3. Enchilades with beans and cheese.
    4. Turkey or veggie burgers
    5. Soups and stews
    6. Fish and quinoa
    7. Chili
    8. Salads
    9. Bean and veggie burritos (tortillas and beans are so cheap)
    10. Make your own pizza
    Lunch ideas:
    1. Some sort of nut butter with jam, jelly, honey, or agave
    2. Quesadilla
    3. Cheese sandwich
    Breakfast ideas:
    1. Oatmeal & whole grain toast w/peanut butter
    2. Granola (i make my own) & almond/coconut milk
    3. Flax blueberry pancakes or muffins
    4. Breakfast burritos (potatoes, egg, veggies, and beans)
    Snacks ideas:
    1. Make your own nut trail mix
    2. Chips and salsa (make your own salsa)
    3. Nut butter and crackers
    4. Fresh fruit or veggies
    I hope this helps. This is just some of the stuff we do in our house. We try new stuff all the time. Great job eating healthier and wanting to eat organic. It's better for you and the environment.
  • yuli23
    yuli23 Posts: 89 Member
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    1$ stores you can sometimes find good deals always look for experience dates... I buy chicken a lot all we eat is chicken and Turkey. I spend about 80$ on food every two weeks no coupons feeds family of three and includes lunch for the hubby. Most of my meals consist of very few ingredients ... we don't eat snacks if I don't buy them ...no coke only on like a pizza night on a weekendor
  • JessicaMarie9382
    JessicaMarie9382 Posts: 197
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    Thanks for the awesome ideas! You're all amazing! :flowerforyou:
  • bllowry
    bllowry Posts: 239 Member
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    Buy roasting chickens when they're on sale and use the carcass (bones) to make stock and then freeze/can it. All it takes is the bones and skin, a few stalks of celery, a couple carrots, a few cloves of garlic, an onion and water. To save even more money save your leafy tops to the veggies and the bits you normally discard from the onion and garlic and keep them in the freezer until you have about 2 cups, then make stock. My parents grew up in the depression and I learned to cook from my French grannie who could turn out a three course meal from a seemingly empty pantry. She never added salt or pepper to her stock so she could adjust the seasoning to whatever dish it was in, and she always used chicken or veg stock to make mashed potatoes as cream was dear.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    Yea, totally agree with u. It's more expensive to eat healthy! Strange..hahahaha

    And people wonder why Americans are over weight! Ugh!

    Americans are fat because of eating fast food, junk food, drinking soda and not doing any physical work or exercise.

    Americans (not everyone) but a good majority don't even cook anymore.

    Crockpots are your friend. Cook over night while you are asleep or throw everything in and set it to low while you are at work during the day.

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