Shoppin healthy on a buget for.......

-Beans, dried are cheapest, and you can cook them unseasoned in large batches and freeze them. Cans are more expensive, but still cheaper than meat. Lentils are small enough that you can buy dried and cook without much work.
-Brown rice, if you buy it in bulk you can get it for not much more than white rice (don't buy the fancy small boxes). It's a lot healthier than white rice, it's also cheap. You can pre-cook brown rice, then freeze it and reheat just before you eat, that way you don't have to wait for it to cook every night. You can also fill in with things like whole wheat pasta as a treat. Quinoa is also good if you can find it on sale, just be sure to rinse it really well.
-Buy fruits and veggies that are in season--they're less expensive and taste better. Frozen fruits and vegetables are also healthy. For veggies, I particularly like frozen broccoli, green beans, and peas. For fruit frozen berries and peaches are particularly good buys. Depending on where you live, farmer's markets may or may not be cheaper than the grocery store.
-Canned tuna is a reasonably inexpensive source of fish.

I was just saying today that it seems like getting healthy is SO much more expensive than not!! Healthy food always seems to cost more =( I have a different problem in that its just the two of us. It seems like we waste food trying to cook healthier meals. Drives me crazy!!

There is only 2 of us, also. Muffin tins and ice cube trays are a great tip. You can make mini lasagnas, mini meat loaves, etc. What you don't eat, freeze for later. I put spaghetti sauce in ice cube trays, freeze. With both the muffin tins and ice cube trays, once your food is frozen, pop them out and put them in freezer bags till needed.

I love a couple of cubes of spaghetti sauce on my spaghetti squash with a tablespoon of parmesean cheese. Makes for a great tasting, low calorie lunch.

There is only 2 of us, also. Muffin tins and ice cube trays are a great tip. You can make mini lasagnas, mini meat loaves, etc. What you don't eat, freeze for later. I put spaghetti sauce in ice cube trays, freeze. With both the muffin tins and ice cube trays, once your food is frozen, pop them out and put them in freezer bags till needed.

I love a couple of cubes of spaghetti sauce on my spaghetti squash with a tablespoon of parmesean cheese. Makes for a great tasting, low calorie lunch.

thats an awesome idea! plus i got these great mini casserole dishes for christmas. i really just need to start thinking smarter and using the tools and ideas around me. thanks for the reminder!!

I would highly recommend homemade healthy Mexican, I make a killer tostada (using Trader Joe's high fiber low carb tortillas ) topped with refried black beans, soft scrambled egg white/Reddi-Eggs, and a few shrimp (you could use chicken), topped with reduced fat shredded cheese,, diced tomatoes, green onions or cilantro, and greek yogurt (instead of sour cream)....super filling, lots of protein and fiber.

adding frozen chopped spinach to lots of things (meat loaf, burgers, soups) for extra veggies and fiber and it's cheaper than fresh spinach. carrots and celery tend to be super affordable and you can dip in hummus or a dip made with 0% fat greek yogurt and onion soup mix or lots of creative dips for snacks.

also i love to come up with yummy sandwich combo's, using a strip of bacon as a taste boost to cold cuts or tuna or egg salad and 0% greek yogurt as a mix-in with garlic mayo to make it go further with no fat/some extra protein.

soup is an excellent filling meal and you can make it a meal by adding in chicken or beef, and making some homemade garlic bread triangles (using high fiber whole fiber bread).

i also have fun making healthier mac n' cheese (again, you can add chicken and lean ground beef for added protein) and more of a meal.

have fun cooking!