Eating on a budget

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  • jbahrami
    jbahrami Posts: 206 Member
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    I agree with Erik with the dried beans, veggies, etc...they're VERY versatile!
  • LittleFootHafner
    LittleFootHafner Posts: 302
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    As mentioned before, pasta and rice are cheap! However, when trying to lose weight, they are definitely not your best friend! Try some of the following that can be somewhat healthy and cheaper:
    - oatmeal
    - boiled eggs, string cheese & fresh raw veg (just pick the cheapest one available that week!)
    - almonds aren't that expensive when you consider that you only eat 10-15 at a time (I usually eat them with cheese or dried apricots)
    - barley
    - beans/lentils, etc...
    - frozen vegetables
    - homemade trailmix (go to the bulk store!)
    - dry cereal with tea
    - applesauce
    - homemade omelets

    GOOD LUCK!
  • ashreneeknutson
    ashreneeknutson Posts: 77
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    When I make things like soups and pasta, I make enough to freeze some and then in a matter of minutes, you've got a tasty and healthy meal...and better yet, minimal mess! haha. We eat a lot of baked and grilled chicken breast in my house. We just change up what veggies we have with it. I try not to buy a lot of processed food.
  • Estrella30
    Estrella30 Posts: 59 Member
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    bump for some ideas later! =) thanks all!
  • BlueObsidian
    BlueObsidian Posts: 297 Member
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    If your store has bulk bins, check those out. At my local grocery chain, buying things like oatmeal and nuts in bulk take the price down to a fraction of what you would pay to get them packaged. They have amazing deals on dried herbs and spices in the bulk section as well.

    Once the weather gets warmer, check your local farmers markets. I like to go near the end of the day. Many of the vendors will cut you a better deal instead of packing up their product and taking it home! Plus, the fruits and veggies there are the freshest and typically taste the best.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Thank you!
    powdered milk?! Is that even tasty?! haha

    My progression over the years went from
    full fat to skim milk. I couldn't drink uht skim at all.

    Then I became single & CBF getting "normal milk" so I started getting uht skim. Got used to that.

    Then I realised that my 20L of skim milk was taking up too much space in the cupboard so switched to the powdered & it tastes pretty much the same to me.

    I don't drink a lot anyway. Just use it for making ice cream & shakes really so there is always other flavours.
  • TheIzella
    TheIzella Posts: 8 Member
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    I buy a whole chicken -usually only .99 a pound- and roast it with veggies. The leftover meat and vegetables gets reused in sandwiches, soups, and fajitas.
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
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    I go crazy coupon lady to buy toiletries, cleaning products, etc. so I have more money to buy produce and meat. I also buy snacks via couponing so I pay little out of pocket.

    Other than that, cook from scratch! Dried beans and rice are pretty cheap and you can make slowcooker meals that will feed you (and family?) for a week! I just made Turkey chili this weekend and we'll be eating it all week! Cost me less than $10 for everything and the slowcooker made it easy peasy!

    Look for rice and bean recipes. Many crockpot recipes that call for ground beef/meat, you can omit and add extra beans to save money and still keep it pretty healthy.

    Avoid eating out as little as possible and try saving money in other portions of your life (going to movies, to the bar, etc.) and use that money to buy produce and lean meats.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Pick a couple of nearby grocery stores and browse their circulars online before you go shopping. Sometimes certain places have amazing deals, like "buy one, get TWO free" on staples like breads or English muffins. Stick one pack in the fridge and two in the freezer for future use.

    I also shop the discount racks for ugly fruit/veggies or day old baked goods. What do I care if the bread's a day old? If I bought it yesterday, it'd already be a day old! :tongue:
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
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    in season vegetables. then eat them all! so at the end of the week, use those about to go in a soup (just roast it and then mix it with broth- betternbullion lasts me a while), then freeze the soup. or put the about to die on a homemade pizza- also cheap.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    What are some things you recommend when dieting on a budget?

    Go to the grocery early in the morning and buy meats that can be frozen as this is when they mark down what is needing to be sold quickly.

    Buy only vegetables and fruits that are on sale for the week, this includes frozen veggies. Doing this not only saves you money, but also gets you eating a huge variety of vegetables and fruits as the sales change weekly.

    Don't buy the packaged, processed, nutritionally void foods, such as hamburger helper, breads, pastas, etc. They have no nutrients other than what was put back into them after being stripped and they are rather expensive.

    Stick to bags of long grain rice - this goes a long way...........
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    In addition to ideas gathered here, I would suggest searching the forums for ideas, using the Search button above. There are a lot of great ideas out there. Here's one thread that had some great ideas: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/305918-does-anyone-else

    Some things that we do to help keep the grocery bill down...

    FROZEN VEGETABLES
    Frozen veggies are typically a great value, and very nutritious. Less sodium and more nutrients than canned. Plus, you can choose if want them crisp or soggy. Canned are always soggy. :laugh:

    BEANS
    Crock pot (slow cooker) is great way to go. Cook 'em overnight and then freeze any surplus. If you go with canned beans, I would recommend rinsing them to cut down on the sodium. Some nice folks have even added the rinsed versions of most canned beans to the food database.

    OATMEAL
    Oatmeal is another great, cheap, healthy food.

    EGGS
    A great low-calorie, protein-rich food. Don't fear eating the whole egg!

    GROCERY STORE PRICE MATCHING (WALMART)
    We have been able to buy a lot more fruit and veggies (along with meats and other items) thanks to Walmart's price-matching policy on groceries. We check all of the special that come in the junk mail for local grocery stores, jot them down and head to Walmart.

    The best fruit and veggie prices here are found in the Latin markets -- it's not uncommon for us to pick-up 6 lbs of oranges for $0.99, for example. Sometimes, though, the quality can be poor at the store offering the sale, so we just take that price to Walmart. It will also save you time and gasoline/bus fare. Walmart's price match policy is that you don't have to bring the ad -- just be able to tell them where you found the offer. They keep the local ads there, supposedly. We've never gotten any hassle though.
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    I have several tips I use:

    1. Buy in bulk when on sale. I get split chicken breast at my Kroger for .99/lb and stock up. I cook it in the crockpot with some chicken stock and when its done, I shred it and have several meals meat ready to go.

    2. My local Food City has a produce shelf with goods that have a day or 2 til expiration. Last week I found a cauliflower for .99 and they are usually $2.99 at my store and grapes for .79/lb when they were over $2/lb normally. That was on a Sunday and they lasted thru Thursday but saved us a bit of money.

    3. Coupon. I use coupons for a lot of things and buy in bulk when on sale. CVS had Pantene shampoo/conditioner on sale and if you spent $30 you got back a $10 gift card. I bought 5 newspapers the Sunday before and there was a coupon in it for them and I got 9 bottles for $15 and got back a $10 gift card to use this week. Now Im set for at least a year on shampoo/conditioner and got name brand for very cheap and have extra $$ to put towards grocery items.

    4. Collect reward points. My husband takes coke and powerade to work with him and brings me back the caps for the coke rewards website. Several times, they have had gift cards for stores I shop at, free coupons for things like coke, powerade, ritz crackers etc. Ive gotten a ton of stuff by entering and saving my points.

    5. Shop early in the morning and early in the week if you can. My Kroger marks down produce and meat on Sunday and Monday mornings. One week, I scored a lot of chicken, beef, STEAK and turkey for about $25 and it lasted me the whole month (we have a family of 4)

    6. If I see something on closeout, I stock up. My store recently had a whole cart of Juicy Juice boxes on closeout for half off. I bought nearly all they had and was stocked for a good 6 months for the price of 2. My son takes them to school for snack time and we use them occasionally for when we are out etc.
  • naturallykat
    naturallykat Posts: 118 Member
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    The humble egg - versatile and cheap as egg and chips!

    Make your own meals, rather than buy ready meals or already prepared things. a bag of potatoes will do you jackets, roast, mash, soup etc.

    Rubber chicken. Roast a chicken, have roast chicken with whatever on day 1. Day 2 is cold chicken and salad or in a sandwich. Day 3 reheated chicken breast or leg with veggies. Day 4 Chicken stir fry with the shredded little bits you can peel off the carcass. boil up the bones in water with an onion and a carrot to make stock, so hey presto! Day 5 Chicken (and whatever veggies are lurking) soup.
  • jaynniembaby
    jaynniembaby Posts: 25 Member
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    All of you are definitely giving great ideas and a great start to my grocery list! Thank you all so much!
    Now I'm really happy my sister works at Sam's club, I will for sure buy some things in bulk!
    :D
  • BabyGrl726
    BabyGrl726 Posts: 102 Member
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    Good ideas here...

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