Need help losing weight on a low budget

berkeleygirlforever
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a single, work-at-home, homeschooling mother. My son and I live on an extremely tight budget.

I’d really appreciate any cheap, low calorie meal ideas that I can prepare for myself, as well as, my son.

I eat a lot of tuna salad…it’s cheap to prepare. I also eat a lot of lean hamburger but I don’t buy things like fresh fish or steak, pork chops and such (too expensive). We also eat a lot of canned veggies (they’re cheaper than fresh and frozen). I’m getting really tired of the same thing and I don’t want to get burnt out on my diet before I hardly even get started. I'd love to hear ANY suggestions that you all might have!

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Replies

  • stratdl
    stratdl Posts: 303 Member
    Hi berkeleygirlforever!

    I just suggested to another person who's on a tight budget ramen noodles (hopefully without the seasoning packet, since it's all salt pretty much) and frozen stir fry veggies. You can add your own seasonings (Chinese 5-spice powder, ginger, soy sauce) and change it up a bit. One bag of frozen stir fry veggies (generic kind) is under $2 from Wal-Mart (I think) and you can usually find ramen at 10 for $10. For just the two of you, it could be two meals, easily. Wal-Mart also has specials on frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 5 lbs for $8--that should last you guys quite a while). You can add those, too.

    To make the stir fry more "exotic" and add a little protein, you could add some peanut butter to the mixture when cooking to give it a Thai flavor.

    I hope this gives you some ideas! :flowerforyou:

    Cheers, :drinker:
    Deborah
  • pickadilly2009
    pickadilly2009 Posts: 320 Member
    Eggs. Farmers markets when in season for better deals on fresh stuff. I know where you are coming from, I am in the same boat. I made some home made hummus and baked some corn tortillas into chips. Oatmeal, all sorts of things you can make with it for good treats. I do spend a little extra and buy roasts and whole chickens because they can make several meals. Canned mushrooms, tomatoe paste and onion can really get some flavor into blah meals and are not too much. Good old peanut butter too.

    If I think of anything else, I will let you know. It is tough though to eat healthy on a low budget.
  • Arienna
    Arienna Posts: 913
    I myself am a newly seperated single mom of 2 young kids and am in the same boat! I used to think eating better had to be WAY more expensive but it really doesnt! I only buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale and you really don't need all that much of them for yourself and kids. Canned can be cheaper but it's definitely not as good for you. You can save money by buying in bulk and freezing them or dividing up frozen bags into smaller portions when you open them since you probably don't need the whole bag. Tuna is very good for you and I also eat a lot of it, as well as lean beef. You can make stews and chilis and freeze them into smaller portions as well, I do that a lot. I also buy the boneless skinless chicken breast when it's on sale and use that for chicken soup which can be frozen as well as salads and things like that.

    I normally eat the same things everyday in the week b/c of my budget lol. Normally my breakfast is 1 or 2 eggs, a slice of whole wheat toast or a light english muffin with extra fiber and some fruit. Lunches I buy deli meat, usually the presliced store brands are cheapest and a big package lasts me all week, I have a sandwich and some cottage cheese with cucumbers/tomatoes. Dinners I always make extra of and have left overs for dinner or lunch the next day or freeze them.

    Also we have a hostess bread store that sells the bread at a discounted price, I can bread for about 40-50% half off. So I stock up on that and freeze it. You can buy whole grain pastas pretty cheap too, now about the same price as regular pasta. PB + J is also a good choice when you're running low on cash and kids love that.

    Have you also thought about planting a garden? If the weather by you isn't nice or you don't have time, what I did was plant flowers in my house, by a window with sunlight, it works just the same. You can use practically anything to plant them in, too. I'm growing cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, watermelon...you can also do it year round this way!

    If I think of anything else I'll let you know!

    ~Ari

    Oh also, in the sunday newspapers they always have coupon books, I'm a couponaholic lol.
  • LosingIt4good
    LosingIt4good Posts: 1,214 Member
    Anyone on a super strict budget needs to check out http://www.thegrocerygame.com. We have a family of 5 and my husband and I have been off work for a year. All ya gotta do is clip coupons from the weekly paper, then visit the site and choose the store you want to shop at. There are several! The 4 weeks cost $1, then it bills like $5 every 6 weeks or so. Anyway, its totally worth it! The site puts out a list of items that are on sale for the week and tells you if its the lowest price and when to use a manufacturers coupon. I buy the Sunday paper only, which costs $2 and there are usually about $200 worth of coupons in there. I visit the site, check off the items I need to buy, print my list, grab my coupons and off to the store I go.

    Now,the fun part... making it work for weight loss.Ya gotta be careful because there is alot of "not so healthy" things that go on sale regularly that have coupons, BUT, if you have a small freezer you can buy good meats, cheese, milk, butter, yogurt, bread, bagles and alot more and freeze it. Even deli lunch meat is cheap and can be frozen. If you have storage space, there are always coupons for Oatmeal, cereal, granola & protein bars and I literally get them for about .50 a box most of the time, sometimes they are free after I use the coupon. Frozen veggies are the same way. There are always coupons for green giant & steamfresh and they always go on sale.

    I just went grocery shopping today and spent $109 at Albertsons and saved $133. My freezer is crammed full of boneless skinless chicken breasts that were on sale for $1.88 a pound. I bought 12 pounds and divided it up into freezer bags (9 different meals) with some garlic salt, lemon pepper & lawrys and threw it in the freezer. When i pull it out to defrost, it marinates itself and is ready for the broiler. Cheap & convient and you can do the same with meats & pork. That will last us for a while until it goes on sale again. I NEVER pay full price for meat. Never!
  • jlhcrh3
    jlhcrh3 Posts: 314
    oatmeal. i eat this a lot! you can change it up, depending on what you have. brown sugar and cinnamon is my fave, and if we have any, a banana cut up in it. one day i did peanut butter with some honey. play with what you have and like!
  • bugmagnt
    bugmagnt Posts: 150
    A lot of great ideas here! For another website to checkout, go to couponmom.com. Stephanie Nelson has free ebooks here that teach you how to save money on groceries, CVS, Target, Walmart, etc., and has been showcased on several national programs. The best thing is that the site and information is totally free!!!

    In addition, there are links here where you can print coupons, pages with store lists by state that match coupons with current sales for extra savings, and many, many more resources. I also always visit the coupon mom forum, where ordinary people like you and I can post deals at grocery stores, CVS, Rite AId, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, etc., as well as links to other coupons and give helpful advice.

    All the people on this site are super helpful, and along with the info from Stephanie and her staff, I have been able to save lots of money in the past 6-8 months on groceries and health items. This has been key since I've been looking for a new job, and just have 1 income right now.
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
    Lentils and dried beans and peas can be a HUGE $$ saver. I actually just made a supper tonight that serves 8 and it's full of fibre, protein, complex carbs, folic acid, iron, potassium...

    1 cup yellow split peas
    3/4 cup brown lentils
    3/4 cup red lentils
    (soak these in cold water for an hour)
    prepare 8 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock (the bouillon cubes are WAY cheaper)
    heat 1 tsp black mustard seed in 2 tbsp olive oil until seeds begin to turn gray and pop. Add in 1 chopped onion & 2 bay leaves. Cook until onion is clear and add 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp corriander, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp paprika, a small pinch of red pepper flakes, 4 cloves garlic minced, 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger OR 2 tbsp powdered ginger (use some vegetable stock to prevent sticking).
    Add in 2 chopped carrots & cook until tender.
    Drain & rinse lentils then add to soup pot with remaining stock, cover & simmer 30 mins until lentils are soft. Blend with hand blender or blender & season w/ cracked pepper & lemon juice.

    This is SUCH a tasty (HEARTY!!) and VERY healthy soup. If you do make it, it's already in the database under Rebar Lentil Split Pea Soup :flowerforyou:

    I am also a homeschooling Mama :drinker:
  • pickadilly2009
    pickadilly2009 Posts: 320 Member
    I did think of something else. We have a store that sells scratch and dent types of boxed and canned food. Some of the stuff just didn't sell as well as the maker had hoped too. Incredible deals. I can get a package of whole wheat spaghetti noodles for like .30 !! I bought a huge jar of Skippy PB for $1.00. Just amazing deals. They even have frozen veggies and ice cream, energy bars, cereal, olive oil, pickles, seasonings, and over the counter meds like Tylenol, shampoos....you name it, they have it. See if they have one of these stores near you!
  • linz1125
    linz1125 Posts: 441 Member
    You also might want to look at where you are buying your meat and when. One of the grocery stores in town has a 10 lb meat sale until the 10th of the month, and I can usually get 10 lb of ground beef for about $13. I've also noticed that when I go shopping on the weekends, the chicken selection isn't as good. All of the pricy chicken is leftover, so I usually go back on tuesday or wednesday afternoon and there is usually packages of chicken breasts for about $4 of perdue chicken at kroger.
    Boneless pork chops can often be less expensive than you think. I usually get a packet of 4 for about $3. I would honestly just try going to the grocery store at a time you don't normally go and see what their selection is at that time. Maybe ask the meat counter if they have any "specials" on meat that is coming close to the expiration date so they can give you a discount. But definetly use it that day!

    As far as lunch goes, I love tuna. I actually made it for my lunch tomorrow! Have you thought about getting canned chicken and making chicken salad for a change? Maybe trying different spices, or adding a little dressing like ranch or italian for a different taste. Maybe instead of bread make a tuna wrap with a tortilla and some lettuce.
  • hamton
    hamton Posts: 245
    I usually buy the rotisserie chicken at Kroger's or Walmart for $4.99. One chicken will have at least 4 servings.
  • A while back another MFP gal put a link in a post to 5dollardinners.com There are some awesome ideas in there, and they are for 2 or more people. I have found several amazing recipes on there and am excited to try more. Good luck and keep plugging forward!!!
  • kmworth
    kmworth Posts: 8
    Hey, thanks for responding to my post! Anyway, here's some suggestions that I have:

    Sometimes, frozen veggies can go on sale for $1.00-$1.50 a bag, and it ends up being much cheaper than canned veggies since there's more product in the bag than in the can. When they do go on sale like that, I stock up BIG TIME, because it's not like they'll go bad, right? :)

    LENTILS are my favorite. Less than a dollare for a bag, and a little goes a looong way. My husband's favorite are lentil tacos! All you need to do is cook up the lentils, and when they're done cooking, drain them, and add in some taco seasoning, mash it up, and use like you would ground beef (and it's cheaper than meat by far!). They keep in the fridge for a week too, so any leftovers won't go to waste, and they're an excellent source of protein and iron.

    COUPNS, COUPONS, COUPONS! Get a Sunday paper, and clip out every single coupon that seems even remotely useable, and then combine the coupon with the sales at the grocery store. I nearly always save just as much, if not MORE than what I actually spend!

    Make homemade soup! Use fresh. canned, and/or frozen veggies, any kind of stock on sale, and seasonings already in your cupboard. There's another thing that tastes better as a leftover.

    If bread goes on sale, buy extra and freeze it. If your kiddo likes macaroni and cheese, buy a few generic boxes and add 1 can of tomatoes at the end of cooking...it tastes delicious, adds nutrition, AND stretches your meal.

    Bags of potatoes are pretty cheap, and you can make them virtually any way, and they're really filling.

    Alright, sorry for stretching out the page, lol. I sure hope I could help you out just a tad!
  • Wow, thank you for all of the GREAT suggestions! All of you were very helpful! I have enough Ideas here to eat on for months!

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  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    This time of year is a great time to visit local farmers markets. You can get fresh veggies for a lot less than the super markets.

    Also, have you considered possibly growing some of your own veggies? You can grow tomato, cucumber, peppers, etc in small pots on your porch or in a patch of dirt in your back yard. I actually used to grow herbs in a window garden in my apartment.

    Someone posted once before about a co-op where she and some friends all went together to purchase a side of beef and then split it between them.

    A lot of people on a budget do a day once a week where they don't have meat.

    Just some thoughts.
  • ngwife4life
    ngwife4life Posts: 569
    I did the grocery game too! VERY helpful!

    Also, check out the website www.5dollardinners.com. She has a lot of good, frugal ideas!
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