Eating healthy on a budget

juliann95
juliann95 Posts: 26 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Id love to know how some of you do it. I'm feeding a family of 3, one of which is only 5 and for the past 2 weeks I've spent over $300 on groceries. I can't keep spending that much so would love any tips and ideas. We are trying more of the low carb lifestyle. How do you get 2 weeks of fruits and veggies and not have to chop off ns arm or leg to pa for them??

Replies

  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    1. why low carb?
    2. what is your budget?

    Some ideas:
    1. dry beans
    2 .brown rice--dried
    3. frozen veggies instead of fresh
    4. cheaper fruits (bananas, apples, oranges as opposed to berries)
    5. frozen fruit
    6. WHOLE CHICKEN--not breast, skinless, etc. do it yourself
    7. brick cheese--shred it yourself
    8. warehouse stores (costco, BJs, Sam's) for eggs, staples, dairy, etc.
    9. cook in bulk and pack your lunches
    10. peanuts instead of other nuts
    11. large containers of yogurts instead of single servings
  • juliann95
    juliann95 Posts: 26 Member
    Low carb is what the hubby is insisting on. I'm trying to sneak in quinoa, and some FlatOuts and stuff every now and then. I bought a bag of pears from Costco thinking they would last me 2 weeks and they were gone in a week!!
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    Beans and cabbage, cant get much cheaper =)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Low carb is what the hubby is insisting on. I'm trying to sneak in quinoa, and some FlatOuts and stuff every now and then. I bought a bag of pears from Costco thinking they would last me 2 weeks and they were gone in a week!!

    Does your hubby have a medical condition (diabetes)? Unless your kids have medical issues re: carbs it's not a good idea to put them on low carb too.

    Buy your husband the more expensive low carb items & freeze them. He can eat his flatouts. If there are no medical issues concentrate on eating higher QUALITY carbs.... the less processed, digested slower, has more nutrients ......kind of carbs.

    For fruits & veggies - go frozen when you can. Shop farmer's markets. Brown rice, potatoes, oats, eggs, peanut butter .... these are fairly economical things.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Your kids should not be on a low carb diet.

    No carbs is unhealthy.
  • Hopelessbird
    Hopelessbird Posts: 133
    6851846264_57fce405bb.jpg
    IMG_20120317_164411 by redflatshoe, on Flickr

    6851846436_5e1530b806.jpg
    IMG_20120317_140114 by redflatshoe, on Flickr

    Almost closing at Haymarket in Boston. I loaded up my fridge for $20. 3 dozen mangoes for $6, 50 cents each for cabbage, lettuce, english cucumbers, per box of strawberries, $1 eggplant, etc.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Shop sales (I do this especially for fresh produce)... Now I don't know where you live (as grocery costs differ place to place) or if you have an abundance of Grocery stores... for example, here where I am in Texas, we have as many grocery stores as we do churches... so there is a LOT of competition... I hardly pay more than $100 a week... when I do it's because we were gone and we have just about nothing in our cupboards... And I know it's tedious, but I suggest taking a note book and writing down the price of all the items and tallying them up before you get to the cash register... doing this keeps me from buying things I don't need. It will also help you keep track of costs so you can get the best deals when things go on sale. In addition to writing down the costs, I suggest making a menu (I make mine for 10 days out) and buying only the things you need.
  • alexisguardian
    alexisguardian Posts: 15
    Definately check around for a farmer's market or the like. They are usually run by local farmers and are alot cheaper then grocery stores that ship in their produce.

    Shop around for deals when it comes to other grocery shopping. Walmart does price matching as well so check out all the ads from the different stores. It might be more time consuming but you can defiantely save some money by doing it.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    If you have Aldi's stores in your area I would try them out. Since, I changed from my normal store to them I feel that I am able to get quite a bit more food including fruits and veggies. They also have a product called fit&active in quite a bit different foods and I been slowly replacing some of my things with it. I love that they don't charge extra for the fit&active compared to the normal brand.
  • juliann95
    juliann95 Posts: 26 Member
    I am in charleston SC. Just moved here soneed to find farmers markets and stuff.


    And btw...my daughter is to ping low,carb. I still,buy breads for her however now whole wheat. She she still has carb snacks I her cabinet. I wouldn't make her eat everything we eat. Although I do find her eating more veggies now and enjoying them!! She is enjoying a spinach smoothie very morning along with me.
  • manda1002
    manda1002 Posts: 178 Member
    I would love an answer to this! Especially from anyone living in Hawai'i :)
  • Tajdancer
    Tajdancer Posts: 82 Member
    In addition to farmer's markets and discount places like Costco and Aldi (Price Rite is great, too!), check out any Asian grocery stores in your area. There's one in my neighborhood that sells fresh produce often well below the chain stores.
  • RachelsReboot
    RachelsReboot Posts: 569 Member
    My grocery bill has gone down but I don't buy convienience foods. There is 4 of us, two teenage boys and a 9 year old girl. Cooking from scratch helps. I make my own bread substitutes, protein bars, jerky, etc. My whole family eats low carb, the kids get enough "necessary" carbs at school and on weekends with their dad. I buy them fruit to snack on which is the only thing they eat different from me

    EDITED to add that I spend less that $400 a month on groceries
  • aiyana1228
    aiyana1228 Posts: 100 Member
    Avoid boxed stuff. I make a big pot of veggie soup every week, lots of steamed or stirfried veggied (with chicken stock not oil), Whole chick in the crock pot is a big time saver and much less than other methods. Eggs. Fresh veggies not frozen.
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