Running out of money to eat healthy!!!I need advice for my g

Wow- two husbands? (j/k)...

I have two words for you:

Crock Pot.

You can use lower cost cuts of meat and make it ssttrreettcchh through at least two meals, sometimes three!

I cook a large chicken for Sunday dinner in the crock pot for me, my husband, and my teenage son. Then after dinner, I pull the meat off and chop it up for another meal. Then the carcass I boil down and make Chicken and wild rice soup with the stock.

Three meals from one chicken.

That's just one example. There's tons of ideas out there!

Also: Farmer's market for fruits n veggies. Always a great bargain. Don't forget frozen fruits n veggies too! Watch for coupons and sales on these!!

Stay positive. Things will turn around!!

Potatoes are great, rice, canned whole tomatoes, tuna, heads of lettuce, fresh greens, carrots, beans, bannanas, peanut butter, cooking spray instead of margerine, frozen veggies, noodles, saltine crackers, buy whole chickens if you want to eat meat and that mexican nacho cheese is great, you can buy in bulk and save $$ plus it has less fat than other processed cheeses. Thats good eatin'

I know how it feels. I am more comfortable now but I brought up three (hungry) sons on my own. Soup, soup and more soup. Stews with cheap cuts of meat. Two or three nights a week - dinners with no meat. Rice and veg and small amounts of fish (eat like the Asians).

Is learning to coupon something you could do? It has cut down on expenses for the group of us a great deal..

I am a coupon queen and I am not sure if you have one where you are at (did not look) but Costco rocks for the family. I am a single income also and support my husband, my daughter and my son who eats like he is 3 people if you let him. Costco has coupons every month and so I spend a couple of hours there reading nutrition labels but coupon away. Super Tragets or Super Walmarts also a treasure for cutting costs and remaining healthy. You just have to take the time to plan, label read, and coupon cut. Sounds like coupon searching may be a hubby task :0)

I'm sorry to hear your struggle. Heres a few things I did that have helped me alot and hopefully will help you too.

1) Donot think that you need to be rich to eat healthy. Infact, once I stopped eating outside, I magically found more money in my pocket and not only was I eating healthier, I was eating more tasty food!

2) Try to cook with fresh veggies and reduce the "box items" or fad diet crap. Do you know on average a nice meal for me costs about 75 cents? And we're talking about chicken curry with good bread!

3) Try to expand your horizon into exotic foods. Sounds expensive? its not! Check my blogs for a couple of recipes which are very cheap (and semi-healthy). For Indian food you only need like 4 basic spices and those can be bought for under a dollar each at an indian store and lasts you forever! I'm sure other ethnic foods are the same!

hi riz, I'm new in here, how do I get to your blog, would love to see and try your Indian recipe .

Hi
This website is probably going to help you - it is Australian, but the common sense and attitude changing hints will help - it's free to look at and get newsletters, but you have to be a member to join and look at more detailed information. It has lots of American members. It is $47 Australian dollars to join.

http://www.simplesavings.com.au/

hi riz, I'm new in here, how do I get to your blog, would love to see and try your Indian recipe .

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/riz9007

Theres tons of other Indian recipes also you can try. The main point was that diversifying into other ethnic foods can be a real penny saver.

i bought this cookbook the other day from a charity shop and cost mere pennies. There is a recipe in there that is so cheap to cook and serves 6!

Vegetable Pot

2 tbsp olive oil
8 baby onions, peeled
2 celery stalks, sliced (i left these out cause i only like it raw!)
225g / 8 oz carrots, thickly sliced
225 g /8 oz turnips, diced (or parsnips if you don't like turnips)
55 g / 2 oz peal barley, rinsed
700 - 850 ml / 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pints vegetable stock
salt and pepper
350 g / 12 oz diced quorn (left this out cause i'm allergic!)
85 g / 3 oz partially thawed frozen peas
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Preheat oven to 180°/350°F/gas mark 4
Heat half the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole dish on a medium heat.
Add onions, celery, carrots and turnips. Cook for 10 mins, stir frequently. Add pearl barley, cook for 1 min, stir occasionally, pour in stock and bring to the boil.

transfer to casserole dish if not used already. season with salt and pepper and cover.

Cook for 1 - 1 1/4 hours.

heat remaining oil in a saucepan, medium heat, add quorn and cook for 5 - 8 mins or until golden.

Add quorn to casserole with the peas and cook for another 10 - 20 mins or until veg is tender.

Serve with parsley.

This cost me about £3.

A serving provides:

Cals 334
Protein 50 g
Carbs 26 g
Sugar 8.2 g
Fat 7 g
Sats 0.3 g
GI Medium

I have 8 brothers and sisters and I remember how hard it was for us on my dads wage, we grew veggies every spare of ground had something edible growing in it, Mum made lots of big pots of stews and soups, leftovers were frozen and used up never thrown away,
Pasta, rice , oats, and lentils were staples, at one stage we had a couple of laying hens so fresh eggs were good.
buy day old bread and buy food that is at its best before date, you can freeze and its fine, and some things get reduced because the package is damaged or the can dented,

We always get the meats that are discounted because they are going in our freezer, that really helps cut down on our meat costs. We also buy the larger portions and cut/divide it so I can buy the 97/3 ground beef that is near it's freeze buy date and come home divide it and have 3 lbs of meat for spaghetti/hambugers etc. The crockpot is awesome. I get a roast and cut it in half then I have two roasts to cook.

I don't know your budget, but we spend around $220 every two weeks (or $440 every month) on groceries including diapers/wipes and dog food (which is about $40 a month we have a big dog lol) Also I get my spices from the dollar tree, its the same thing basically only cheaper. I use the coupon books when I find them if they work with what we want/need

First of all get rid of one of the husbands they can eat a lot. LOL Crockpot meals, beans brown rice

The farmers market where I live is year round and has cut our grocery bills down significantly. We were spending close to 100 a week on fruit and veg (4 adults), we now go to the market every two weeks and spend 30 bucks. We come home dice everything up and rinse it and throw it in the freezer to be used at a later date. We also buy eggs and other products at the market.

Ditto this!

Right now, I spend about $30 a week on fruits and veggies for two adults. Soon it will Farmer's Market season, and I can't wait!
In the mean time, I use the sales flyer from the store to plan. For example, a head of green leaf lettuce is usually 99 cents, while the packaged stuff can be up to 2.99-3.99. Toss in a cucumber, tomato, and a little onion...add a couple of ounces of chicken breast and you've got a lunch.

We like to get the 3lb bags of chicken breasts, to use for salads, to make homemade chicken nuggets, or to grill with rice and veggies. During the winter months, we buy a lot of frozen veggies--just price compare is the best advice I can give.

Fruits are the hardest part, mainly because there is no replacing the taste of actual fresh fruits! I usually look for the best sales, lately it's been bananas and apples. Grapes were $2 for a pound this past week, which got us a total of 3 cups of grapes. Strawberries were also on sale, a package of sliced berries was another 2 cups.

It's hard, I know. I'm the sole breadwinner in our house right now too. After the bills were paid (mostly) from my last check, we had $130 for two weeks for food and gas. Luckily, I have virtually no commute.

We buy rice, potatoes, onions, and meat on sale and in bulk when possible--which means that one week the grocery bill might be heavy on meats, the next week it's heavy on fresher foods.

Everyone is tight these days....hope something I say helps you out!

1. Invest in a crock pot and learn about cooking healthy cheap meals with it. You can make your on beans for very cheap...versus buying canned, ect.

2. Meat CAN be cheap! Look for the stuff that is "Manager's Special" or a "Surprise buy", many times this is stuff that needs to be sold right away, but if your going to use or freeze it right away then this is definitely an option for you to consider. Also...frozen chicken breasts can be cheap and easy. Stores in my area will have sales on them and I can usually get 2 lbs of meat (about 6 breasts) for $4-5. Don't buy meat at full price. If you're really struggling, you might have to learn to work with what is on sale, versus what you "feel" you want for dinner. Here's an article on how to make your meat for further: http://www.gourmetfrugality.com/2011/07/05/frugal-tip-how-to-make-your-meat-go-farther/

3. Your diary isn't public, but I hope you aren't eating out. Like...ever. Just don't do it. I realized one day when my ex and I went to Mc Donalds that what we bought could have been multiple meals at home!

4. Fresh produce.....eat in season. Everything is cheaper when it is in season in your area. Try a food coop if you have one in your area....many times the sales at the coop in my area are better than the sales at larger stores (for example...I've gotten raspberries for $1.79 when they were still $3 at the chains). Farmer's Markets are super cheap and a great way to boost local economy. Also....consider growing some of your own plants. Your daughter looks too young to help, but I bet you could teach her to water plants by next year. Some people think this isn't an option....but it always is! I live in an apartment with a small balcony....I've grown tomatoes on my balcony and plan to do so again this year. If you're in an apartment, the investment is bigger because you need containers....but they don't have to be new or anything special. Seeds are cheap, water is free. Consider a topsy turvy for tomatoes, plant some lettuce or something in some small window boxes...yes, there will be a small investment, but it will pay off. Growing your own might be something to put off until a better time.

6. You put a lot of emphasis on FRESH, but....eating frozen veggies isn't the worst thing in the world and eating frozen because you cant afford fresh beats not eating them at all. Learn to cook with frozen/canned veggies...add a handful of frozen veggies to your ramen. Learn to make ramen differently so that you can add stuff to it! I make an awesome veggie/brown rice pilaf that is cheap, easy, low cal and filling.....and I serve with a chicken breast. I'm guessing, but I'm probably making multiple meals in under $5.

7. Look up budget cooking.....Taste of home used to publish the cost of a meal in their cook books. The site doesn't, but it wouldn't hurt to look http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Budget-Recipes

8. Eat less conveniently For example.....Tuna helper is great. Everything is in one box and all you do is add tuna, butter, milk. Guess what? For the same price as the Tuna Helper, butter, milk and tuna.... you could make a tuna helper-like meal that is healthier, and you'd get more for the same price.

9. Coupons. Learn about them and the best way to use them. Not every coupon makes it a "deal" but sometimes they can really help.

10. I'm assuming your already doing this, but buy generic.


Hope something I said helps you!

Coupons and more Coupons. Also, at one of my grocery stores, they have fresh produce that is almost "expired" but not quite, I get Romaine lettuce sometimes for 25 cents a stalk/bush. If you are going to eat it right away, then whats the difference. I got pears for a quarter each, tomatoes 4x 1.00. You can also do this in the meat dept, find the reduced price meat and freeze it before the due date. Most stores put out the reduce prices in the morning so if you go around 10am on a weekday you get a good selection