healthy food on a budget

Turkry lunchmeat and whole grain bread. It will last you all week. High fiber cereal and low fat milk. Get whatever greens are on sale that week.

Winco....they are awesome!

Is there a Trader Joe's near you? They have good prices. Check Target too. Another good place for fresh produce are independent, small mom-and-pop type produce markets.

My stores always have buy one get two free on chicken breasts and tenderloins ..so watch the sales i cook all my own sandwich meat but i agree i bet i spend 100 bucks a week for myself and my daughter !

You sure are not alone here. It is really hard to do. I have been buying alot of lettuce and lo cal salad dressing and so happy fresh fruit season is here. I just get a back of chicken tenders, whatever fruit is on sale and a small veggie tray, a bag of talapia and find recipes that use these items. I also admit to buying alot of Michaelina's light gourmet entrees which i know are loaded with sodium etc... but they cost a buck and its better then starving or going to mcdonalds which isn't cheap either on any level. I live alone so its harder to get items for just one sometimes. We can do it though, We will do it!!!

I search for sales usually Walmart is good and I always search for coupons. It's tough but keep doing what you can.

Get the Sunday Ads, or look them up for the stores that are near you. Buy the Fruits and Vegetables that are on sale and in season. Look for meats on sale and buy in bulk, and freeze what you are not using right away.

I struggle with this, too... Especially when my boyfriend isn't really eating healthy, and I am. He'll eat it if I fix it, but he likes junk food, too, so it throws off my budget when I know some of the healthy items I buy will go bad. I just stocked up on fruit produce with a promise he'll help eat it. I hate seeing fruit go bad!

Seconding the buy frozen Bird's Eye veggies. I LOVE those.

Meal planning for leftovers is hit or miss for me. I try to do it, but something always "comes up" during the week, and I end up not making dinner for a night. When I can stick with it, it's awesome to have healthy leftovers to take to work with you the next day!

Farmers markets can be a good place to find cheap fruits and veggies. You'll find the freshest stuff earlier in the day.

We spend WAAAAAYYY too much on groceries and I hate it, so I understand what you mean. One thing that's helped me is having a couple of staple foods that I always have that aren't so expensive to kind of use as fillers. I keep tons of dry beans in the house...you can get those for something like 89 cents for a bag...and I cook a lot to throw in salads, soups, wraps, etc. So...that's cheap. Also, I found I was throwing out produce because I was buying a whole bushel of broccoli or whatever, using part of it, and then forgetting about the rest. So, when I can, I make use of the grocery store salad bar for pre-cut, smaller amounts of vegetables. For about $5, I can get some cut broccoli and onions for soup, peppers and mushrooms to put in my eggs, and snow peas, peppers, and whatever else for a stir fry. Sometimes I'll even throw in some banana peppers, olives, and whatever else to put on mini-pizzas. That's saved a fair amount of money, and lets me get a variety of vegetables in amounts that I can actually use before they go bad. Always we keep a huge tub of spinach in the house...those are relatively inexpensive and can be used for anything. And definitely load up your freezer and look for things on sale. I am becoming a pro at looking for that orange "manager's special" sticker on meat at Kroger. Eating healthy on a budget CAN be done...you just have to be a little creative about mixing and matching a few inexpensive items to make different dishes. Good luck!

Canned tuna fish, high fiber bread, chicken breast in a bulk pack (freeze individual breasts for use over time), pasta (high fiber or whole grain) & sauce, Bear Creek chili (great with some added beans & tomatoes and a bit of chili powder), generic fiber bars (LOVE the peanut butter flavor), Hunt's snack pack sugar free jello and pudding, eggs, boca burgers or chicken patties, steam-in-the-bag veggies.

I go grocery shopping at Wal-mart once a week for my husband and myself. I spend between $100 and $120, depending if I have to toss in a 50 lb bag of dog food that week. Of course, my husband and I are very simple eaters. Not a lot of fancy stuff going on my plate. We did invest in a vacuum sealer. We had the Ziploc one that's like $8.00 and once we saw how much use we got out of it, we splurged on the electric one. Vacuum sealing allows us to make a package of fat-free hotdogs last for 3 weeks, a 7 lb package of chicken breast last for 2 months, and a 5-pack of italian turkey sausage last for 3 dinners.

Also, learn to love leftovers. Spaghetti dinner at my house turns into spaghetti lunch the next day. Chili one night is had with salad and baked potato. Next night with hot dogs for a chili dog dinner. I also have chili for lunch about 3 days a week.

Aldi frozen chicken breasts and whole grain brown rice. I also like whole grain spaghetti, the noodles usually cost about $1.50 and sauce usually costs about a $1.50 and i usually get three to four meals out of it also try farmers markets for cheap produce.

I'm on a very tight budget and find that my freezer and slow cooker are my best kitchen friends. When I get home frmo the supermarket, I divide all meat into individual portions and put them in the freezer so I never have to defrost more than i will use - no wastage there. I also use frozen vegetables frmo the basics range - cauliflower, peas, sweetcorn, broccoli - they're the same whatever range, so why spend more than I have to? Again, I only take out what I will use and it keeps for ages, so no wasteage. I also cook in bulk - I use my slow cooker to make chilli, bolognese, curry, stews and soup, and once again, divide it into individual portions in the freezer, so I always have healthy meals ready to serve when I don't have time to cook from scratch. I also make up individual lasagnes when I'm making bolognese sauce. When it comes to fresh produce, I tend to buy seasonal fruit and veg as it's lower in price and tastes better. And when it comes to meat, I check out the reduced section that is coming to the end of its dates because it's going in the freezer anyway and will keep. If you plan your menu and only buy what you need for the recipes you will be cooking that week, you will save loads too. Take advantage of special offers for things like pasta, rice, lentils and split peas - all those things that will keep in your cupboard for ages - because you can take your time using them and they are always great to fill out meals. Same with tinned goods. But make sure it really IS a good deal first - check out the basics ranges because 9 times out of 10 they're just as good as the other brands and are a fraction of the price.

Try and see if your city/town has any local farmer's markets that are open on the weekend. You can usually get produce and vegetables for a better price than at the store.

As for meats I buy the store brand chicken breasts and frozen Tilapia filets which don't take long to thaw or cook. The chicken for a pack of 10 breast pieces probably costs me $7 or $8 since they run markdowns on it often. Tilapia... I think it's $10 but you get somewhere near 20 filets and considering I only eat 1 1/2 each meal I have it, it's a good deal. I also buy frozen broccoli florets which are between $2-$4 depending on brand.

It's also a good idea to pay attention to the grocery store sale flyers you get in the mail. Check them for items you like or can eat that are at a reasonable price and stock up. My mother and I will both go and get the maximum you can have if there's a limit and pay separately. Sure it can cost a bit but for the quantity it's worth it because that's one less week or whatever you have to go out and buy it at the regular price.

I buy fresh chicken breasts at Walmart on the sell by date for $1.38/lb, I then freeze them in bags of 1 or 2 as its only me. I used to go to Costco with a friend who had a membership and buy spring greens from there, the veg usually is less than many stores and better quality I've found, split with a friend when you know you're not going to eat it all. Krogers has 10 or 10 deals on quite often so I buy fruit and veg etc there.