OMG MFP...

Hello How are my fellow Mfpers are doing...I have unfortunately not so good news......My hours has been cut on my job :brokenheart: ...And I just paid all my bills and Only have 20 dollars left to get groceries for the week....I dont have any healthy choice of food here for myself...Nothing but what my family eats corn dogs lasagna,ham, high cal bread, chips cookies and all the other enemy foods out their :laugh: ...But seriously Ive fallen into hardship and its getting tough..And the food I get myself cost more unfortunataly Im going to have to apply for food stamps:brokenheart:..Any sugesstions with what will you get with $20 bucks I know its not much but geesh:ohwell:

Rice cakes and all natural peanut butter go a long way-- low sugar, low carbs, high protein. I just lived on 'em for a week of vacation-- yummy, too.

I too am on a very tight budget for groceries. I've always used that as an excuse why I couldn't eat healthy. I don't understand why "they" make healthy foods so much more expensive! However, I have learned ways around that. This is just some healthy cheap foods I eat on most of the time!

For breakfast:
Old fashioned oatmeal! You can buy a huge container that will last weeks for just a few dollars.
Eggs! Eggs are cheap and very healthy!! Just remember one yolk a day!! I usually scramble four or five eggs with one yolk to go with my oatmeal. That is a very cheap and balanced breakfast!
(low fat yogurt also!)

Lunch:
ground turkey: walmart sells a pound of ground turkey for 1.99 (here). that can make you anything from turkey burgers, tacos, mix with brown rice (also cheap) etc..etc...you can use ground turkey in anything you would normally use ground beef in. I mix brown rice, ground turkey and one can of black beans together. its good and very healthy!
sandwiches!! whole wheat bread, lean chicken or turkey, 2% or less sliced cheese!

Dinner:
ground turkey again!!!
I usually eat leftovers for lunch of what I had for dinner the night before.

Fruits and Veggies are not as expensive as you think! baby carrots, celery, grapes, strawberries, canned veggies, frozen veggies, they are all inexpensive and great for any meal. Just remember to get enough protein!
This is my diet mainly when I have little money to buy groceries. When I have a little extra, I buy frozen boneless skinless chicken breast and salmon filets. Just put a veggie with that and tada, your meal!!

Don't let your hard times get you down!! Things will get better! People let depression and sadness lead to weight gain. i know! that's why I'm fat! Just hang in there!

Im sorry to hear this. Just know that most of us, especially in recent years have had the economy hit us. Be positive and try to always look at the bright side:flowerforyou:

oh, sweetie, I am so sorry!

The generic shredded wheat or raisin bran cereal, they are cheaper than the brand name and have alot of fiber. A half gallon of 1% milk has 8 - 1 cup servings.
A bag of baby carrots lasts me about a week. I eat one serving for lunch instead of chips. Celery is another one that is cheap and you get alot of it. I think generic soup is less than a dollar a can.
How about brown rice, it's only a couple of bucks for a 28oz bag and it has 20 servings.

See if you can find coupons for the stuff you like to buy or keep an eye for when it goes on sale. If you have a printer at home you can print coupons from the internet.

Can you find out if there is a food bank in your area? You may qualify and they may actually have the kind of stuff you eat.

If you are forced to eat what your family eats, drink alot of water before and make your portions even smaller than usual.

I know how you feel, we have been on a budget for a while and every little dollar counts, I have been applying and interviewing for jobs but no luck yet.

Good luck,
Demetria

Your in Atlanta right? If your anywhere close to Forrest Park go the the farmers market there. It's huge!! They have all kind of ppl selling healthy fruits and veggies for not a lot of money. You could probably get a weeks worth of food for $20 bucks. I hope this helps, and I hope thing work out for you

Your in Atlanta right? If your anywhere close to Forrest Park go the the farmers market there. It's huge!! They have all kind of ppl selling healthy fruits and veggies for not a lot of money. You could probably get a weeks worth of food for $20 bucks. I hope this helps, and I hope thing work out for you

I too was gonna suggest a local farmer's market for fruits and veggies.

(((hugs for you!)))

I remember a time when I only had 20.00 bucks for groceries but just when I was a single parent with a 3 year old then. I was 115 lbs from starvation...I would buy foods that stretch... like:

Pasta on sale for .99 you could add to chicken soup broth or eat plain with olive oil & parmsean cheese
Beans with a can of chili concarne

the hard part will be eating in moderation. Check with your local church or food harvest bank. Often they have protein meats to give out too.

really check your sales too

I will pray for you & your family:flowerforyou:

I agree with most of the advice here. We are on a budget too and skim milk, cheese, oven roasted turkey meat, eggs, peanut butter, apples, bananas, carrots, celery and whole grain cereal are are relatively low cost and pretty much cover your food groups. Also, beans and rice are cheap, can be stretched, and are very filling.

Chin up, and I'll be praying for you! :flowerforyou:



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This site may help you. I know a young couple that was struggling, and was told about this site. It helped them out a lot.

If you have to eat what your family has (which at least you won't starve to death), try eating only one of their meals and do the suggestions other people had for the rest. And limit your portions during those meals. If they eat pasta, and they mix it with the spaghetti sauce, ask to have them separate and get your portion out first so you know how much you are eating.

Take the breading off that corndog, and eat only one.

Lasagna? Can you suggest trying a new recipe, and make eggplant lasagna? Offer to cook if they supply the food, tell them you'd love to try some new recipes out on them. Sneaky, I know.

Casserole type stuff is usually cheaper and can go pretty far, 2 cans of beans (.79), a pound of ground turkey (1.99), chicken broth (.89), some celery and lettuce (under $1 for the meal's worth) and that would last one person quite a bit and isn't bad for you. You can also serve it over rice. You can put different types of soup in there to make different things. My chili recipe is something I came up with this week- ground turkey, a couple of cans of different types of beans (chili beans, garbanzo, pinto) dumped in the crockpot along with a couple cans of diced or stewed tomatoes, a cup of water, some chili spice and some cayenne pepper and my family thinks it's great. It was a desparation meal.

Rice is very cheap, and much better for you. You can plan for future "low $ times" after you get thru this by buying in bulk, like a 10# bag of whole grain rice, which I can find at Costco for around $10-17. Or at a bulk foods store where they sell in bulk but you don't have to buy a year's worth of stuff (we have Cub Foods now Winco here). I know that doesn't help you much now, but it's good to plan for future times.

Buy extra meat when it's on sale, package it in individual portions for future use and stick it in the freezer (if you live by yourself or have a way to keep others from taking it). I do that and it's literally the only reason our family is eating meat this week, because we screwed up and I have $9 for groceries, and 3 kids 6 and under. But I have bought stuff on sale just in case, so I have plenty of minute rice and pasta (more for them than me) and chicken breasts. I'm using the $9 for milk to get them thru the next week and a half till payday, and no, they won't get the good organic milk I usually buy for them, but the cheapest I can find, hormones and all. A week of that shouldn't hurt them.

You can also try people in the neighborhood who might have gardens and have too much stuff right now, my neighbors have a little garden and gave me several zucchini and cucumbers, which isn't my favorite but at least it's fresh! and free!

You can also offer to do things for people and get paid back in food - for example, babysit their kids for 2 hours in exchange for a couple large cans of spaghetti sauce and a large thing of pasta - people that can't afford to pay you but have food they can give you will do that, I know we would! If you live in an area where people have visible gardens and you can see it's brimming with stuff, offer to weed it or harvest it in exchange for some of the goods. People have gardens even in the city, all they need is a few pots!

I know it may be to hot for soup, however healthy soup can go a long way. ALL you need Chickenor Beef celery, potatoes (red preferably) seasoning your choice(watch the sodium) Chicken broth,low sodium, string beans (canned with low sodium. It could may last for a week. Peanut butter/Celery are healthy snacks as well. But if you must eat what is availble Just watch the portion sizes of the food. Good Luck