How to eat healthy on a tight budget?

Aldi has really h elped me in my weight loss. They have some good veggies and dairy items that are half the cost than the big super markets. I don't know if you have one in your area. Also, I know protein is expensive, but just have lost of protein and veggies in the house. once you stop buying the junk for snacking, it might even it out. Farmers markets also have a lot of stuff we use on a daily basis for super cheap. I spent $10 on a bunch of stuff this past weekend. It's worth seeking them out!

Frozen Vegetables retain all the nutrients/health benefits (arguably better than their fresh equivalents when frozen straight after being picked) last a lot longer so you can keep stocked up and are a lot cheaper than buying fresh

They are a great way of making any meal more satisfying and healthy too and very simple to cook.

you could become vegetarian!!! that is a great way ... eating veg, eggs, pulses, etc!!!!

I agree... farmers markets are amazing...

I go to the produce stand/market by my house. It's always cheaper than the grocery store and usually better quality.

Some healthy things to stretch your food dollar:

Beans
Eggs
Pasta
Brown Rice
Frozen Veggies and Fruits (Look for sales and stock up)

Visit your local Farmer's Market for fresh veggies and fruits. I also recently found if you eat fish, your local fish market will probably be less expensive than the supermarket.

Hope that helps. Generally, anything you have to cook yourself will likely be less expensive that something ready to eat.

I hear ya! It's quite expensive to eat healthy. I live on an island in the Atlantic, so getting fresh fruit and veggies is more expensive than most places. For example... a mango-$2, 8 oz bag of spinach-$5, 4 colored peppers-$6 milk-$4 for 2litres(a half gallon)
yet, a 2 litre of pop is under $1. I just make trips to the grocery store early in the morning and buy the salads that they pack from the salad bar from the night before. Check all the flyers for the weekly sales, and watch all the clearance bins. Good luck my friend. Keep trying

frozen veggies/fruit, canned beans (low sodium), farmer's markets...frozen raw fish, large tubs of plain greek yogurt...that's what i can think of for now;) But it becomes easier as you learn. Trust me, I very budget wise right now!

farmers markets and if you have a Trader Joes, you can get good healthy stuff there cheaper than a lot of larger chain stores. Look for sales, coupons. I am on a very limited budget and I make it work for me. You can do this - it is possible

Shop sales, clip coupons and stock up when you can. I shop at Aldi's and love them. They have allowed me to cute my grocery bill in half. I use frozen veggies because you tend to be able to pick them up pretty cheap (on sale & stuff) they are great alone or part of another dish. I also, keep any left over veggies I have and freeze them in a freezer bag. I use those to make veggie soup.

Keep tuna, pasta, rice and potatoes on hand to help stretch your meal & buck.

Find a local farm stand or farmers market in your area. You can pick up seasonal fruit & veggies pretty cheap their.

Or join a co-op group. They tend to have pick ups about once a month & you get a box of stuff.

I live on a tight budget it can be hard to get everything you want but, stop and think about what you need. It can be done! Good luck

Do you have a bulk foods store near by? We have "The Coop" which is a store serving the organic/healthy/green community. They have a great bulk section where you can get all sorts of excellent staple foods very cheaply. I love to cook with dried beans and whole grains. I can make a pot of very healthy bean/squash soup that will feed me for several days for $5-$6. I purchase my produce from the regular grocer as The Green tax at the Coop is too high for me. In a nut shell, you can do quite well on a low budget as long as you are willing to cook for yourself. Oh, and red meat is darned expensive - I use beef as a "treat" meal.

What MalibuBeth just said. Plan your meals and cook them yourself, and you can go healthy and cheap.

Fresh meat has a "sell-by" date and needs to be sold by that date or thrown out. Many stores discount meat if it is shortly before that date, marking them as "Manager's Specials" and the like. The discounts can be pretty steep. Buy them, take them home, cook them right away into healthy meals, and freeze portions for homemade "fast food".

Frozen skinless chicken breasts are a staple of my diet when my wife travels. Grab one, cube it up, sautee it in a little olive oil, throw on some cheap frozen vegetables (get "fresh frozen", not the kind with sauces or butter), serve over rice or pasta, eat.

There are so many relatively inexpensive and convenient ways to prepare healthy meals.

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Cooking your own food from bulk ingredients is the way to be frugal! Buy rice, lentils, beans, oatmeal etc. by the bulk... you can use them to make soups/salads/eat them on their own. Buy your meat on sale and freeze what you don't immediately need! Stick with whole grain pastas and breads- maybe not cheaper, but definitely more filling in the long run.

I cut down on a lot of money when I started buying produce for what I only needed immediately... meal planning helps with this :-)

With meat and whole poultry save and freeze the bones after you eat the meat... you can boil the bones down to make a mean stock!

I can't say I'm the healthiest eater, but my biweekly grocery total usually comes to $50-75. But that's with extras and fun stuff!

Staples for me (aka things I actually will eat and use) are wheat tortillas, chicken breasts, lentils, peanut butter, kidney beans, whole grain bread/pasta, tomato sauce, oatmeal, milk/soy milk, honey, eggs, flax seeds, cereal, mozzarella cheese, coffee, hot sauce... limes/banana/avocados.... for just those staples, which is enough for solid meals for two weeks or so, you are probably looking at $50-70, depending on sales!

I'm going to be real here, I'm pretty broke lol. And I know I'm not the only one on a budget! I was watching some of the movie Food Inc today, and in one part they were talking about how cheap bad food is, and how much more expensive good food is! It's a conspiracy! Hahaha, anyway, I would really just love if I could get some tips on how to eat healthy without spending what I don't have.

Do you have an Aldi's in your area? Their "Fit & Active" brand is REALLY good and very inexpensive!!! I highly suggest that... For fruits and veggies, if you have a farmers market close, you could try there. Or even look for your grocery store's generic brand of name brand foods.

Wal-Mart is GREAT about price matching, you should try that. Look at your sales ads, and when you go to check out, let them know a specific store has that certain item for a cheaper price. They usually know, already, but you have to tell them.