It's 5:50pm, 10 minutes before I head home from work. It's 10 minutes before I'm supposed to have dinner. Is dinner made? No. Do I have anything to cook a healthy dinner? absolutely not.
I've gotten to the point where I want to eat healthy, I want to be healthy, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be healthy, however eating all the healthy food out there, regardless of where you buy it, costs money.
It's money I don't have. So what do I do when I don't have any money to go buy healthy ingredients like chicken, ground turkey, or vegetables to make a meal? With limited money options, eating out and making bad choices somehow always seems to be the easiest thing. Why is it SO much easier buying 5 bags of chips then 1 bag of apples, or I can buy 10 packs of hotdogs for 1 package of chicken. Or worse yet, I can go to McDonalds and get a greasy fatening dollar burger before I can buy a stalk of celery. It's crazy!
What do you all do when you don't have the funds to BE healthy? I can only do so much, and starving myself because it's better than eating something fatty isn't going to work either.
My perspective is - we can have ANY TWO of the following: Easy, cheap, and healthy. Cheap, healthy food isn't easy, and easy cheap food isn't healthy, and easy healthy food isn't cheap! So yeah - grabbing a burger is easy, but easy isn't your goal, right? Healthy is!
Many will be able to give you extra info on cheaper recipes, but you have to accept that you will have to put in more work to get the food ready.
You may even have to put in more work to find deals, find alternate sources for your food (I get my produce from a farmer's market, my grains from a store that sells them bulk and cheap, most of my meat from a butcher with reasonable prices, and shop around for coupons and sales for other groceries, heading to whichever store is going to be the cheapest for me). You might have to learn some new recipes and cooking techniques to make bulk meals and freeze, use in-season produce, and utilize cheaper ingredients. But remember - healthy and easy isn't cheap, and healthy and cheap isn't easy! So if you put in that legwork, you WILL be able to get healthy foods on your table within your budget.
Red beans and rice are a complete protein, together, and full of fiber and nutrients. You can make 4 big servings from dried beans and brown rice for about $1 total. You can add some in-season veggies on the side and some seasonings, and you have a CHEAP, healthy meal. But you have to cook it all, plan ahead and soak the beans, etc.
Is there a whole foods or farmer's market or Henry's or any other cheap produce market where you live? I spend like $15 a week on fresh fruits and veggies for my husband and I. If I go to a place like ralphs that number EASILY can triple!
You can find healthy food for cheap if you shop around Coupons are the greatest thing also- I cut coupons and use them almost every week. It makes a huge difference.
Eating out isn't that cheap- it's cheaper to cook at home IMO. Even if you ate out 2x a day- for $5 a meal, that's $10 a day that's $300 for groceries a month.
Okay it will take time but be worth it in the long run. Learn how to maximize coupons and sales. hotcouponworld afullcup couponmom ect
wil all tell you how. If your getting all your health, beauty and household items free or near it your gonna have a lot extra money each month to spend on healthier foods. And there are coupons/sales on healthy and even organic foods too. For example there are Kashi pizza coupons out rght now for $3 off and that makes the pizzas around $1 and they are a healthier "fast" option than eating out.
It is more expensive to eat healthier and it is not nearly as convienient but find ways to cut the fat in other areas and youll find the $ needed to cut the fat in your diet.
The meat that we buy this week is on sale. Ground turkey is a nice choice, but agreed that it's way too expensive. I use cheaper ground beef than the really low fat kind (too expensive) and mix in TVP (textured vegetable protein) for making chili and such. A big pot of soup can be a great go to meal. Use whatever veggies are handy, whatever meat is on sale, and dried beans. Make a bit pot on the weekend and freeze leftovers. If you plan for soup, leave it out the night before to thaw. In a pinch though it doesn't take that long to thaw it in the microwave.
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My perspective is - we can have ANY TWO of the following: Easy, cheap, and healthy. Cheap, healthy food isn't easy, and easy cheap food isn't healthy, and easy healthy food isn't cheap! So yeah - grabbing a burger is easy, but easy isn't your goal, right? Healthy is!
This is so true. You can get cheap, healthy food - but it's not going to be easy. Planning will be key, and cooking is a must. In the end, I hate to say it, but you need to set your priorities. When I used to eat fast food and junk food, I spent a LOT on food. It was $5 here and there, but it added up fast.
It can be done! We are on a very limited budget. If it is not for sale at a really good price, we just don't eat it. My favorite thing is black beans fixed with taco type seasonings. A pound of dry black beans costs just over $1. They can be used as taco filling or to top a salad or on a bun as a sandwhich. Sometimes we just eat them toped with tomatoes and a bit of sour cream. Frozen vegetables are often on sale around here for $1 a bag. You will have to spend some time getting used to this way of eating and shopping, but it gets easier as it becomes routine. It doesn't have to be fancy to be healthy.
Ok, this post probably is not a huge amount of help, but I do want to encourage you to keep trying! Do you have a crockpot? That way something could be ready when you get home.
My perspective is - we can have ANY TWO of the following: Easy, cheap, and healthy. Cheap, healthy food isn't easy, and easy cheap food isn't healthy, and easy healthy food isn't cheap!
i know a lot of fruit and veggies get expensive but lettuce isn't one of them. When I'm broke, I eat lots of salad. Depending on the type of lettuce and whether or not I add fruit or chicken, the price ranges from $0.50 to $4.50 (fyi- that $4.50 salad is huge!)
I have a hubby and 2 teenage boys. Now we have just begun to eat "healthier". First I would try adding a few things healthy here and there instead of just tossing everything out the window. ALSO..take it from me...if you learn to eat samller portions..you will learn to be fuller on less. SOunds crazy but it does work.
As far as meat..we buy what is on sale that week. If it is chicken..then thats what we get. We don't buy meat unless it is on sale.
Another thing I do it buy jello...you can make alot with it. Is that something you could eat? I know some people don't like jello. I like it as a sweet for me.
I know some people toss everything bad they have out and start just healthy..but for me that will not work. Slow easy changes is what we have done. It is too expensive to do that.
I buy frozen veggies. While I know fresh is better..I can get more out of the frozen. I steam a whole bag and put it in containers all week with brown rice for lunch at work. The rice is about $1.12 for a big box and the veggies are about $2.00. That is about $3.00 for a whole weeks worth of lunches at work.
I also drink water. Believe me this is not natural to me. I hate water...BUT I have gotten use to drinking it when I am not even thirsty and I seem to eat less. I also chew ice from time to time. WHile ice may not be good for our teeth..lol..sometimes the chewing action satisfies me.
Try them frozen. A lot of times, fruits and vegetables are just as fresh (because they are picked right when they are ripe whereas fresh fruits and vegetables are picked a little too early) as "fresh" fruits and vegetables but half the price. Hope this tip works.
I understand trying to eat on a budget and isn't it ironic that the foods that are good for you are way more expensive that the foods that are bad. When my job closed down, I started thinking, well there goes my healthy eating. But I've found a couple of places to shop that will allow to keep eating healthy without emptying my wallet.
Walmart- If you have one near you, this is the best place to save $$ on food. I buy my frozen chicken breast here for about $6 a bag and the bags are not small and they have plent of chicken in the bag. They also have salmon, in individual pouches so that you can take out what you need for each meal without having to use the whole bag. I also buy my salt-free marinades,brown rice,black beans and frozen vegetables from here.
Farmers Market. This is the BEST place to get produce cheap. I get all my fruits here along with onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers here. I just went Saturday and I have enough to last me for two weeks and I only spent $10.
Discount Grocery storea: Here you can get bulk meat like ground turkey or chicken at a good price. You should also look at the sales paper for the big supermarkets because occasionaly they have a good sale on meat. Buy 1, get 1 free always catches my attention, just make sure the price is good.
Now..planning. Based on what I buy, I plan all my meals per week to keep things fresh ( I get bored easily so I like to mix it up). I take one day that I grill all my chicken and salmon and I put it in the fridge in containers so that all I have to make is the sides to go with it or if I have alot, I freeze it for a later day.
Once you get used to the process, it gets comfortable and it just how you think when you grocery shop. I hope this helps, good luck
I want to thank everyone for your GREAT input! Clearly, I was frustrated, and at my wits last end. Thankfully, because I have all of you, I was able to rationalize my thinking, find something that was a much more healthier option, and survive just one more day. The recession has hit my fiance and I really hard, and trying to take care of me, with all of both of our bills have just been exausting in itself.
Again, thank you all!!
Last edited by MacAttack85; 07-22-2009 at 05:52 PM.
Frustrated! (It may be lengthy)
Coupons are the greatest thing also- I cut coupons and use them almost every week. It makes a huge difference.
