Well, I need some help.

We have very little really good, healthy stuff in the house right now and we will not be doing our monthly grocery shopping for another couple of weeks. So, my husband was good enough to hand me $60 tonight and tell me to get some stuff to get me started. What would you get to get you through? We do have some tunafish, chick peas, lean ground beef, and whole wheat pastas.....So, from there what would you add?

chicken breasts and broccoli. grilled chicken is seriously one of the best things to include in a low cal meal. you can't really go wrong with turkey, either! and load up on the veggies.

oh, and i've recently started experimenting with fish -- it's really low cal and high protein. salmon and tilapia are the best!

- low fat dairy (yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese)
- veggies (baby carrots, green peppers)
- chicken breast
- oatmeal (old fashioned can still be microwaved)
- eggs (very flexible!)

Are you on any specific plan? Do you have a place where you can buy bulk grains/beans? Generally you can get a better price

My choices would be -

Frozen veggies - they keep pretty well
Oatmeal - it is fairly inexpensive and can be a filling breakfast
Dried beans - black beans, chickpeas, black eyed peas, etc
Some other whole grains - brown rice, millet, quinoa, etc

beans- pinto beans, black beans, white kidney beans
veggies- brussel sprouts (I prefer frozen), brocolli, lettuce, tomato
My favorite protein right now is ground turkey patties. At Krogerthe package is 2.99 for 4 patties.
yogurt

Big resealable bags of frozen veggies.

do you have any tea? i really love flavored teas. great for so many situations, or just drinking something other than water.

mint, chai, chamomile, green- or flavored green tea, whatever kind you like. or use reg. black tea and add spices to it, like cinnamon.

do you have seasonings at home? they can really keep the menus interesting even if you end up having chicken over and over. indian curry chicken, garlic chicken, lemon pepper chicken....

Check this to make it stretch.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm

It may or may not be plan friendly but if the priority is making it stretch -- make it streeeeetch!

GL!
A.

Fruits, especially strawberries and apples. They're great for when the cravings strike.

My one tip, if you are going to buy fresh spinach or the "spring greens" that are available at my local Wal mart, buy the organic, I know they are more expensive, but they keep a lot longer than the cheap stuff. A bag of cheap spinach will last about 5 days, the organic, lasts about 2 weeks. So it's worth it in the end. I don't always buy organic, but for those 2 things I do, because they last long enough I can actually eat it all before it goes bad.

Another thing, if you are going to buy chicken breasts. Where I live the local Wal mart has them (fresh not frozen) in a big package that costs 13.00 Seems expensive, but they are huge. If you cut them in half, then they are a realistic serving. So one package is actual double the servings. I weighed these on my WW scale the last time I bought them, and it really is double. So cut them in half and freeze. It really is a bargain.

I loaded up my freezer on frozen veggies. I know fresh is always better, but I end up throwing them out so quickly since I'm the only one that eats them.. and I can only eat so much!
Chicken breast
Plain oatmeal (I always put a little bit of organic honey in it)
Berries. I mix raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries and dip them in plain yogurt
I also bought hot sauce.. I put it on just about everything, for some reason it's comforting.

Another vote for Oatmeal. I stumbled on a yummy recipe. I cut chicken breasts up into strips, and marinade them in a low cal salad dressing, I prefer honey mustard, then I roll them in oatmeal, and bake. It also works well with bread crumbs and a tad of shredded Parmesan. tasty chicken fingers! Crispy too!

My advice is to be realistic.

Set down and make a list of good wholesome foods that will aid you in your diet AND that you like.

It does no good to go out and buy a bunch of stuff that everyone else likes, but you only 'want' to like. That will just demoralize your diet plans by staring you in the face every time you open the fridge and chose something else. I have a friend that LOVES fresh spinach. When we set and watch a movie, I eat my 100 cal popcorn and she eats a bag of fresh spinach leaves. I think that is sooo cool, and I want to like it, but honestly I just hate the stuff. I can get so motivated just setting beside her and watching her nibble, but realistically it would just be a total waste of money for me to go out and buy my own bag of the stuff.

So, my guess is you have a good grasp on the things you like, and sit down and make that list!!

Secondly, don't feel like you have to go to the store and spend the $60. Buy what you want and will use at a reasonable rate. Put the money in a separate envelop and spend out of it when you need to.


Having said all that, I'll give you a quick list of my go-to ideas

Raw almonds. I love them, they last forever, and are crazy healthy. I keep a mini snack ziploc bag of a premeasured serving of them in my purse at all times, so I have a healthy snack when I need it.

Cucumbers and tomatoes. Everything else fresh, I buy when I need it, but those two I eat all the time. I cut them up and put some real mayo in them for a big fresh summer salad that is a HUGE bowl and only has 100 calories! Add salt and pepper and you are set.

Kashi almond bars. Not exactly 'cheap' at $3.50 for 6 of them, but they are life savers to me, and are one of the few bars that I actually feel are worth the money.

Black tea. I drink it all the time.




I wish you the best!

Fresh vegetables are not better than frozen unless you are buying them from the farm. Most frozen vegetables are frozen the day they are picked so retain more nutrition. Fresh vegetables in supermarkets are picked days or even weeks before, have lost nutrition, and in some cases have been picked before they are ready to prolong their shelf life.