Healthy eating on a budget...is it possible?

[StillWondering]

Buying frozen veggies is a great way to save. I buy large quantities in bulk and as I guy this really helps. Don’t boil your dark greens if you want to eat healthy. It saps a third of the minerals form them and those are hard to get naturally. Making soups out of veggies are good. Steaming is good too. Saute is alright =). Sauteing mushroom though are yum yum good!

When buying meat I used to buy the more expensive kids until I learn more techniques in cooking. Don’t check out the food network for healthy and efficient ideas, lol. The PBS stations might have some good ideas. Try to google some basic tips from the American Test Kitchan. They price shop and use great ideas for healthy cooking that tastes great. For example with steaks, I make it quite often you can buy cheaper grades of meat and oven them at 200 degress for 15 minutes before and after grilling, pan shearing, or roasting, and you’ll get the finer textures form the more expensive cuts.

Another thing I do is buy raw fruits, veggies, and meats from costco. They have sirloin patties for a dozen bucks but you get maybe 20 very lean and healthy patties. Animal meat will always have some transfats in them but these are much easier to handle then the ones from process foods. Eating healthy means making foods yourself. Don’t buy into those healthy new age foods, they are so processed. Even if their label lists a million great things, they are not listing the true details of the process and what is hidden. This is because it’s a market to make money and the fact that the law does not require everything. (Example, can fruits and beans can have up to 2% animal feces and it is not listed. Enjoy!)

Make sure you have proper tools to prepare your food to keep the prep time down. Not fancy gadgets. Just simple old fashion tools made with modern materials.

 

[dulcissima]

I got a huge bag of spinach from Costco for 3 dollars. It’s great to throw into all sorts of things or make salads or just stir fry with some onions, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. I told my son who is a vegetable hater that I want him to concentrate on tolerating spinach, that if there is just one green vegetable he will eat, spinach is a good choice. He is giving it an honest effort.

A big bag of healthy eating for 3 dollars. That’s hard to beat.

 

[shannyk]

I got a huge bag of spinach from Costco for 3 dollars. It’s great to throw into all sorts of things or make salads or just stir fry with some onions, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. I told my son who is a vegetable hater that I want him to concentrate on tolerating spinach, that if there is just one green vegetable he will eat, spinach is a good choice. He is giving it an honest effort.

A big bag of healthy eating for 3 dollars. That’s hard to beat.

I put fresh spinach in smoothies with frozen fruit. You’d never know it was there. Kale too, which is equally cheap if not cheaper.

 

[dulcissima]

I put fresh spinach in smoothies with frozen fruit. You’d never know it was there. Kale too, which is equally cheap if not cheaper.

What do your spinach/kale fruit smoothies look like?

 

[jewells17]

I got a huge bag of spinach from Costco for 3 dollars. It’s great to throw into all sorts of things or make salads or just stir fry with some onions, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. I told my son who is a vegetable hater that I want him to concentrate on tolerating spinach, that if there is just one green vegetable he will eat, spinach is a good choice. He is giving it an honest effort.

A big bag of healthy eating for 3 dollars. That’s hard to beat.

Mind if I ask how many ounces the bag holds? The large bag I get from Food Lion only provides about three servings by the time I steam it.

 

[puzzleannie]

We. Ethnic markets are usually a good thing for healthier eating because they usually don’t have all the junk our food has.

this is good advice no matter where you live, they also often have bulk foods where you can buy only the quantity you need

our Mexican grocery chain has spices and seasoning, grown and packaged locally for distribution in Mexican markets all over the country, at easily 1/4 the cost of regular national or store brands, not just traditional menudo mix or chili powder, but dried onions, parsley and other veggies, cinnamon, everything you can think of. I see chicken broth is on sale now, probably all left from holidays, but as I say you can make your own virtually free.

when I worked at our local hunger center in Ohio we were kept supplied with “roast beast” from deer hit by cars, tagged and certified clean and butchered by local firms.

 

[shannyk]

What do your spinach/kale fruit smoothies look like?

depends. if you’re using dark fruits like blueberries or blackberries with say a banana or something, you can’t tell it’s in there because it’s dark in color. If you used banana and pineapple and peach it would be green.

key is to really let them go for awhile in the blender, like3-4 min on high, to a get a good smooth texture.

 

[dulcissima]

depends. if you’re using dark fruits like blueberries or blackberries with say a banana or something, you can’t tell it’s in there because it’s dark in color. If you used banana and pineapple and peach it would be green.

key is to really let them go for awhile in the blender, like3-4 min on high, to a get a good smooth texture.

Hmmm. Something to consider. I wonder if my picky eater would be willing.

We are going to be riding bikes to our Old Town tomorrow, hopefully in time for the Farmer’s Market. Maybe if he picks out some fruit, I can get him on board.

 

[shannyk]

Hmmm. Something to consider. I wonder if my picky eater would be willing.

We are going to be riding bikes to our Old Town tomorrow, hopefully in time for the Farmer’s Market. Maybe if he picks out some fruit, I can get him on board.

if you get fresh fruit make sure to include a frozen fruit too, or it won’t be as appealing (BTDT). I get the more brown bananas on the clearance table at the store pop them out of their skin and freeze them in a bag. Perfect for smoothies, frozen banana makes it sweet and creamy.

 

[baltobetsy]

if you get fresh fruit make sure to include a frozen fruit too, or it won’t be as appealing (BTDT). I get the more brown bananas on the clearance table at the store pop them out of their skin and freeze them in a bag. Perfect for smoothies, frozen banana makes it sweet and creamy.

I recently saw a recipe for ice cream that was only frozen bananas and a touch of flavoring done up in the blender or processor. The blogger said it was really creamy and delicious.

Betsy

 

[dulcissima]

Mind if I ask how many ounces the bag holds? The large bag I get from Food Lion only provides about three servings by the time I steam it.

This one is 40 ounces, way more than 3 servings.

 

[Sparki777]

Honestly, we do spend more on food, especially this time of year (winter). We’ve made other changes in our budget to accommodate the cost of healthier food.

In the summer and fall, we have plenty of our own produce that we grow in the backyard. I’m a city girl, raised in concrete, and if I can grow an organic garden successfully (and lazily) anybody can. What I couldn’t grow (sweet corn & eggs), I bought at the farmer’s market.

I froze whatever fresh produce we couldn’t eat over the summer, but I’m already running shy of that.

So here’s what else we do:

• Stopped buying prepackaged food, and try to buy everything in its most basic form. This includes dusting off the bread machine we got when we married. It doesn’t bake so well, but it still kneads dough and helps it rise. We don’t make EVERY loaf out of it, but a few a week help out.
• Eat vegetarian 2-3 nights a week (including Friday) and reduced the serving size of meat so that we use a lot less meat. Found a lady at the farmer’s market who sells us free-range chickens at only 15 cents more a pound than the grocery store kind. Can’t find cheap grass-fed free-range beef, so we buy the expensive kind only once or twice a month.
• Any treats are homemade (like cookies or cake or whatever)
• Shop thrift stores/garage sales/consignment for almost all our clothing, which has literally reduced our clohing expenses by 80%. I frequently find new or near-new items, especially for the kids, in good name brands. I have found it pays to buy quality brands because the clothing is made better and lasts longer. My kids wear Gap, Gymboree, Levis, Lands End, Hanna Andersen, etc., but I rarely pay more than $2 an item. Got all their school backpacks that way, too. They look like all the other kids; nobody would know their clothing was bought used.
• Household goods are also acquired through thrift stores, Freecycle, etc. and almost everything is second hand.
• We don’t have cable TV.
• We limit the kids’ after-school activities.
• We don’t eat out, go to movies, etc. and strive for free or almost-free entertainment like movie night at the library.
• We watch our utility usage and try to keep it minimal.
• We live only around a mile from work, church/school and less than a mile from stores, etc., so that we can reduce transportation costs.

Hope these ideas inspire you.

 

[StillWondering]

A lot of mention of Costco at the start of the thread, so I wanted to mention about the price of the membership. I’m not sure how much everyone spends, but I spend about 600/month on food/gas/random things from costco. Maybe that’s a lot, I don’t know. Just last decade, it was a 1/5 of that. Oh the poor state of the dollar.

Anyhow, at $500/month, that’s $6000 a year on food. The executive membership give 2% back, so that’s $120 back. So you get a net gain of $20 after a year.

Just something to think about.

 

[Maria1212]

I love Costco but would add one tip that I forgot to put in an earlier post. Definitely go in with a list so you arent tempted to buy things you dont need. It is very easy to walk out of Costco with a bunch of things you don`t need!

Sincerely,

Maria1212

 

[dulcissima]

My budget is so tight that I often can’t afford to buy in bulk. Not sure if I will be continuing my membership, even though there are deals there.

I got $100 for Christmas, and it felt like a luxury to go there and buy paper towels, etc.

 

[yellowdaisy]

We never ever ever pay full price for any food item. We buy it when its a doorbuster, and we buy a lot of it! We lost my income about two months ago, which reduced our monthly income by about 33 percent. My income was what bought the food, so we’ve had to REALLY readjust to get by. We’re eating healthier, and not going hungry, so its definately possible!

It helps to plan things out in accordance with your paychecks. My husband gets paid twice a month, so sometimes thats 14 days between checks, and sometimes its not-- I have to have enough to last me about two weeks, sometimes almost three weeks.

Some paychecks, I buy meat, but some paychecks I dont have too, because we stocked up on a good sale last time. So when you go to the store, theres things you KNOW youre going to need every time, like milk or fruit, but then there are things that are variable-- I can plan meals around whats on sale while I’m in the store.

You can freeze a LOT more things than you realize-- when milk is a great deal, but some extra gallons and freeze t hem-- same with loaves of bread, or meat.

We switched to homemade EVERYTHING because of my daughters dietary needs-- the prepackaged, processed stuff she just cant tolerate well. Making the switch was SO HARD at first, but it actually saves you a FORTUNE at the store to buy only fresh ingredients. The things we still buy processed include some cereals, pasta sauce and oatmeal, and thats really about it. Occasionally I get Wheat Thins if theyre on sale

We eat leftovers for lunches a LOT. Sometimes when I cook things, like last week I made Thanksgiving Soup, I put more than half of it into the freezer and will get two more meals out of it at least. When groundmeat was on sale, I bought several pounds and made meatballs one afternoon-- which we’ll get at least three dinners out of.

The key to lowering the food bill, and still buying healthy food, is to plan plan plan ahead! I cant definately say what we’re eating next tuesday night, BUT, i do know I have about 10 things to pick from, which I alreayd have all ingredients for.

We grocery shop once a week only. Ideally, we’ll start making it every TWO weeks, but somethings just dont keep long enough (like bananas). If we’re out of something, we go without it until the next grocery day. Theres really almost NOTHING that you MUST have immediately, unless you have a dietary restriction, or a formula fed baby or something It’s just a process or retraining yourself.

I also have a lot of recipes I can make from odds and ends, which is helpful. Thanksgiving Soup is a great one-- SO cheap and easy!

 

[Autumn68]

Here’s one pc of advise I can offer: When it’s in season, go to a farmers market (or grow your own vegies and fruit) and freeze these things at the end of the season when you can get a lot for a little, and use it in the winter. When your freezer is packed, it costs less to run, another added benefit. I also buy meats on sale and freeze them. Things like that work for us.

 

[LilyM]

• Shop thrift stores/garage sales/consignment for almost all our clothing, which has literally reduced our clohing expenses by 80%. I frequently find new or near-new items, especially for the kids, in good name brands. I have found it pays to buy quality brands because the clothing is made better and lasts longer. My kids wear Gap, Gymboree, Levis, Lands End, Hanna Andersen, etc., but I rarely pay more than $2 an item. Got all their school backpacks that way, too. They look like all the other kids; nobody would know their clothing was bought used.
• Household goods are also acquired through thrift stores, Freecycle, etc. and almost everything is second hand.

Amen for these two - got a fantastic tv and computer that were being practically given away simply because people had to upgrade to the newest flashiest models (I certainly didn’t!)

Same with the clothes - I recently got my first corporate job. Being that it was only temporary and that my weight has been changing recently, I had to get a new corporate wardrobe quickly and cheaply. St Vincent de Pauls became practically my second home.

Wouldn’t buy pre-loved shoes, but pretty much everything else was from there.

 

[love2learn]

I rarely eat meat and I usually eat only 2 meals a day. Poverty works better than Weight Watchers.

Actually, trying to lose weight significanly lowered my food bills. I was using the “Light Weigh” diet program developed by Suzanne Fowler. It works by teaching you to eat only when you are truly hungry, and to eat only small meals about the size of your fist (which represents the size of your stomach before you stretch it out with food). At first it is really difficult to stop eating after only this much food, but gradually your stomach shrinks and you start to feel full after eating that amount. After about 2 months on this diet, I would feel very uncomfortable if I tried to eat more. Since I could not eat a lot of food, it made no sense to buy a lot of food. I stopped buying all kinds of snacks that I used to eat between meals, and the meals themselves would last longer because of my new smaller portion size.

I recommend it to anyone unless you have a medical condition that would prohibit it. You will see your food bills go down.

 

[Cat]

*More With Less Cookbook * by Doris Jantzen Longacre.

Google it, or look on Amazon.

Buy it. It’s the best investment you can make if you’re trying to save money and eat healthy. It also gives you a wonderful Christian perspective on hunger and poverty and how you can make a difference. I bought this back when I was newly-wed, and I still use it often after over 30 years of marriage.

I would suggest buying the version that is spiral bound so that you can leave it lie open while you’re cooking.