Eating healthy on a tight budget

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jeshikadoll
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Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by jeshikadoll »

I'm in the progress of trying to lose weight however when shopping I notice a lot of stuff is rather pricey, yes there was some stuff there that was cheap such as lettuce and tomatoes but that about it. I want more of a variety to chose from.

You know this baffles me, we are currently it a crisis where the nation is getting bigger and bigger due to the junk they eat however junk food is much cheaper, how are we supposed to fight this problem when a good percentage of people can't afford to eat healthy?

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by Sonia »

Do you live near a farmer's market? You can often get vegetables and fruit there for lower than supermarket prices. A bag of apples/potatoes/onions is usually cheaper than picking them out and weighing by the pound. You can also get canned or frozen vegetables, which can be very cost effective. What specifically are you looking to buy?

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by Gaga »

Walmart or any other "big box" or discount store would be your best bet. I'm a college student so my weekly food budget is pretty small, but I still eat fairly healthy. I can get away with shopping at Publix because I use a lot of coupons and they have weekly buy one, get one free deals. Also, If you live in a town with a college they might have like discount books on campus that you can use in grocery stores. My city has a few schools and almost all of them have discount books they give out. You just have to ask around! Also the farmer's market (or even the flea market) is a great place to go for cheap produce. Most of the sellers are competitive with their prices and are willing to haggle.

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by lemontree »

go to a farmer's market and buy for 10-14 days so you can ask for a small discount. then portion the veggies into zip-lock bags and freeze them.
buy meat/chicken/fish a day before the "new" ones arrive, simple ask at the information desk at your grocery store. they always have a discount a day before new meats arrive.
buy DRY grains instead of cans, it's a lot cheaper.
make your own bread (a lot easier than you think, not much work, cheaper, and no bread maker needed!)

I'm currently on an extremely tight budget and try to buy rice/noodles in 5kg boxes, it's much cheaper than the 1lb bags. Same goes for sugar etc.
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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by DebbyBam »

You could also try limiting the amount of bad foods you put into your body. Stay away from natural foods and go with organic! Most natural food is just as bad as processed foods. :] Good luck with your weight loss from a fellow trying-to-lose-weight-in-an-unhealthy-world person. :D

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by Chlorophyll »

I agree wholeheartedly with all the other suggestions so far.

I honestly don't understand why everyone always says eating healthy is harder on a small budget, though. (Visualize $20 worth of red meat. Not a whole lot, is it? Now visualize how much larger $20 worth of carrots is.........See what I mean?) I spend a lot less money now that I buy most of my groceries in the produce section of the store instead of the isles. I think it's mostly because of the price of veggie burgers and whatnot. The processed natural foods are outrageous. Yeah, a cheese-less vegan pizza is better for you than a regular pizza, but it's been so processed most of the nutrients are gone. I think everyone would be better off if they ate things as close to their natural state as possible. Don't get those ultra super vegan frozen breakfast burritos. Just make your own stuff and keep it simple.
I am most likely not going to be returning to the forum in the future! But I would like to thank all of you for the advise, humor, and support I have received during my years of participation here. This place doesn't deserve the hate it gets! :tu:

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by sleep84 »

Chlorophyll wrote:I agree wholeheartedly with all the other suggestions so far.

I honestly don't understand why everyone always says eating healthy is harder on a small budget, though. (Visualize $20 worth of red meat. Not a whole lot, is it? Now visualize how much larger $20 worth of carrots is.........See what I mean?) I spend a lot less money now that I buy most of my groceries in the produce section of the store instead of the isles. I think it's mostly because of the price of veggie burgers and whatnot. The processed natural foods are outrageous. Yeah, a cheese-less vegan pizza is better for you than a regular pizza, but it's been so processed most of the nutrients are gone. I think everyone would be better off if they ate things as close to their natural state as possible. Don't get those ultra super vegan frozen breakfast burritos. Just make your own stuff and keep it simple.
Yes, totally. I can't count the millions of times that I had to defend myself from "oh veggie/vegan is just a snob trend, you have the money, I don't" It's so infuriating. :? Especially if the person talks from their 500euros Prada sneakers :roll:

But this aside, on one hand it's outrageous that junk food gets almost thrown at you for one buck, and you have to spend 3 times as much to buy greens for instance. The advice is always the same, keep it simple, do your own preparing and cooking (you can find your favourite recipe for veggie burgers, prepare them one day when you have time, freeze them).

Also this is a very stupid suggestion, find a healthy "staple" food that you really like and make it your substitute for those times when you randomly munch on anything bad that you can get your hands on.

ex: apples and oranges are cheap where you live (for instance) make snack stuff with them.
Yogurt and apple.. orange in the blender with cold water / or ice, it tastes so much like slush and it's all fruit!
Pardon my typos, I have a rubbish keyboard. :P

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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by TiffanyMaxwell »

Eating healthy is much much much more expensive than eating junk. I notice that every time I go grocery shopping.. When I see those frozen processed chicken wings and compare the price to fresh raw wings then the unhealthy version is like half the price for more quantity. The same goes for snacks... I consider fruits as a snack for myself when I crave something sweet and if you wana get strawberries for example then that's much more expensive than getting the chocolates or ice cream. That really sucks in my opinion... it's more expensive for obvious reasons but it just sucks.
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Re: Eating healthy on a tight budget

Post by Chlorophyll »

^That is something I'm actually curious about. I don't know if I eat weird stuff or something, but I honestly don't understand the reasoning behind people thinking healthy eating is more expensive. I'm assuming it has something to do with what I'm actually eating now, I honestly don't know. Since I started forcing myself to make things from scratch and eat more fruits & veggies, I spend between a half to a third what I once did every week. Can you guys help me figure this out? I feel like I'm going crazy! Here's what I'm talking about:

Like, if I went out to fast food for lunch and got a preset meal with sandwich/fries/drink, it would be between $5-$9. But if I ate a few cantaloupe slices and a handful of crackers it would be maybe $4 maximum (depending on if the cantaloupe was organic and what kind of crackers, etc.)

I make egg drop soup for dinner quite often on the days I allow myself to eat animal products. That takes eggs, some spring onions, nori sheets, and whatever kind of broth/stock we happen to have in the fridge. (I flavor it with the egg shells and veggie scraps I keep in the freezer for that purpose, so I'm not including those as bought ingredients because they are technically waste. When I add a clove of garlic, that's not even 20 cents additional.) Even if I make a huge batch with expensive quality broth, it's maybe $12 all together. That's absolute worst case scenario! Most people will spend that much just for steaks or chicken breasts, plus additional sides. And whatever marinade/sauce you season the meat with. It adds up quick depending on how many people live in your household.

Snacks are hella easy to do cheap, too. if all else fails-fruit, fruit, fruit. A lot of afternoons I'll have wheatgrass, which is criminally cheap if you grow your own. It takes me about 3 tablespoons of grown wheatberries per shot, and my local supplier sells them for less than $4 a pound. Obviously that's a lot cheaper than an energy drink or soda. So is tea, which I brew a lot. If you eat dairy, you can also grab string cheese or yogurt. Get the plain yogurt and season it with cinnamon and bananas. Nomnomnom. Breakfast? Oatmeal and/or fruit.
I am most likely not going to be returning to the forum in the future! But I would like to thank all of you for the advise, humor, and support I have received during my years of participation here. This place doesn't deserve the hate it gets! :tu:

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