Help me make a cheap healthy grocery list please?
Posted by admin | Under Cheap Groceries Thursday Apr 29, 2010My fridge is getting pretty empty and i don’t have much money aside for food. I like all fruits except oranges, any veggies are good, and i like to eat organic stuff like organic meats. I also like seafood. Since the recession has come food prices are going up and i can’t buy everything i like. I need your help to make a cheap list that can still provide me with a healthy diet.
Budget;20$
If you don’t mind doing a little cooking, it’s easy to eat inexpensively on the cheap! You will pay a premium for organic foods, so you may want to consider how strong that preference is. It will cut into your budget.
Beans and rice can make a healthy and very inexpensive alternative to meat as a complete source of protein (you need both to get all the amino acids, each individually will be missing some). I typically used canned beans and cook them right in with the rice using my rice cooker (but doing this in a pot works well too). You can add flavor by mixing in some diced vegetables (onions, peppers, and such) and/or cooking the beans and rice in broth instead of water (or tossing in a couple bullion cubes).
You can make chili quickly and easily using canned kidney beans and/or lentils (I like lentils in chili as they have a nice meaty texture), diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions, soy sauce, a little hot sauce, etc. The nice thing about chili is that you can improvise! Adding meat is totally optional but if you do, use ground beef, or if you prefer, ground chicken or turkey. If you make a vegetarian chili consider serving it over or with rice.
If you like salad, you may be surprised to learn that bagged salads actually work out to be cheaper than making the salads yourself. Testing by the media actually found that making bagged salad results in less waste than making salad from scratch, and the cost savings the manufacturers have by wasting less food in production more then makes up for their packing and shipping costs.
If you like to eat meat, chicken is much less expensive than beef. You’ll pay a premium per pound for boneless meat over bone-in, but you’ll pay less per pound. Still, you get more meat for your money buying the meat with the bone still in and removing it yourself (or eating around it).
Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite comfort-food side dishes. To make a complete meal, mix in some tuna fish (I prefer to by the pouch kind as there’s no water waste and the texture is much better) or serve it as a side dish to chicken or something like that.
Finally, get in the habit of clipping coupons, and if your store offers a discount card, get one (don’t just use the store’s card, if you use yours they’ll usually mail you coupons from time to time). If you watch prices and combine coupons with the sales, over time you’ll find that sometimes you can get items for free, or nearly free!
Well, I dont know what u should get, but try going to dominicks or whole foods.
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dominicks and whole foods grocery store
just go to wal-mart and look around… away from the hotcheetos and m&m’s….
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wally world (wal-mart)
Bananas are extremely cheap and healthy.
You can purchase cheap types of vegetables and grains. Don’t purchase processed foods as they are un-healthy and their prices may end up deceiving and more expensive in the long run.
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go to Lidl it is a cheep shop but the food is like the food in tesco etc hoped i helped
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Usually veggies are pretty cheap and you can get alot of them with $20. Meat is somewhat exspensive so you might want to start clipping coupons or go to a different store that’s cheaper like Aldi or Save-A-Lot.
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Apples
Grapes
Pineapples
Lettuce
Brocolli
Spinach
Cabbage
Okra
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It ain’t gonna happen.. You said it..prices going up. Before this price hike, the items you mentioned were pricey already..compared to the normal non organic items.
You will have to just check the adds for sales. And purchase that which is only on sale, for starters. Just don’t blow your sale item savings on gas costs! Keep an eye on that aspect. Plan the shopping trip to or from work to help save gas costs.
You could start growing your own veggies..that is the ultimate way to save on expensive fresh veggies..but the cold winters hinder that unless grown indoors somehow. Even one tomato plant yields quite a bit..
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clip some coupons and get things like chicken breast which is cheaper and healthier than beef. You should also buy bananas and apples for snacks, and broccoli and spinach to prepare with your chicken. You can get some oatmeal and cereal for breakfast or a box of cereal. get creative with your $20 and you can stretch it well. Look for sales and coupons. Remember there are lots of stores like Aldi, Save alot, Price Rite, and whatever you might have in your area for discount grocery stores.
References :
If you don’t mind doing a little cooking, it’s easy to eat inexpensively on the cheap! You will pay a premium for organic foods, so you may want to consider how strong that preference is. It will cut into your budget.
Beans and rice can make a healthy and very inexpensive alternative to meat as a complete source of protein (you need both to get all the amino acids, each individually will be missing some). I typically used canned beans and cook them right in with the rice using my rice cooker (but doing this in a pot works well too). You can add flavor by mixing in some diced vegetables (onions, peppers, and such) and/or cooking the beans and rice in broth instead of water (or tossing in a couple bullion cubes).
You can make chili quickly and easily using canned kidney beans and/or lentils (I like lentils in chili as they have a nice meaty texture), diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions, soy sauce, a little hot sauce, etc. The nice thing about chili is that you can improvise! Adding meat is totally optional but if you do, use ground beef, or if you prefer, ground chicken or turkey. If you make a vegetarian chili consider serving it over or with rice.
If you like salad, you may be surprised to learn that bagged salads actually work out to be cheaper than making the salads yourself. Testing by the media actually found that making bagged salad results in less waste than making salad from scratch, and the cost savings the manufacturers have by wasting less food in production more then makes up for their packing and shipping costs.
If you like to eat meat, chicken is much less expensive than beef. You’ll pay a premium per pound for boneless meat over bone-in, but you’ll pay less per pound. Still, you get more meat for your money buying the meat with the bone still in and removing it yourself (or eating around it).
Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite comfort-food side dishes. To make a complete meal, mix in some tuna fish (I prefer to by the pouch kind as there’s no water waste and the texture is much better) or serve it as a side dish to chicken or something like that.
Finally, get in the habit of clipping coupons, and if your store offers a discount card, get one (don’t just use the store’s card, if you use yours they’ll usually mail you coupons from time to time). If you watch prices and combine coupons with the sales, over time you’ll find that sometimes you can get items for free, or nearly free!
References :
I try to eat on a budget, too!
You could buy oatmeal for breakfast
fresh veg ie carrots turnip leeks and make some soup for lunch
and for tea checkout use by dates most supermarkets sell off food cheaper when its due to go past its use by date
Stock up on basics like rice pasta tinned foods when you can also you could buy the supermarkets own brands for basics you won’t now the difference and check out whats on offer for that week
Make out a menu for the week doing this and then a shopping list and stick to it all these wll help you cut down on your shopping bill
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