Frugal AND Healthy Eating?

[james.hendrickson]

Thought I'd put this out there for the board...

I'm super into frugal living. I try and minimize my expenses and save where I can. One thing I'm finding is that the least expensive food (frozen pizzas, rice. etc.) is usually carbohydrate heavy and isn't that healthy or nutritionally dense.

Have you guys figured out a way to eat in an inexpensive way that is still healthy?

[bjl584]

Healthy doesn't have to be expensive, especially if you do your own cooking, cook in bulk and meal prep a week out.
Stick to things not in boxes or cans, the less packaging the better.
Fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and good carbs like rice and potatoes.

[myrdale]

Rice may be high in carbs, but overall isn't that bad for you from my understanding.

Sardines are fairly cheap and good source of omega 3's.

Any fruits or vegetables are cheap. A baked potato has more potassium that a banana.

A boiled egg or two for breakfast isn't bad. Or a Cliff protein bar.

One place people get in trouble is proportion sizes. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. A serving of cheese is the size of a dice. A single McDonald's regular hamburger as a meal isn't horrible, but a Big Mac with cheese and fries is a whole different story. A single taco would be reasonable, but the three tacos and burrito I had last night really blew it out of the water.

Benjamin Franklin had a quote along the lines of "we live off the first 25% of what we eat, our doctors live off the remaining 75%.

[ua_guy]

Back in the day, and sometimes still do... I was a big fan of the "buy one get one" and other discounted meats section at the grocery store. Freeze it and eat it soon, or eat it in the next day or two. It's still good meat, and I would only buy the stuff that looked really good. Good cuts. Chicken breast, red meats without a lot of fat, salmon. We buy a lot of that in bulk (frozen) at Costco and sometimes repackage for freezing.

Like others have said, basic foods (non-processed, packaged) cooked at home is a more inexpensive way to eat. Still not cheap compared to eating some junk food, but it's a heck of a lot better-than.

[disneysteve]

The less processed the better. Fresh fruits and vegetables (with a focus on what's in season). Whole grains. Eggs. Raw poultry and meat. The more work you have to do to prepare the food, the cheaper and healthier it will be. The more you can buy in bulk, the cheaper it will be. Eating healthy on a budget really isn't rocket science but it does take some work and planning. It's easy to pop a frozen pizza in the oven. It takes time and planning to make pizza dough from scratch and cut up some fresh toppings but the result will cost less, taste better, and be void of all of the chemicals and additives making a much healthier meal.

[crazyliblady]

Thought I'd put this out there for the board...

I'm super into frugal living. I try and minimize my expenses and save where I can. One thing I'm finding is that the least expensive food (frozen pizzas, rice. etc.) is usually carbohydrate heavy and isn't that healthy or nutritionally dense.

Have you guys figured out a way to eat in an inexpensive way that is still healthy?

Yes, I have. I buy from local farmers when possible. That is generally when the farmer's market is open here from April through October. I also grow some of my own food, such as salad greens, herbs, green onion, white or yellow onions, and carrots. Even if you don't have a big yard to grow things to eat, you don't really need one. There are a lot of options, like just having a couple of small pots in a porch area with lettuce and green onions, for example. There are also a lot of products like Tower gardens, and similar, less expensive ones. Don't feel stuck in the tv dinner or cardboard box dinner with meat added trap. If you don't eat salad, don't. Maybe make a pot of chili with beans and meat, or maybe just beans or meat based on your diet and preference. Other options are beef stew, casseroles, or meatloaf. The only limit is your imagination. Go to google and type in the name of a recipe that you like and make it. Eat some and maybe put some in the freezer for another day. I don't eat mayo because of the soybeans, so if I want tuna salad, I add avocado or guacamole, which is loaded with flavor and healthy fats. I like to make roasted vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, or cabbage. I chop them into pieces and add olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and some other herb for extra flavor. I cook in the oven and boom! Flavor!

[disneysteve]

Find out if there are any farm share programs in your area. With those you pay a weekly fee to get a load of whatever is harvested that week. It will be a variety of fruits and veggies, some you know, some you may not know. But the price is low. The key though is that you have to use most of it to get your money’s worth.

We’ve never joined ourselves but we have friends who do and when they won’t be home they let us take their share that week. We’ve gotten tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, eggplant, zucchini, tomatillos, beans, and more.

[QuarterMillionMan]

[james.hendrickson]

so true.

[james.hendrickson]

Guys - thanks so much for the excellent ideas, really, really appreciate it.

[disneysteve]

Some other suggestions.

Pay attention to the weekly circulars from the supermarkets in your area. Take advantage of sales as much as you can.

Don’t be overly loyal to one store. Just yesterday I went to Acme, where I almost never shop, but they had a great price for something we use regularly so I ran over to stock up.

Check out discount chains like Aldi and Lidl and Grocery Outlet or whatever is near you. We also have a couple of places around here that are grocery liquidators who sell past date stuff which is still perfectly fine but the regular stores can’t sell it. You can save a lot at that sort of place.

[kork13]

The less processed the better. Fresh fruits and vegetables (with a focus on what's in season). Whole grains. Eggs. Raw poultry and meat. The more work you have to do to prepare the food, the cheaper and healthier it will be. The more you can buy in bulk, the cheaper it will be. Eating healthy on a budget really isn't rocket science but it does take some work and planning. It's easy to pop a frozen pizza in the oven. It takes time and planning to make pizza dough from scratch and cut up some fresh toppings but the result will cost less, taste better, and be void of all of the chemicals and additives making a much healthier meal.

DS nailed it -- buy in bulk, buy in season, do your own prep & cooking, start with unprocessed/minimally processed ingredients. The other points about farm share baskets are great, my family has done that the last couple years & had alot of fun learning/trying new recipes to use them with. Also, if you don't already, learn the typical unit prices ($$ per ounce, per pound, per 'each', etc.) on the common ingredients you purchase often. That's how you'll really know if you're getting a good deal on an item, or if the grocery is just blowing smoke calling an item "on sale" when it's merely a smaller container, or marked down from an inflated price.

Another big one: Learn your seasonings -- what they taste like (both cooked & raw/minimally cooked), how to combine them, how to contrast flavors, and how to enhance or tone down flavors. I can take the same chicken breast & do a dozen different meals simply by changing what spices/herbs/seasonings I use. Start adding in sauces, and the culinary world is at your fingertips.

As a recommendation -- a great cooking book worth a read for anyone looking to cook more skillfully is "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" by Samin Nosrat. It's less cook book & more instruction manual on learning to manipulate the fundamental elements of a dish. The book was suggested to me by a friend, and it really is excellent.

[myrdale]

BUT keep in mind, a large portion of that cost is the labor. Someone has to dice all those strawberries, and cantaloupe up and pick off the individual grapes to fill the cup. I suspect that if you purchase all of the individual ingredients yourself, you'll find the price to be half that of the french fries on a per serving basis.

[disneysteve]

BUT keep in mind, a large portion of that cost is the labor. Someone has to dice all those strawberries, and cantaloupe up and pick off the individual grapes to fill the cup. I suspect that if you purchase all of the individual ingredients yourself, you'll find the price to be half that of the french fries on a per serving basis.

I'm not sure I agree. Someone has to grow and harvest the potatoes, load a truck, haul them to the factory where they get processed - cleaned, cut, bagged, frozen - then trucked to the individual stores. There someone has to prepare and maintain the fryer, cook, salt, and package the fries. There's a fair amount of labor involved either way.

[disneysteve]

Another thing to check out is warehouse clubs like BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club. You have to go into those with a very discerning eye, though. First, you have to make sure you will save enough to justify the membership fee (check Groupon for discounted membership - we joined Costco a few years ago for $5). Second, you have to make sure that you'll be able to make use of the items you buy there in bulk before they go bad. And as always, you really need to compare prices. Just because it's at Costco doesn't necessarily mean it's cheaper, especially when compared to a good sale at your local supermarket. Also don't forget about shopping for groceries at places like Target and Walmart. They often have better prices than the supermarkets.