Eating healthy on a budget, how do you do it?

[GloomCookie]

I've always wanted to know this, and I figure what better place to ask? So here goes.

My fiance and I are trying very hard to eat healthy, but it seems that all the stuff that is good for you is more expensive. We've recently discovered a growers market that has a bulk section in the back of really cheap fruit and stuff (a box with at least 13 mangoes and a heap of apples for $6) and they also have a lot of cheap salads so we've been getting them, but on our budget we some how only manage to get enough food for one meal a day, generally dinner.

We have a budget of $150 for a fortnight, which has to cover food and all the other groceries like toilet paper and stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can make our money go further?

We really need to eat more than the one meal a day. I'd love to figure out how to do this before starting TTC so that I know I'm all healthy, or at least trying to be. Any advice is welcome.

Cheers

[SassyMummy]

I found that buying healthier foods ended up cheaper for me - veges are always so much cheaper than junk food after all!

Perhaps you should generally stock up on veges and fruits to bulk out the majority of your meals...and add only other things (like meat and whatever) as the "side-dishes". A bag of mixed salad leaves isn't much...about $3...and lasts a few nights (adding other salad veges of course).

The thing is - though you might be paying a little for the veges and stuff...you won't need to pay lots of condiments, soft drinks and such...saving you quite a fair bit in the end.

Maybe you could go for cheaper brands of dishwashing liquid, laundry liquid etc, and if you feel like you want a treat - go for home brands which generally taste decent...but are a whole lot cheaper.

ALSO - if you have a MEATWORKS factory anywhere near you, you can buy in bulk and save HEAPS...providing you have the room to store it of course.

[Rell]

For our family of 4 we spend about $300 a month and this includes groceries, meat and nappies. We shop at a really good discount butcher where we get whole rump for $6.99 a KG ,chicken breast for $6.99 a kg and we sometimes get a side of lamb for $3.99 kg. We also have a great fruit and vegie shop which are really cheap. My tips for living on a tight budget are:
Buy mostly generic brand foods ( MOST THE TIME THERE IS NO TAST DIFFERENCE)
Don't buy meat and vegies from the supermarket ( too expensive)
Avoid pre packaged stuff ( like sauces etc)

[Funkychicken]

You can make lots of different soups and casseroles with basic meat and vegies. As the week wears on I use up whatever is in the fridge and cupboards in this way. Another great idea is simple rice and vegies. We love steamed brown rice (or sometimes arboria made into risotto) with steamed/mashed pumpkin and sweet potato as a really filling meal.
I think everyone is right about the packaged foods-steer clear as they are really the killers at the checkout. Sauces are really simple to make-check out a google search of home made sauces.

[the_queen]

I found that buying healthier foods ended up cheaper for me - veges are always so much cheaper than junk food after all!


:thumbsup: Yup, i agree with this!! These days, me and Vallerie go to the greengrocers every day, that way we have fresh salad or vege's for dinner that night, and fresh fruit for the day. I spend maybe $5 (not even that sometimes) per day doing it this way. In the past I would do a weeks worth of shopping at once, and found that at the end of the week I'd find the 3 zucchini's I bought - now yukky and mushy; or the banana's would go black before we could eat them all. The way we do it now, there's less waste - none actually! - and it's a fun daily outing for us. It's also a daily lesson for Vallerie about healthy food choices, and maths concepts, and lots of intelligent stuff like that :D

[GloomCookie]

We are the king of homebrand shopping already. More often than not it tastes the same as the more expensive brands because it was made in the same factory. :)

We've been lucky lately and discovered not only does the butcher have a bulk pack ($50 for a fortnight's worth of meat), but there's a chicken wholesaler that's really cheap and local too. But even with buying those things in bulk we're still only able to buy enough for the one meal a day. Obviously we're doing something wrong somewhere...

[DjF]

There is always a way to get enough good healthy food for the day. Fruit and veg stores often sell cheap brands of pasta sauces and canned tomato - cheap packets of pasta (big bags - for less than what you would at the supermarket). Buy stuff like pastas and rice in bulk too if you can.
Also like others said - buy meat in bulk - you may think it takes up all your money but after 2 or 3 weeks of not going to get meat you actually save money.

If you have weekend markets or something similar near you - fruit and veg are soooo much cheaper.
Better still if you have a back yard and can grow some of your own stuff - go for it - its way healthier and cheap to do.

[jasminesmum]

Maybe if you write out a meal plan for a week it might help.

I do this and you only get what you need for those meals therefore not buying things that you might not use.

All the best. It is hard thats for sure. :)

[DjF]

Ps - im sure you know this - but make sure your actually having the right portion size meals - not really big ones! That would use up a lot!

[Rell]

I agree with sal008 soups and casseroles are a great way of saving money. Our favourite meal and also our cheapest is pumpkin soup. I usually buy a whole pumpkin ( $2), 2 potatoes and an onion add a bit of garlic, chicken stock and milk ( healthyer then cream) and there you have enought pumpkin soup to feed about 8 people for about $4:yelclap:
You say you only have enought for 1 meal a day, what do you have for Breakfast? I lasge box of no mane wheat bix only cost about $2 and last a long time.
As for lunch we just do sandwiches with varing topping from spreads to salads.
Also I don't know about around you area but at our fruit and vege shop they also sell bread ( all varieties) for 89c and milk 3L for $2.89

[MonkeyMum05]

We save a lot of money by not eating much meat.... I only realised this lately! I used to be vegetarian, but since I first became pregnant, started eating some meat. Generally, maybe 2-3 meals per week have meat, chicken or fish... and then the rest are chickpeas, lentils, beans or another vegetable based protein. This works out really cheap in the end, as a can of kidney beans is under a dollar, so are lentils...so are chickpeas...etc.
Other than that we eat lots of fresh salad, veges and fruit... brown rice and pasta.
Nice, healthy, nutritious food... and cheap! It's not boring stuff either!!
My husband loves meats, but also loves my cooking...! (So he says!)... no really, I love food and vegetarian food still tastes good, and is better for the planet :smiliedance:

[GloomCookie]

We don't eat either breakfast or lunch, we somehow just can't afford to buy anything.

We've just started an experiment where we only buy the food once a week, instead of once for the whole fortnight. We've still got some more shopping to do, so I think we'll have a look around and see what there is in the soups/bread/fillings etc.

Unfortunately all the vege stuff that you mentioned, MonkeyMum05, my fiance is allergic to. He can't eat anything bean related because he ends up with a major migrane afterwards. Also I wouldn't want to be in the middle of him and his meat, that's a dangerous fight there. :laughing:

[cwsmum]

Does your DH insist on having a huge slab of the expensive cuts of meat for dinner every night? Mine was like that and we were spending a fortune on food every week...then I started buying cheaper cuts and giving him smaller portions of meat and more veges. Now he eats the same size piece as I share with DS and we all have a decent ammount of veges...and if we feel like desert, homemade custard, cake or biscuits or fruit. :D
I remember hearing somewhere...on tv of course...your meals should be 1/4meat or other protein, 1/4 carbs (spuds, pasta, rice, etc) and the remaining half other veges...someone correct me if thats wrong, I don't want to be responsible for confusing people :o

[Rell]

I remember hearing somewhere...on tv of course...your meals should be 1/4meat or other protein, 1/4 carbs (spuds, pasta, rice, etc) and the remaining half other veges...someone correct me if thats wrong, I don't want to be responsible for confusing people :o

I think that sounds pritty right:thumbsup: I have also heard that as a good guide to how much meat to eat it should be about the size of your palm.

Sounds like meat could be your problem. We eat meat about 6 nights a week but I cam make a rump steak feed all of us. I just slice it thinly and use it in a stir fry with heaps of veges and noodles.

Hope some of these ideas are helping you:)

[newlywed]

I buy homebrand for everything except nappies. I also buy enough meat and fruit and veges to last a week. We spend $150 per week!

[cwsmum]

I buy homebrand for everything except nappies. I also buy enough meat and fruit and veges to last a week. We spend $150 per week!

Have you tried homebrand nappies? I used the woolies homebrand ones, the black and white pack not the selects ones, and they are as good as any others around...no leaks, no crystals, as soft as huggies :) I was using them on a 2.5yr old boy, he is now toilet trained. I will try my DD with these soon, the smallest size is still too big on her...we use bebes for her, almost as cheap as homebrand, or huggies atm coz she is sick and needs the extra protection. DD gets a rash from other brands of nappies. We also use cloth at home to save even more money :)

[carli]

thankfully i live in melbourne and relatively close to the city, so i go to the vic markets every saturday along with the other 300000 people that go for the bargains. On saturday after 11 or so am, most meat is 50% off, so u can get things like rib eye steak for $15 a kg, which is great for a treat, gourmet sausages go down to $5-6 a kg, plus fruit and veg is so cheap. we generally spend $60 a week at the markets, the majority of this would be on meat, and maybe 10-15 on fruit and veg. its great u go to different stalls, get the best produce at the best price. my nanna trolley is full in no time!!!

One thing i learned a long time ago at weight watchers is frozen vegies have more nutritional value than the vegies that have been at the bottom of the crisper for a week. so stock up on frozen peas, corn on the cob etc when its on sale - actually read the junk mail that comes in and if u can, pick up the things that are on sale at certain places.

E.g. i have found that huggies nappies are on sale somewhere every week, and if they arent, toys r us and target's normal price is $36 for a big box whereas the supermarket is $42. but by scanning the junk mail i usually pick them up for $29 a box. Also scan for when toilet paper is on sale and buy up big. I live on a budget similar to yours but have expensive tastes, so go to wholesalers to buy frozen pastas and sauces, get ham that is on special for sandwiches, buy cheese in 1kg lots, grate it myself, and put it in freezer bags with about a weeks worth per bag, keep one in the fridge, the rest goes in the freezer. Homebrand milk and bread - what do they do, only milk the "budget cows???" some homebrand things taste homebrand, my secret is i dont use salt in my cooking, i use chicken stock powder instead, it adds flavour and can hide homebrand imperfections.

Make yourself a list, firstly what u want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday, then make a shopping list from that, stick to it!!! and add up as u go in the shopping centre, but generally shop at greengrocers and butchers, and dont be embarassed to ask for a discount for buying in bulk, u can usually knock 3-5 off by buying 2kg rather than 1.

Dont skimp on the cleaning products and use homebrand ones, I've found its false economy, as i go through it much quicker that the higher quality ones. same with toilet paper, if i buy the yucky stuff that is like sandpaper, i use twice as much, so i go for the double length cottonelle, its about 4.50 for the equivilant of 8 rolls.

I know iv written a lot, but im in exactly the same boat, just look out for specials and stock up when they are on, its not wasting money as u will have more next shop! Good Luck

[Leeny]

On a non food related note, try a cheaper brand of nappies...Like cwsmum suggested, the woolies ones, or I use aldi nappies, as do heaps of other mums here...I thinkl they're fab. Way cheaper too. Also try buying toilet paper in bulk. Its expensive in small packs, so if you go to even big w, they have the quilton brand, or another one, i forget which it is, which are way cheaper then the other main brands. The quilton is espically good.

If you buy things like this in bulk when they're on special, it saves alot. The other one we do, is when washing powder like fab or spree is on special for 1.99, we buy quite alot of boxes, sometimes even 10. Saving 2.50-3.00 per box, it really does add up.

ETA:I just noticed this is a very old thread that was bumped :laughing:

[LovingMumOf3]

Maybe if you write out a meal plan for a week it might help.

I do this and you only get what you need for those meals therefore not buying things that you might not use.

All the best. It is hard thats for sure. :)
I do this as well and have done for quite a while now.It's so much easier and definately works out cheaper as you know exactly what you need(no more,no less). We tand to eat a lot of pasta and rice dishes and I buy cheaper meats such as schnitzle,rump,mince(you can make a lot of spag bol with a little) snags(good fo currying).Lots of fruit & veg which is usually pretty cheap.We buy our nappies in bulk (safeway brand) and always look for the cheapest option on the shelves for our other items.It can be really hard at times and we do have the odd week where we spend more than I'd like to but it just means that the following week I'm a bit stricter with my menu planning.We have just recently had a wholesale meat place open up nearby so hopefully this will save us heaps. Good luck with the budgeting everyone.

[honeydew]

We have a tight budget and there are a few things you can do to make the money go further-

-if we have leftovers for dinner, even if it's a small amount I will put in in a container and freeze it because that can be another meal and may just need to add some more vegies or something. For awhile there I was actually making meals big enough for 4 adults and freezing the other 2 portions because it would save me cooking the next week.

-others have suggested it, but go to woolies (or coles, whatever you have) on closing time on a Saturday (ours isn't open Sunday) and you will get heaps of bargains. Most things can be frozen too which is good.

-bulk meals up with rice and pasta, you can buy this in bulk and store it easily enough

-I use my slow cooker heaps, you can use cheaper cuts of meat and they still taste yummy and tender

-Cheaper shampoo and conditioner is false economy I have found. I use pantene and it lasts me at least 4 weeks (those big pump bottles) whereas the cheaper ones I was buying a new lot every week

-Buy toilet paper in bulk- We get 32 rolls for something like $11 at Big W, it is probably cheaper elsewhere too. But don't buy a cheap brand because you will use more.

I hope this helps!!!!

[EmsMum72]

We have just started having smaller meals at dinner time so where beforehand I'd cook say lasagne and DH would polish the remainder off, or eat it for lunch the next day, we now extend it over 2 nights (freeze 1/2 and we eat the other), I do the same with stroganoff, stir fry, tuna & potato bake, bolognese sauce. When we have to do a cheap shop I always buy mince (so many things you can do with it - chow mein, bolognese, lasagne, nachos, minestrone etc), ham steaks (which I grill with pineapple & have a salad with it), sausages (which I either make curried sausages or just have them plain with boiled potatoes & vegies), a can of tuna to make tuna & potato bake and those 4 things now last us the entire week, as opposed to buying 7 lots of meat and I've noticed quite a good saving. Meat is becoming so expensive it's not funny and I can imagine how hard it must be only having $150 per fortnight, we spend $150 a week and often I struggle keeping it under budget (however there are certain things we like and haven't got to the stage where we have to buy the cheap stuff yet, like mainland cheese which is about $5, sensodyne toothpaste which is about $10, DH has head & shoulders shamp/cond $5 each, my shamp/cond $6 each etc). Also, another good cheap idea is onion, bacon & mushroom omelettes with a salad.

As for having other meals during the day I usually just buy the homebrand muesli & homebrand yoghurt for b'fast, DD has peanut butter (home brand) toast, a banana & a tub of yoghurt. Lunches are usually just cheese & lettuce sandwiches (or something from the deli, ham & salad), tuna & lettuce or egg & lettuce. Snacks are lots of fruit or vegies with or without dip etc.

I hope this has helped in some way, or given you some ideas. Sounds like you're already doing pretty much everything right :thumbsup:

[izybizy]

If you buy bananas on sale/bulk you can freeze them, i have heaps of healthy banana recipes. I found it so handy to have them in freezer to make things for the kids. :chef: