Healthy Diet on a Budget?

[lisasayzhi]

Hello everyone. I need your help. I've been trying to lose weight for a long time, but I can never seem to balance eating healthy and not killing my bank account. I'm a 20-year-old college junior. I have an apartment and a car, so I could cook meals at home. However, I'm a horrible cook, in that I lack the patience and knowledge of how to cook much of anything. In fact, I can probably list everything I know how to make right here:
Shake 'n Bake Chicken Breasts
Cake (from packaged mix)
Pancakes (from instant mix - add water )
Eggs (scrambled only)

Wow, I think that may actually be it, other than the convenience foods like Ramen noodles and canned Chef Boyardee which are not good for dieters. I'm also kind of picky which does make it difficult. I'm trying new things now that I'm on my own more than I ever used to. However, I still don't enjoy onions, peppers, very spicy foods, fish, or certain veggies like tomatoes (though I do like ketchup and marinara sauce... go figure), cauliflower, snow peas, etc. However, there are several veggies I've never tried that I would be willing to test to see if I liked them. I don't want to be difficult, but if there are any recipes, cookbooks, or anything you could recommend to help me lose weight and stick to a low grocery bill, I'd totally appreciate it. Right now, my grocery bill (for 2 college students) has been rounding $55/week. I work full-time over the summer (i.e. right now), so I can bring my lunch to work as long as it doesn't need to be heated or anything. I've been bringing reduced-fat peanut butter and generic jelly on wheat bread, but I don't know what else to take for breaks. Also, I need to have a snack between every meal (Breakfast - Lunch, Lunch - Dinner, and After Dinner) because I have low-blood sugar. Eating every few hours helps keep my blood sugar under control. Thanks so much for any help or advice you can offer! I sure need it.

[34saving]

Well, an obvious snack is fruit. You can get bananas really cheap and apples go on sale frequently. If you have a fridge at work (or can pack an ice pack in your lunch) you can get unsweetened applesauce (store brand in a big jar) for about $.50 a pound. Seasonal fruits are often really cheap if you wait for them. Veggies like carrots might fit the bill too. (I always buy the mini peeled ones because I'm lazy, but I think even those are usually less than $1 a pound.) Okay, now that I've talked about the easy stuff I'll leave the harder things to somebody else

[gakline]

Well the heating part stinks, but I buy a lot of the Healthy choice meals. They tend to run about $1.50 by me. When my bf was on a diet, he would pick up those. Otherwise, the Michelena frozen meals are pretty good and you can probably get them under a $1 (same size as the Healthy Choice).

Otherwise I'd suggest sticking to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or any other sandwiches and salads or fresh fruit.

[PrincessPerky]

I use the baby steps system, I could never stick to any short fast cramp my style diet, so I went with easy small steps over the course of time. I figure I did a good job since my midwife is always telling me I am almost low enough in weight to yell at (before getting pregnant) I aimed at alternating one food/drink habit then one movement habit. My Dad did the same thing, and he lost over 100lbs and is now pretty healthy weight, he is too stuck on the number IMO though. I only worry about the waist line (and or how clothes fit)

Some of the steps and ideas are here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~guin_dt_s...stepstohealth/

[skipper]

it completely depends on what type diet your using I suggest you just use the food pyrimid but truely use their serving sizes. Try cutting the condiments or go low fat same thing with dairy. Popcorn is a cheap snack if you do the dry air popped kind, instead of butter try using some spices on it, garlic is gooood. I also like tuna as a mid day snack {cheap}a can of tuna is only 50 cents less than a candy bar I get 2 snacks from one can. They have some very good sugar free frozen snacks now I love the sugar free fudgesicles (generic) you get twelve in a pack for 2.50 less than .25 each there are a lot of other really good choices that dont require you to be a good cook just read the serving sizes that makes a huge difference in your diet

[Tree0164]

You can eat healthy and cheap.

Shop the produce aisle. Banannas, apples are not too expensive. Watch for when cantelope and honeydew melons go on sale.

Grab chicken breast when it is on sale and you can grill it.

You can stock up on the frozen dinners instead of running to the fast food places but try to eat fresh instead of frozen.

Soups are also healthy (watch for the sodium). I like the Progresso soups and will often add more water to stretch it for several days of lunch.

Tuna is cheap for the most part. I buy the tuna when it is on sale for less than 50 cents a can.

[mjrube94]

For dinner and real meals, go to the library and check out some cookbooks. I'm sure they have a bunch of healthy recipes.

For lunch and quick food, yogurt is a good choice. Stores usually have at least one brand on sale each week ($.40-.50/cup). They're low in fat, high calcium/protein and come in so many flavors you can have a variety.

Also, eggs are great for diet and budget. You can often get a dozen large for under $1.00. If you hard boil them and only eat the whites, you get all of the protein with none of the cholesterol. Slice the egg whites and include them in a salad. Throw in some "good fat" like avocado or olives, if you like them. That's the great thing about salads - anything goes.

Of course, I should take my own advice because I'm always trying to lose 20lbs, so take this with a grain of salt...(no pun intended).

[amomof4]

I just started a diet, and it seems I can live with it, at least for awhile.

Mostly I have a problem with portion control. So I went to the frozen dinners. I can buy them for $1.00 each. I only eat it for dinner, so thats $7.00 per week.

Soups are generally low cal/fat. The problem is that they are mostly water, so I am hungry soon after. I just bought a lg can of generic vegetable soup. I also bought a head of cabbage. So when I cook it, I going to add some cabbage. The cabbage will stay in my stomach a whole lot longer. You can add any veggies you like.

My second biggest problem is an addition to carbs. To help combat this, I switched to whole grain, which will also stay in my stomach longer. Since it doesn't taste as good as the processed junk, I am less likely to pig out on it.

To the soup, you can also add brown rice. I think my rice cooker is indispensable. Brown rice is very hard to cook, but not in a rice cooker. You can add seasonings to the rice as it cooks. My fav is garlic & herb. & bouilon cubes. If you add enough seasonings, you can do without the fat.

For breakfast, I went to oatmeal. I season it with a little milk & splenda. You can also add cinnamon. You say you don't like oatmeal? Not a problem. If you don't like it, you're not likely to eat more than one serving. You can also us any hot cereal.

Sometimes & eat because I only want a flavor in my mouth & not because I'm hungry. I have found that if I drink 2 c. water with 2 bouilon cubes, I get my flavor & for about 20 min, I feel full. I don't worry about salt because I don't have a blood pressure problem. It does cause you to retain water, but I'm only concerned with fat weight, not water weight. Eventually the water weight will pass. Also, it doesn't hurt me psychologically because I'm not using a scale.

For lunch, I have been eating salads. I just buy the pre-packed stuff. I can get a large bag for $4.00 I think. I only use a very little salad dressing. I just mix it well so that each bite has a little dressing. I also heard that instead of putting salad dressing on the salad, dip your fork into the salad dressing. You use a lot less dressing this way.

For snacks, use fruit or raw veggies.

If you eat something every 2 hours, you are less likely to blow it.

After I eat my greatly reduced meal, I drink 2 c. of water quickly. This gives me the over-stuffed feeling that I seem to crave.

Weekly Cost:

$7.00 for frozen dinners
$2.00 for hot cereal (or less)
$4.00 for premade salad
$4.00 for fruit & veggies.
$2.00 for the extras such as dressing, milk, splenda, etc.

$19.00 for weekly grocery budget for one person.

Hope this helps.

[lisasayzhi]

Originally Posted by amomof4

So I went to the frozen dinners. I can buy them for $1.00 each. I only eat it for dinner, so thats $7.00 per week.

What kind of frozen dinners are you getting for a dollar each? Is that with a coupon or are they just priced that low? Thanks for the help!

[amomof4]

It's called Lean Gourmet. I got them at walmart. I don't know if it's on sale or if it's the regular price as I just bought them for the first time.

[Amy752]

I second what everyone here has already said. I would also like to suggest Jennie-O turkey burgers. You can buy a box of 12 in the frozen section at WalMart for about $4! They last us a while and I'll use them as burgers (of course), and I'll also defrost them, break them up and use them as meat in pasta. Pasta sauce you can get super cheap, and I usually buy whole wheat angel hair which lasts us a while also and is not expensive. It's a good healthy meal and more filling than white pasta.

Tuna is great (and cheap). Personally I would never eat peanut butter and jelly on a diet, even if it is low fat peanut butter. Just my opinion, but there are just so many better choices. A tuna sandwhich, even egg salad if you use fat free mayo. Also, get your low fat bread at a bread outlet - much cheaper!

For snacks, low fat granola bars (around 110 or 120 cals each), hard boiled eggs, fruit, soy nuts (you can usually find them around a dollar - don't go over the serving suggestion though!), even a glass of skim milk.

It is hard to eat healthy on a tight budget, no doubt! But, it can be done. You'll probably find that you'll be eating less variety since a lot of healthy things are so expensive, but keep your eye out for good sales and different things to try. I find that it's hard to diet when you don't have a specific plan. I do Weight Watchers, but I follow it on my own (i.e free) using materials that my mom gave me. That could be an option for you if you know anyone who's a member. Or, a lot of times they will offer free registration, which means you can pay for one meeting (around $10) and get the materials you'll need to get you going. Just a suggestion! Good luck to you!!!

Just did a search - here are some more cheap ideas from another board!

I buy 16-oz. bags of frozen veggies from Walmart at between $1 and $1.25. I put them in a skillet and throw everything that looks good at the moment in there without any oil. I thrown in minced garlic/garlic powder, onion powder, kidney beans, can of diced tomotoes or Rotell, diced ham/chicken, etc, etc. (Haven't tried it yet but I be onion soup mix would be good sprinkled in.) You don't need any extra water. I let 'em cook until it gets pretty tender (I like them that way), and then watch closely while the liquid from the frozen veggies cooks off; then they'll start to "burn"/get browned and I keep stirring until all the liquid is gone.

I will mention my favorite store here....ALDI! It's a discount food store with the best prices on everything! It's mostly store brand, and you should sample just one pack of something before buying in quantity because, as with most generics, not everything will be just like name brand. I usually go every two weeks and buy a FULL shopping cart (we're talking stacked here) for around $70. I still shop superwalmart for name brands and things Aldi doesn't carry. It's the best grocery deal in town IMO.

I hardly ever buy fresh veggies anymore – they’re so expensive! Frozen veggies are on sale all the time, so those are a staple in our house.

I stick to lots of produce, which I buy at international supermarkets where prices tend to be much lower. I buy whatever deli meat is on sale for the week, and I buy string cheese in bulk. I eat lots of eggs, which are very cheap, and buy chicken and meat on sale and freeze it. If you belong to Sam's Club or a similar warehouse, you can buy large cuts of meat and freeze.

Hope some of that helps! You can do it!

[lisasayzhi]

Thanks for those suggestions. I especially like the Turkey Burger idea. That's a really great deal. Thanks so much!

[gakline]

I read somewhere that the feeling of hunger could actually mean that you're dehydrated. It's your body's way of saying so and by eating you'll get more liquids. The article suggested drinking a glass of water and then seeing how hungry you are.

[helper1]

Michelinas "zapems' are about 1.30 and they are good if you can find them . and that is before a coupon