Budget dieting

T

Typhon

2
Does anyone have any tips of dieting on a budget?

Before I got married my wife went on a diet and fitness programme and was getting great results, she dropped over 25 lbs and was getting into much better shape.
Since the wedding, as anyone who’s got married can surly relate to, we’ve had a lot less money as we’re trying to pay for all the over spending we did on the big day. This has meant that we have less of a food budget to pay for healthy foods and a lot of what my wife now eats is cheap, quick and unhealthy. We have two young kids too which means that she doesn’t often have a lot of time for food prep and is tired and busy in the evening (studying to be an accountant).

Because of all these factors she’s finding it difficult to stick to a healthy eating plan and the weight is slowly returning.

If you have any tips on meals or snacks that are healthy and filling but quite cheap then please share. Quickly prepared meal recipes would also be appreciated. Anything that includes foods that can be stored for a long time would be ideal as we often try and do the vast bulk of our shopping once a fortnight or once a month as we have very little free time

Cheers
 
I don't have a fancy menu. I take multiple protein shakes per day which I buy online for cheap. The advantages of the shakes is that they take care of the hunger, do not take much time to prepare, and are healthier than eating junk food.

For dinner I usually have grilled tofu and veggies. How you prepare the tofu and veggies can vary with condiments, etc.

Replace some of those bad meals with protein shake meal replacements, tofu, and veggies, and you will be eating healthier with not much change in your meal budget. Tofu is healthy, relatively inexpensive compared to eating out, and quick/easy to prepare.

Cheers,

TopKnife
 
Normally people buy their grocery from Supermarket but once in a while I go to the nearest market to buy some of the vege and meat. There are more cheaper if you bulk buy for maybe 1 or 2 weeks supply of food.

Not only being cheap, they are also much fresher and the best to do is try to bargain with them.

I do undersand your situation as I'm also facing sort of the same thing. Hope able to el you out too.
 
charlyne said:
Normally people buy their grocery from Supermarket but once in a while I go to the nearest market to buy some of the vege and meat. There are more cheaper if you bulk buy for maybe 1 or 2 weeks supply of food.

Not only being cheap, they are also much fresher and the best to do is try to bargain with them.

I do undersand your situation as I'm also facing sort of the same thing. Hope able to el you out too.
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When you say "go to the nearest market", do you mean like a street market or something? I know in the states where I live, you either go to the grocery store or the butcher and the butcher is much more expensive.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. We do have some markets near us and fruit and veg is a lot cheaper there, the only problem is it's not as high quality as the supermarkets. There are farm markets I guess but they're a bit of a drive and when you're limited on time it's not always easy to get fruit and veg from one place and meats and general household stuff from other places

I guess I should try and make the effort though, I do know there are farms near us that sell free range eggs at about the same price as supermarket caged hen eggs
 
Yeah, make the extra effort and go see if you can get those better prices.

I disagree with replacing food with protein shakes. I think that's a dumb idea unless you have to. Shakes will never and should never replace food. That's why they're called a supplement. However, if it's that bad and you have to choose between eating crap and a shake, then shake it is. It's a very cheap source of protein.

Buy in bulk and just get the basics: meats, fruits, veggies, oils, etc. Don't get anything fancy and you probably shouldn't have too much of a problem. Make the meals better with the way you cook them, the combination of foods, different spices, etc.
 
i'm all for making a big batch of chicken salad or tuna salad and then putting a serving of it with a lettuce wedge or a tomato.

chicken & wild rice soup is a good staple and you can make a lot and freeze or fridge for later.

i'll also make a fairly large batch of spaghetti sauce and then use it for several things... Sketti, chicken parm, baked ziti... etc.

One thing that has helped me is to make a menu and then stick to it. Plan what you want for the week, buy it.. prep it all on a day (i use sunday) and then you have meals for the week already done then all you need to do is re-heat.
 
I don't know how it works over there, but here we read the sales papers, clip coupons, etc.

When something is on sale we buy a ton of it. Granted I am feeding 5 people but for example, yesterday I picked up 20 lbs of boneless/skinless chicken breast for 1.49lb. Last week we picked up 15lbs ground sirloin for 1.89 lb. Its really a science in finding the right stores / markets that are running the sales at the time.

We have a store near us nicknamed "the ghetto market" and if you look you can find great stuff for really cheap. Sure the majority of their crap is processed garbage but they do have healthy options if you look around. Plus they have a decent produce section.
 
Kraken said:
I don't know how it works over there, but here we read the sales papers, clip coupons, etc.

When something is on sale we buy a ton of it. Granted I am feeding 5 people but for example, yesterday I picked up 20 lbs of boneless/skinless chicken breast for 1.49lb. Last week we picked up 15lbs ground sirloin for 1.89 lb. Its really a science in finding the right stores / markets that are running the sales at the time.

We have a store near us nicknamed "the ghetto market" and if you look you can find great stuff for really cheap. Sure the majority of their crap is processed garbage but they do have healthy options if you look around. Plus they have a decent produce section.
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x2! Read the sales and flyers! I just do it online. my freezer is crammed right now, I shouldn't have to buy any meat now for the next 2 months..and I bet you I didn't spend more then $150. (fridge freezer, but anyways) For example pork loin halves-$0.97/lb at one store, $2.99 at another, 1.77 at another. Same darn product. That is really noticeable if you go buy ten 7 lb loin halves at a time. I look at all the flyers online...just be there early, usually they don't stock a lot of the stuff that's a really smokin' deal.

If you can find a farmer who will sell you 1/2 or 1/4 beef/pig/goat/etc too. Much cheaper this way...just find another family to buy the other 1/2.

ANd I also recommend the farmer's markets if they're around. I notice here the meat is about $0.50 cheaper per pound. May not sound like much, but that's $5 for every 10lbs.

Matt
 
OH, a bit off topic, but if you have dollar stores down there, check those out too. The ones here sell shampoo, household cleaners, school supplies, canned food etc etc. All kinds of stuff. And it's all $1! Could free up some coin for food

Matt
 
I think it comes down to spending the time and making the effort to shop around. Definitely look for the sales. I also will buy in bulk if there is a good price for something we use.

We are actually picking up another freezer, cause ours is getting full and our kids eat so much I just can't keep up without more freezer space!

Clip the coupons, look for the sales. Lots of time you will find frozen vegs and even meats are going to be cheaper than the fresh.

But keep your eyes open for the sales!
 
I don't know exactly what they sell but I do know Walmart is extremely cheap. They are the biggest competitor for just about any goods out there.
 
Avraham said:
When you say "go to the nearest market", do you mean like a street market or something? I know in the states where I live, you either go to the grocery store or the butcher and the butcher is much more expensive.
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I'm actually from Asian country so pretty much there are weekend market such as sunday market. But which ever market it is, as long as it's cheaper & fresher!
 
This is something I’ve been talking to my wife about. She does all the shopping and I’ve been steering her to buy leaner meats and more fresh fruits and vegetables. And she always mentions the higher cost. But it does come down to what is really the higher cost, the food for the week or your health. There are some great ideas here, thanks
 
I am a single mom so I have to be thrifty with a capital T.

I buy tilapia frozen from Walmart- 6 lbs for 13 dollars
Eggs are a great cheap source of protien
Frozen vegetables- cheap fresh and better for you than the kind stocked in the produce department
A big tub of Old Fashioned Oats
Sweet Potatoes
Canned tuna ( low salt or rinsed throughly)
Brown Rice



I have sort of weird dietary taboos but i your wife is a carb phobe, bananas are a great inexpensive fruit, unsweetened applesauce is good, store brand yogurt, cottage cheese is not expensive and a great source of protien.
 
Typhon said:
Thanks for all the replies so far. We do have some markets near us and fruit and veg is a lot cheaper there, the only problem is it's not as high quality as the supermarkets. There are farm markets I guess but they're a bit of a drive and when you're limited on time it's not always easy to get fruit and veg from one place and meats and general household stuff from other places

I guess I should try and make the effort though, I do know there are farms near us that sell free range eggs at about the same price as supermarket caged hen eggs
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When you say it's a bit of a drive, how far i it? You don't want it to be too far where your transportation fee might make it even expensive. Hope you put that in to consideration too.
 
Mel Def said:
Frozen vegetables- cheap fresh and better for you than the kind stocked in .
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We found this out recently, I'd never really thought of buying frozen veg before but it makes sense and is so much cheaper

Thanks for all the suggestions
 
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