Can i afford to be healthy?!!!

I don't know about anyone else, but the credit crunch has hit me hard, i lost my job cause the pub i worked for was closed down and now my fiance has had his hours cut, so i have had to cut down on the food budget a lot, which means the healthy things i used to buy i cant rly afford, i dont get snacks or treats but the only things i can buy a lot of to last untill i next get paid are unhealthy!

Is anyone else having simular problems? I would love to know any cheapy recipe's anyone has too?

^_^

Nope.  I don't believe for a second that eating healthy, whole, fresh food is more expensive than eating processed junk.  Shop the perimeter of the store instead of in the middle, where they keep all the food that comes in boxes.  Put a heavy emphasis on the produce section.

It's only the "so-called" health food that is expensive ... you know, the special high-fiber organic low-salt with agave sweetener cereal that costs $5 a box.  Forget that and get a pound of oatmeal for about fifty cents.  Cheaper and better for you.  You'll quickly find a lot of cheap foods that make a good meal - eggs, dried beans, rice, and tons of fresh vegetables and fruits.

My typical grocery shopping for a week for my husband and myself runs about $50.  We spend way less that we used to when we bought lots of crackers and soda and junk.  Cutting out the meat helped too.

Beans beans beans. And more beans. Don't forget the frozen veggies that can be cheaper than the 'fresh' ones (where I live, the 'fresh' aren't that fresh anyway, sigh). Don't forget to buy what is on season (no tomatoes in november), and when the stuff you like is on sale stock up--but only if you can use it or freeze it before it dies. Oh, and canned tuna (watch out for mercury though). Lots of filling recipes with that. My mom used to make this salad with beans, canned tuna and tomatoes, with a touch of onion and olive oil (we're Italian--you can get decent extra virgin olive oil, use sparingly and it will last a long time). We'd eat it with lots of bread.

I should probs add that my budget is £20 a week, to feed two of us :/ i buy a lot of frozen veg but its expensive, everythings gone up recently too, i think things might be cheaper where you are too cause a pound of oatmeal here is like £1 - £1.40 D: i have just been told as well that US portions are bigger too than UK's so dunno if that makes a difference?

Oh and i know this makes me seem really fussy but i cant stand beans lol...any kind of beans, hate em!

but thanks for the advice :) x

I do have a pretty similar problem, it's made me put off shopping at all until it became absolutely necessary, and by then it was destined to be a really expensive trip because of all the stuff I had to buy. I think part of it is that healthy food can often be less calorie-dense, so I end up buying more food. It doesn't help that things like white bread are always a lot cheaper than wheat bread. It seems like the healthy foods are never on sale...

Frozen vegetables aren't so bad where I am, but fruit (frozen or fresh) is pretty outrageously priced. I am usually able to find fresh vegetables for decent prices though. I always buy a bulk pack of frozen chicken - I usually go for breasts, but sometimes go with cheaper thighs. I've gotten whole chickens, but they're such a pain. But they're good for making soups too, which are cheap to make.

I try to buy in bulk, but it does get pretty expensive. I don't like beans either. When I get in a real budget crisis, I end up eating eggs pretty often.

there was a couple who did a neat experiment where they attempted to live on $1/day for a month.. they actually came up with some pretty healthy and creative ideas given the circumstances

here is their blog where they documented their experiment and  it includes some neat recipes and grocery items:

http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com/

some ideas i picked up from it:

buying whole wheat flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder milk, eggs, and making your own bread/muffins/loafs/cookies/pancakes/cakes/ba rs etc..

bulk beans [like kidney, black beans, chickpeas] can be boiled and put into recipes or made into dips for extra protein

pasta and tomato sauce/rice

canned veggies can be added to recipes for extra nutrients

canned tuna/salmon/chicken

oatmeal is the healthiest and cheapest breakfast

cheap produce like apples and oranges/canned fruits

or cheap veggies like bell peppers/spinach/brocolli etc..

buy stuff on sale.. use flyers.. and plan every penny and meal out before you go grocery shopping... never allow yourself to be in a situation where you have to buy food from outside, pack snacks and lunches from home

Original Post by jennieka:

a pound of oatmeal here is like £1 - £1.40 D:

Maybe if you shop at M&S!  You can get 1kg (2.2lbs) 'Value Oats' at Tesco right now for 58p.  There are a lot of other great foods in the 'value' range at the supermarkets as well....  Sainsbury are doing their 'Basics', Asda has 'Smartprice', Morrisons have got a value range.   Aldi, Lidl and Netto do a great range of cheaper but still healthy foods if you've got time to shop around.  Aldi do their 'Super Six'... six different fruit and veggies for under 50p a pop.  This week it's apples (7 pack), green beans (250g), kiwis (6 pack), celery, new potatoes (1 Kg) and broccoli (500g).... You could get the lot for £2.94

If you don't like beans check out lentils...  A big bag of lentils make an excellent base for soups and if you add them to minced beef and some value canned tomatoes (more cheap options) you can make a Bolognese sauce or a shepherds pie go a lot further.  Tesco Value Pasta Quills are 43p for 500g... that's about 10 servings... 0.43p per serving isn't bad value for money.

Plan your meals out in advance so that you're only shopping for precisely what you need.  If something that you use is on special offer and can be stored or frozen... buy a little extra.  Take a list with you when you go shopping and then you're less likely to buy things you don't need.  You're going to have to do more cooking than you might have been in the past but if you're time rich and cash poor, that's the way forward.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by jennieka:

a pound of oatmeal here is like £1 - £1.40 D:

Maybe if you shop at M&S!  You can get 1kg (2.2lbs) 'Value Oats' at Tesco right now for 58p.  There are a lot of other great foods in the 'value' range at the supermarkets as well....  Sainsbury are doing their 'Basics', Asda has 'Smartprice', Morrisons have got a value range.   Aldi, Lidl and Netto do a great range of cheaper but still healthy foods if you've got time to shop around.  Aldi do their 'Super Six'... six different fruit and veggies for under 50p a pop.  This week it's apples (7 pack), green beans (250g), kiwis (6 pack), celery, new potatoes (1 Kg) and broccoli (500g).... You could get the lot for £2.94

I buy Tesco value range stuff all the time.  It started out as an experiment to see what they were like.  Now I can't see the point in spending double the price for an almost exact same product. 

Eg: 12 loo rolls £1.17

500 g value pasta 38-43p
value pasta sauce 36p
value tuna (big can) 55p
value rozen peas (900g) 85p
value eggs (15) £1.50 (probably battery eggs, but if you've only got £20 a week for 2 people then you can worry about free range eggs when you have more money!)
value tin of tomatoes 33p
value tin kidney beans 14p
value baked beans 29p
1 kg value frozen chicken breasts £3.20
Value yogurt (4 x 125 g) 29p
Value curry sauce (tin) 12p
Value sausages (20 - 1kg) 99p
Value bread 40p

If you want a treat:  value choc digestive biscuits 33p
value lager 4 x 440ml 90p

These are just a few examples... Also keep an eye out for offers.  I got a 2kg boneless pork joint for half price (i think about £5), but that is enough meat to last us for about 4 days, though my BF really loves his meat. 

The only products from the value range that I've bought and wouldn't buy again were the value rice, and also a really cheap conditioner (50p for 1litre), though the shampoo was fine. 

If you sign up to the Tesco grocery website and then search 'tesco value' you will see 100s of value products.

Like Jane said, there are also loads of other cheap places to shop, but at the moment I don't have a car so do tesco home delivery, so am rather a Tesco value expert. LOL.

Once i have a car Im planning on doing a lot more fruit and veg shopping at farmers markets.  The produce is usually a lot cheaper than the supermarkets.  Asian markets are also usually pretty cheap. 

You can definitely feed 2 on £20, but I won't lie - It won't be fun or gourmet, and you will need to shop VERY carefully.

my budget is similar to yours and yes, it can be a struggle. however,  i totally second gi-jane - bags of value oats, basics tinned tomatoes, wholewheat rice and pasta etc. all those things are cheap as chips in the supermarkets. fairtrade bananas are working out at about 10p each in sainsburys. if you like soft fruits you can get frozen bags 3 for £5 - that's a significant saving on fresh fruits (i like the blueberries in porridge, the cherries heated up with a little orange juice and poured over sains basics pancakes - 33p? - and the raspberries are great for adding to fruit salads). i do like beans although I'm a bit lazy and by them tinned rather than dried. lentils i use all the time. salad i find one of my biggest expenses but the great thing about bagged up lettuce etc. is that it doesn't keep long so the supermarkets are always reducing them - try and work out at what time your local supermarket marks down those items that are about to expire. i'm veggie so buying expensive meats isn't a problem for me - however, i like quorn and i buy that (often on offer at one store or another) and I can make up to 9 dinners out of 1 bag of quorn by bulking it up with veggies, lentils and beans. also, sainsburys does a basics casserole pack now with potatoes, onions and carrots for £1 - great for soups. asda do very cheap and quite large bags of indian spices and once you have those in your store cupboards you can make loads of different curries - just need your veggies and a tin of basics toms. nuts and seeds are quite expensive i find but aldi often have cheaper bags and julian graves have good offers (better than holland and barrett). pretty much whenever i go to the supermarket i head straight for those sections that hold the reduced items and then i go round picking up the 'basics' ranges or stuff on offer (though i try not to get seduced by the buy one get one frees and such when it is unhealthy!). hope that helps a bit.

Original Post by jennieka:

Oh and i know this makes me seem really fussy but i cant stand beans lol...any kind of beans, hate em!

Try making some and then pureeing them.  You can cook them down to make more of a mashed potatoe consistency or you can leave them more liquidy and use them as a 'creamy' base for a soup.  Add lots of spices and herbs to change the flavor a bit too.

Don't they have food shelves over there?  I know my budget is very very low.  I am a student and work part time but I have a lot of bills.  Every once in a while I will suck it up and hit up a food shelf for my sundry items.  It saves a lot of money and really helps.  Its what they are there for.  I can get rice, cereal, soups, canned veggies, instant potatoes, spaghetti sauce and all kinds of stuff. 

A food shelf in the UK would be a flat surface attached to a wall..   What is it where you are?   For people who are struggling financially there is quite a lot of help available through the social security and tax credit systems.  The OP might like to check out www.entitledto.com and see if there are any other benefits they're not already claiming.

Thanks everyone for all your advice, it's been very usefull, i think i'm gonna try tesco basic stuff for a while :) sounds rly cheap! thanks guys!

I'll let you know how it goes next week!

Original Post by gi-jane:

A food shelf in the UK would be a flat surface attached to a wall..   What is it where you are?   For people who are struggling financially there is quite a lot of help available through the social security and tax credit systems.  The OP might like to check out www.entitledto.com and see if there are any other benefits they're not already claiming.

 yeah i would also like to know what it is where you are! i thought you meant like your kitchen cupboard lol ^_^

I love eating vegetables but that can add up and get expensive so i have started to by root vegetables, like cabbage and carrots that tend to be cheaper than leafy greens.  I don't know how much sweet potatoes cost in the UK but they are pretty cheap in America.  I have started to eat more oatmeal because it's cheaper than getting cereal.  i also get soy milk instead of regular milk, but that's mostly because I don't really like real milk, and I luck out since it happens to be cheaper than cow's milk. 

Someone already suggested using lentils instead of beans, you might like them better.  you can try making dal (an indian lentil dish) if you're not sure how to cook them or make lentil soup. Eggs are also tend to be inexpensive and they are really nutritious.  if you're looking for alternative sources of protein, there is also the tofu option.  unless you are getting some brand name, the regular stuff can be pretty cheap.

Since I like all types of fruit, I get whatever is on sale at the store when I go there.  Bananas are pretty cheap (49 cents/pound) where i live and if i get the pre-bagged apples (3 lbs for 2.99$) than it works out pretty well.  Grapefruit is also not that expensive.  hope this helps.

I think maybe what she means by "food shelf" is a place where low-income people can get emergency food boxes (we call them food banks where I live). Also, is there a food stamp program or some other kind of assistance you might qualify for?

Original Post by jennieka:

I would love to know any cheapy recipe's anyone has too?

^_^

Grocery Outlet rocks... I dunno of that is California only... but anyway...

Cheap meal: soup

Vegetables, spices, grains, beans

mix match, get creative... I live on about 75 bucks a month and eat almost only soup and cereals... lunch is free where I work... and that is typically a salad. (the last bit doesn't help you at all... )

I agree with all the advice, the only other thing is i grow cut and come again lettuce leaves, got the seeds for £1.00, and have had 10 weeks of lettuce. Grow them on a kitchen window sill with my herb. saves me heaps of money and is always fresh. Now started growing toms, peppers and other veg in containers. will save me about £60 in the summer and autumn on veg.

I got some seeds for free, from friends and neighbors, and now we swap.

Unless you live close to a supermarket id advise buying online from tesco, they deliver for £3 on the cheap days which isnt alot if you live far from the store.

Also shopping online allows you to find the cheapest option much easier and they have tons of online only deals. I make most of my savings on the buy one get one free and half price deals, they have loads of them each week,most cycle on offer once a month a least.

If you are shoing at tesco here are some suggestions...

Potatoes are a god send for me, at about £1.50 for a 2.5kg bag (buy one get one free every few weeks :D) you can have a jacket potato that costs about 15p. Even baby potatoes are about £1 a KG, which is about 25p a portion (also BOGOF at tesco every few weeks hehe)

I Buy their organic wholewheat pasta thats about 89p a bag (13 servings) its lower cal than white pasta and actually the cheapest wholewheat they stock in my store.

The new birdseye salmon fishfingers have been on offer at tesco for £1.50 for the last few weeks, 3 servings a box isnt bad for the price.

Value bananas are great! 77p for average of 6 bananas...some weeks they are gigantic,other weeks they are small its really luck of the draw if you get home delivery.

Grow your own herbs...I bought some pots of basil,parsely and thyme and thought it would be a waste to throw them away so i potted them, and im really amazed at how fast they grow, ive not had to buy fresh herbs now for months. (tesco sell them £1.19 a plant but a garden centre would be cheaper)

Have to agree with OP Tesco sausages are really good, 20 of them for a pound is almost rediculous as theys eem good quality.

Also if snacking is permitted their value snack pack crisps are 49p for 12 bags(cheese pufs,onion rings etc) i buy them for my bf because he eats tons of them.

Most of Tesco value stuff is good,especially their salmon, its my no1 value item.

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions and idea's guys!

I decided to get my shopping from tesco online, ordering mostly tesco value items, and have it delivered and was absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer amount of items that were delivered!!! This has made shopping a million times easier and cheaper! I stillcant get over how cheap some things were...shower gel 10p! lol love it!

I have also decided to start eating koka noodles again for light meals, (not dinners) cause i love them and are light on calories, and i found them in tesco so i'm double happy lol

so TY!!!!!!