Can't afford to lose weight?

I'm new to CC and I've been reading some posts.  You all have great ideas on what to eat and what to avoid.  Unfortunately, as a full-time student and mother of five with a husband who has been cut back on hours at work, I'm struggling just to buy food to feed our family.  A lot of what we eat is cheap processed food.  I buy some fresh produce and meat...but can't afford all the wonderful foods you guys suggest I eat.  How can I afford to lose weight like this?

you have to make good food a priority, not just for yourself and your weight loss but for the health of those kids (five? seriously? what were you thinking?).

I do appreciate your input, but I do what I can for my kids.  They eat better than I do.  That IS my priority.  I'm not going to apologize for having five kids...I happen to be that small percentage of people that have tried every type of birth control available.  However, I am lucky enough to have a husband who has (until recently) done a very good job at supporting us.  I'm sure I'm not the only person on this forum who has struggled with the economy being what it is. 

Now, if anyone has any suggestions that may actually help me...please, I would love to hear them.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

you have to make good food a priority, not just for yourself and your weight loss but for the health of those kids (five? seriously? what were you thinking?).

that's not a judgment call for you to make. if you're not going to be supportive or helpful then don't say anything at all. that's just rude and insensitive. not everyone has the same priorities, so just because you think 5 is excessive doesn't mean the OP should be made to feel ashamed of her decision. no tact whatsoever. 

Well there are ways to eat healthy on a budget, I am a graduate student with very little money to spare.

For veggies, I stick with frozen veggies like frozen broccoli and frozen cauliflower.  Its cheaper than fresh veggies, and you can buy in bulk for extra savings. 

For fruit, oranges and apples seem to be the cheapest fruits out there, and they can last for quite a while before going bad.  I usually buy the ones on sale in the 10lbs bags. 

Whole wheat pasta and brown rice are usually not that much more expensive, especially if you just buy the generic brand that your grocery store offers (for example, we have Giant Eagle grocery stores in PA, so I usually always buy Giant eagle brand of everything). 

For meat I always buy in bulk, since that saves money, and then re-wrap them in smaller portions in freezer bags.

Marinara sauce goes great with whole wheat pasta, and its pretty low-cal, and you can make that pretty cheap from canned tomato paste and canned tomatoes and some spices. 

If there is a Sam's Club or Costco-like store where you live, you may want to look into that if you havent already.  With 5 kids, you're probably having to buy in bulk anyway, and Sam's club sells fresh produce in bulk at amazing prices.  They also have frozen veggies in bulk.   

I don't know where you live, but is gardening an option?  We have a pretty short growing season here, and I do not have a green thumb, but I am still considering trying to grow some vegetables this summer.

Also, can you do more cooking from scratch? 

Original Post by tripolar1:

I'm new to CC and I've been reading some posts.  You all have great ideas on what to eat and what to avoid.  Unfortunately, as a full-time student and mother of five with a husband who has been cut back on hours at work, I'm struggling just to buy food to feed our family.  A lot of what we eat is cheap processed food.  I buy some fresh produce and meat...but can't afford all the wonderful foods you guys suggest I eat.  How can I afford to lose weight like this?

how about buying the following:

canned veggies when they're on sale

store brand foods

on sale produce

frozen veggies-1 dollar a pound up to 1.50 a pound

dried beans

whole chicken-de-bone and de-skin it yourself...only about .50 a pound when on sale

start making your own bread, it's cheap to do and easy

buy eggs for breakfast

whole wheat pasta is cheap

buy ground turkey/chicken for less than 4 bucks a pound

oatmeal is really really cheap as well

apples/oranges/bananas are really cheap

yogurt in tubs is rather cheap rather than individuals

BREAKFAST IDEAS:
eggs with homemade bread and a piece of fruit 

oatmeal, hard boiled egg, fruit

yogurt and fruit

LUNCH IDEAS

sandwiches with leftover chicken or tuna salad w/ light mayo or mayoless

mixed green and chicken in a tortilla with a fruit

leftovers from dinner

DINNER IDEAS

so you can have baked chicken with veggies and brown rice for dinner...

substitute canned turkey/tuna/canned chicken in a casserole

WW pasta w/ground chicken/turkey and a can of tomato sauce plus spices-total cost is about 5-6 bucks for your entire family

huge pot of beans w/ rice and homemade corn bread

use rice for "fried" rice with small amount of oil and tons of veggies

hope this helps. it can be done. just get creative! :) 

Original Post by chrissy1988:

Original Post by pgeorgian:

you have to make good food a priority, not just for yourself and your weight loss but for the health of those kids (five? seriously? what were you thinking?).

that's not a judgment call for you to make. if you're not going to be supportive or helpful then don't say anything at all. that's just rude and insensitive. not everyone has the same priorities, so just because you think 5 is excessive doesn't mean the OP should be made to feel ashamed of her decision. no tact whatsoever. 

it's not a judgment. it's a question. 

regardless, i stand by my statement. eating healthy is about priorities. there's always something that can be given up, and the OP did say, "A lot of what we eat is cheap processed food." cheap processed foods are only cheap in the short term.

seven people and one income (or two, for that matter) wouldn't be advisable in any economy. it's unfortunate. 

It's kind of funny how in America we are always saying that we need to eat healthier food yet for a pound of fresh apples; which is about 2.5 apples not even 3 is more expensive than it is to get a cheeseburger from Micky D's off the dollar menu; at least where I live. I'm also in college taking 20 units this term and although I am not married or have kids yet; I still have to be fiscal. Costco is a great option; you can buy in bulk healthier food for example fruits, veggies, nuts, meat, milk, and healthy whole wheat bread. If you have a freezer; Costco is amazing. It's so important to eat healthy, get the whole family eating healthy especially kiddos; childhood obesity is on the rise and kids now are getting adult diseases such as type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea which used to only affect adults.

Oh, I forgot to mention a few other tips:

Cook from scratch when possible.  Making you own pasta sauces will always be cheaper than buying one already in a bottle.  The same is true for many other things people buy pre-made.

I am not an expert at frugal shopping, but I am getting better. :) My husband recently went back to school, so we lost most of that second income. (I think he was the only person who voluntarily gave up a dang job during this recession. :P ) Here are a few things that work for me.

I would suggest becoming a regular at local produce stands and farmer's markets. Fresh veggies taste best anyway. :)  (I don't know if that is cheaper or even feasible in your area, but you might at least want to look into it.)

Find a way to get a Sam's card (most people can qualify one way or the other) and buy meat in bulk. 

I don't pretend to know how to feed that many people; it must be a serious challenge, and I commend you a hundred times over. You have literally the most important job in the world and I can only imagine the logistics that go into something as seemingly simple as dinner. 

Maybe you can make some lower calorie and healthier versions of foods that stretch, like chicken & dumplings with all breast meat. Think of traditional southern "soul foods" and then think of ways to tweak them to make them lower calorie and lower fat. You can even make rich foods like chicken pot pies with lighter ingredients.

That's how I started this weight loss journey, and I have been eating ONLY foods I love, and most of them have a base in the kind of dishes my Depression-era grandparents could afford. It's the tweaking that makes all the difference.

I really hope this helps. Maybe go to allrecipes.com and start looking there; they have so many good recipes for people on a budget, plus good recipes for people on various restricted diets-- maybe you can find some way to make the two meet in the middle. Not everybody can (or wants to) go the gourmet route with this. I know I sure as heck don't.

Also (I told myself I wouldn't comment, but I'm going to anyway), I don't know why anyone would try to make you feel bad for your five children. I am embarrassed that the first reply to your question was something so blatantly inappropriate and uncalled-for. :( I hope the good advice you got afterward made up for it. :) I'm new to this site, too, and I've found some wonderfully supportive groups & people. 

Look into a Good Food box in your area.  How it works is everyone pitches in a set amount of cash and produce is bought in big bulk.  That way the savings is passed on.  Often the produce is organic and local!

Another idea is to band together with friends to buy more expensive items in bulk.  My personal favorite is couponing.  Fabulous deals can be had if you really pay attention to sales and coupons!

Thank you all for your input.  We do buy in bulk from costco, but I find their selection to be rather limited.  Things like yogurt and apples, bananas, carrots, orranges, and the like are common buys for us...but getting more expensive all the time.  I tried gardening last year, but I guess my thumb isn't green enough.  It just didn't go so well. 

I'm going to school to get my masters in Pharmacology, so by the time I'm home and picking them up, getting their homework done, and cooking dinner (let's not get into the studying I have to for myself at night) I don't find much time to think about cooking from scratch.  Does anyone have any suggestions on a website or book that may have good ideas on how to do this with little time?

I really do appreciate all the ideas you have given me.  I will keep checking in on the forums for more inspiration.  Thanks for the support!

Pharmacy is a tough program and if your school is anything like ours, you are taking a ton of credits each term.  I give you credit for taking on so much.

If you have time on weekends, you could cook for the week.  Make and freeze a meal for each day.  That will free up your week nights a little more and maybe allow for more cooking from scratch.

Some ideas...boil an entire chicken or bake it so that its cooked and use it for several days. put it in the oven right when you get home and you dont even have to watch it.

buy a rice cooker and keep brown rice cooked in the fridge at all times

pre-cook a couple pounds of whole wheat pasta

steam veggies....

keepe everything in the fridge...

add soy sauce and veggies and diced chicken to rice

add cream of mushroom soup and mozzarella cheese to rice for a creamy casserole

add tomato sauce to pasta and quickly brown chicken/turkey

add teriyaki sauce to noodles and different veggies for an asian noodle dish

shred the chicken for tacos

shred the chicken for enchiladas

shred chicken for lasagna

add bouillon and veggies to noodles for chicken noodle soup

add cream of broccoli soup to noodles and cube chicken...add steamed broccoli

all of these things take 15-20 mins if you do a tiny bit of prep work by cooking rice in a rice cooker, baking or boiling a chicken, and pre-cooking veggies and pasta.

Hi!  Welcome to CC!  Boy, you are in a real bind - very little time AND very little money.  I don't know anyone who has both, but it's nice to have one or the other!  :-)  My husband and I used to have the same problem when my kids were growing up - very little time after work to cook, but having healthy and home-cooked meals with the whole family were VERY important to us, as they are to you.  We solved some of our problems this way:  we shopped a LOT at Costco and cooked mainly on the weekends in very large quantities.  We set aside what we didn't think we could eat in a few days and placed it in containers in the freezer for another week.  We made mostly soups and stews (lots of chicken and dumplings, beef stew, bean soup, chili) which are much easier on the budget.  We would also store items in the freezer that we bought a lot of when there was a big sale - chicken, fish, steak.  I also tried to use my cookbooks as much as possible, because if you plan your meals for the week (or most of the week) you avoid a lot of the last-minute-stopping-for-fast-food-or-pizza syndrome.  I also have a great cookbook by Cooking Light which focuses on healthy, low-calorie, easy-to-fix meals.  It is called the "Five Ingredient - fifteen minute" cookbook and has the added bonus of a grocery list and suggestions on what to fix together right in the cookbook!  And my kids really loved the food!  We would also buy lots of chicken thighs or legs and grill a whole bunch of them on the weekend, freeze them in freezer bags, then pull them out during the week.  They could go in the microwave while I fixed some rice or whole wheat biscuits or something.

Best of luck to you!  I know it's hard, but if you can get some meal planning done ahead of a shopping trip it goes a long way towards making things easier!

I have the Betty Crocker 300 calorie cookbook and there are a bunch of easy recipies that don't take long and are low calorie with a few ingredients.  Bless you for taking on so much, and this is a very supportive community with great ideas!

I too am on a budget, we have a small income and a child.

First off with your husband losing wages at work have you considered applying for food stamps? You may qualify for a small amount, esp. with five dependents. Also WIC (if any of your children are under five) is a wonderful resource, you can get vegetables, vouchers for your local farmers market, whole grains and milk.

You had said you guys buy yogurt, which can def. get costly - have you ever thought about making your own? It's very easy very cheap to do. There are many ways to make it, search online and you'll come up with many variants 

http://www.cookography.com/2009/how-to-make-y ogurt

Frozen veg. Gardening (esp herbs - freeze them yourself and save a ton of money on that three dollar at the store basil). Buy in bulk. As much as WalMart is evil, we do sometimes buy bulk dry goods and seasonings there.

Check out your local co-op and health food stores, you can get great deals there. I can buy amazing fair trade organic tea from my local HF store for a fraction of the price of the stems and seeds you get anywhere else. I thought I disliked tea until then, lol.

COOK BIG! I plan ahead in advance, I am a mother of one but from a large family. I was taught to cook one meal for four days, so I take the meals I was taught and cut them in half and they feed us for the week then. Again COOK BIG! This saves me a ton, I hear of shows that say "Meals for under ten dollars a person" and I freak out, I HAVE NEVER spent this, nor would I!? Does anyone out there? I make  healthy meals for my family (I have in the past cheated and binged a lot though :O) and we never spend more than a dollar a portion. Usually far less. If you need meal ideas MSG me.

I'm sure you check for deals, buy as the price is low or you wouldn't survive.  But precooking these things into meals and freezing them can be a huge help also.You're less likely to want to go out or freak out about not knowing what to cook if there's at least one good option that you can just pull out and let thaw two days in advance.

Really though, it is more expensive to eat healthy. Fruit and Veg kick my behind every month, it's a strategic crazy game every month... more right now that I'm trying not to cheat or binge on the lovely cheap treats :)

I agree with the "go big" advice - make a giant pot of lentil stew on Sunday, and you'll be eating a nutritious meal all week long for pennies that's also filling enough to help you stay within your calorie budget. 

one hyphenated word: Crock-pot!

love it love it love it. I am a nursing student and getting ready to start my second term. Thankfully my husband has the opportunity and know-how to cook cheaply and deliciously. as someone already mentioned www.allrecipes.com or you can look in the recipes here on CC. there are only four of us but we make intentional leftovers ALL THE TIME because it is sooo much cheaper. What doesn't get eaten in a couple to a few days gets put in the freezer. Soups and casserole type dishes are best for this type of cooking. We make enough intentional left overs that it usually becomes lunch and dinner for like four days. Another site I really like is greenlitebites.com she makes some awesome stuff, its often child friendly as her oldest is very picky and I think a lot of it is pretty quick.

But like others have said, intentional left overs or cooking for the week on sunday and freezing will save you time and money. Good luck to you!