The title of this thread strikes me as odd, because IMO the only way to eat healthy is to in fact spend less on food. And I'm not talking about buying less, I'm talking about the fact that the stuff we should be eating the most of (see the USDA Food Pyramid), like whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegatables in general happen to cost the LEAST, particularly if you buy what's in season. It's the stuff that's bad for our health (esp. if eaten in large quantities) like red meats, fatty dairy products, and processed foods that generally cost the MOST.  As I like to say, this wonderful irony is proof positive that if there's an intelligent designer at work in our universe, he's a cheapskate!

As some may know, I have this wacky theory of trying to only buy food stuff that costs under $1 a pound.  Sure, sometime's I break my own rule, but by taking this approach you generally end up with foods (like those above) which are far healthier than if you shop without any price consideration.  Yep, you'll be cooking more from scratch; eating less meat, dairy, processed food; eating only the fruits and veggies that are in season; and maybe getting creative and trying new foods and recipes you wouldn't try otherwise if you weren't looking for "Under $1 a pound, year round."  Meat?  I love it, and at least in my part of the country, on-sale chicken (whole and some parts) and other poultry, as well as some cuts of pork, are often allies in the "DMZ" ("Dollar Maximum Zone").

I figure I am growing a garden, and I make my own bread and yougrt and stuff so if I have to spend a little more on healthy stuff like EVOO or whole wheat it is ok. I do as much penny pinching as possible so I can buy healthy foods. I have found though if I dont buy chips cookies hamburger helper ect it really cuts the cost of our food budget and that is healthier also.

Rarely -- but still at least once a year -- Walgreen's puts Hershey's Special dark chocolate bars (8 oz) on sale.  I buy up about 5 of them.  For the whole rest of the year, I eat a couple of squares when I am under the weater (the endorphins do wonders for a gal's moods).  Delicious!  And, cheaper than any other snack food I've found -- besides of course, marvelous popcorn (nto microwave -- that's expensive).

Yours in Him, Deb

• White rice vs brown, I had enough stocked that I have no idea what current prices are
• White pasta at .75 per pack vs $1.50 for wheat or whole grain pasta
• .99 for white bread vs $3 for wheat
• white cane sugar at $1.99 a bag vs local molasses at $7 a jar, local honey at $6 a jar or even a small box of brown sugar at .99.
  
• White flour at .99 to $1.50 vs $3 or more for wheat (I have not updated on prices lately for the wheat).
  
• .50 per can of veggies vs .99 per bag of frozen or .99 or more per pound of fresh

For us, healthy is more expensive.

Ultimate Cheapskate:

As some may know, I have this wacky theory of trying to only buy food stuff that costs under $1 a pound.

Yep but I have had to raise what I am willing to spend per pound to be able to get enough food each week. I can buy much of our produce on sale for .99 a pound, less for things like celerey and parsley but meat is hard to get for under $1 now. 

There are so many great ideas on this thread that I look forward to using!

I know that it can be hard to transition from the convenience of prepackaged meals all the way to making and freezing your own bean soup--which sounds yummy, but is more time consuming than popping something in the microwave for 5 minutes.  It can be easy to get frustrated in the beginning and fall back on old habits.

After many false starts, I found several things that work for me when I just can't spend much time cooking.  There are convenient foods that are healthy and don't have the additives. 

Eating frozen veggies isn't a bad thing as long as you're getting the kind without cheese sauce, preservatives and salt, etc.  Studies have shown that they often retain even more nutrients than fresh because they're frozen right away, so you can eat those guilt free when you've run out of your family's garden veggies!

Brown rice now comes in a "Minute Rice" version.  It's definitely not as cheap as the longer cooking kind, but if like me, you never have time to wait for brown rice to finally be done, you'll be much more likely to use it so it's worth it.  The price per serving is a tiny fraction of what you'd pay for a "healthy" microwave meal anyway. 

For your own healthy, cheap microwave meal, you can pour a little into a bowl with water and some of those frozen veggies, and heat until done in about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice.  You can do the same with oat bran, instant barley, quick cooking oats, etc.  (It takes a little longer on the stove, but if you're trying not to microwave food, that works too.)

Another super fast and healthy protein option is tilapia.  I get it at Wal-mart frozen separately in bags like chicken breasts and around here they're comparable in price to the chicken breast.  They cook REALLY fast on my George Foreman-type grill. (Mine is actually a Proctor & Silas that I bought at Meijer for $12.)  I also grill frozen veggies on there either as side dishes or as filling for my panini.  (Just put the grilled veggies on a slice of bread, fold over and grill till golden brown. I use a combo that contains zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and tomatoes. Mmhh!)

These options aren't the absolute cheapest, but they have helped me cut way down on grocery bills while still adding a lot of healthy foods to my daily life.

I hope they help you!

I generally shop the stores loss leader items , check the "less than perfect " fruits and veggies and also will get the cheese ends and and other mark downs.

My local grocer always marks the meat and poultry down as a "managers special" the day before the new flyer comes out. I do get alot of good deals that way and freeze all of this when i get it home in individual packages. I am fortunate to have a small freezer in my basement that is full with all of these items.

I just love seeing that I saved more than I spent when I look at the reciept, feeding a family of 5 on approximately $50.00 per week is a challenge but it can be done. On Sunday I usually cook 2 types of meat and use theleft overs to make other meals. Most of the time we eat a lot of chicken and 2 meatless meals per week. I do make my own chicken stock and freeze it ice cube trays , this comes in handy and is better than using salty boullion cubes.

It doesn't hurt that I love to cook either........ very little of what we eat is prepackaged and we all "brown bag" our lunch.All of which is a great savings not to mention more nutritous than fast food.

Ultimate Cheapskate:

The title of this thread strikes me as odd, because IMO the only way to eat healthy is to in fact spend less on food. And I'm not talking about buying less, I'm talking about the fact that the stuff we should be eating the most of (see the USDA Food Pyramid), like whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegatables in general happen to cost the LEAST, particularly if you buy what's in season. It's the stuff that's bad for our health (esp. if eaten in large quantities) like red meats, fatty dairy products, and processed foods that generally cost the MOST.  As I like to say, this wonderful irony is proof positive that if there's an intelligent designer at work in our universe, he's a cheapskate!

OK, just for yucks, I tried adding up our receipts for the past month (for two 50+ adults), and taking into account that with the exception of 'perishables', what we buy at any given time bears minimal resemblance to what we are consuming during that time period (and that last month included Passover, which messes everything all up!), I'd say that we are still averaging around $125 - 150 per month for the two of us.  Most of that is spent on fat free milk, hummus, eggs, low fat cottage cheese, fresh produce, pita bread, whole wheat or multigrain sandwich breads, and 'whatever is on sale'.

Both of us are 'self-employed', and Mr. Frugal works mostly from home, so most of mine, and almost all of his food is consumed at home.  We observe the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut (noun for 'kosher'), and we are also on a "Cardiac Risk Reduction" program, so we try to eat a low-fat 'DASH'/Mediterranean-style diet.

What do we 'live on'? 

I eat a packet of Quaker raisins and spice Instant Oatmeal with one tablespoon of real maple syrup every 'cold' weekday and Sunday morning, and cold cereal with fat free milk and/or yogurt with fruit when it is 'warm' out. Yes, I know that we could probably save a little by using 'regular' oatmeal, raisins, and a little cinnamon, but I'm 'picky eater', and the instant was bought on sale for something like $1.79/box-10 with a $5.00 rebate on 5 boxes, so about $0.08 a serving, plus maybe another $0.10 for the tablespoon of maple syrup (~ $10.00/qt. on sale).  I keep a box of 'multigrain' saltines and a jar of low fat peanut butter in the office that I work in for 15 hours - which is spread over 2 1/2 'short' days per week, and I usually munch on crackers and peanut butter for my lunch/snack, and a box and a jar usually last me a month or more.  

During the colder weather, we tend to live on pots of homemade 'vegetable soup', which usually consists of onions sauteed in a little olive oil, tomato sauce, and 'whatever else is around' - carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and usually a can each of string beans, peas, corn, chickpeas, some barley, and some herbs.  

Lately, dinner is usually either 'salmon burgers' (see the recipe on Bumble Bee and other salmon cans) - $1.00 for a can on sale and maybe $0.50 for the peppers, lemon, eggs, and other odds and ends - which makes something like eight servings. We use whole wheat 'matzo meal' instead of bread crumbs (purchased on close out after Passover, of course!). We usually serve them with ketchup, etc., on supermarket 'light wheat' rolls, along with some vegetable side dish (oven-baked sweet potato 'fries' is one of my favorites).

We bought a 'case' of salmon fillets (32 lbs.) on 'close out' for ~ $2.00/lb. a couple of years ago. We packed them in individual packets and froze them, and we ate a lot of salmon (poached, broiled, baked, etc.) along with a cooked veggie and a starch - for a long time...

Another frequent meal is some form of pasta with tofu and homemade tomato sauce made from 'his secret recipe' - fresh and/or canned tomato products and herbs, etc.

As a 'treat' (ok, it's one of my favorite 'junk foods') I like macaroni and cheese made with a couple of slices of American cheese (we just paid $13.99 for a 3-pound block), ~ 4 oz. of shells or other pasta, a little bit of fat free milk, frozen peas, and shredded or frozen carrot 'cubes'.

We also like 'lazy' lasagna made with 'wide noodles', instead of 'lasagna noodles', and tomato sauce, tofu, part-skim ricotta cheese, and shredded mozzarella. Yes, we probably eat way too much 'white pasta'...

Then there's whole wheat veggie pizza made with refrigerated whole wheat pizza dough ($1.00), homemade tomato sauce, shredded low fat/part skim mozzarella cheese, and green peppers, mushrooms, tomato chunks, pineapple tidbits, etc.

We also eat beans and rice sometimes, and a concoction that I think my late aunt 'invented' - 2 cans of vegetarian vegetable soup (undiluted), 1 can of tuna, and 2 cups of cooked rice, all mixed together and heated.

We eat almost no beef or chicken, so for Friday night dinner/Saturday lunches, we usually rotate between 'chickenless' matzo ball soup (start with the kosher boxed stuff and add carrots, celery, parsnips and maybe some noodles); kasha (buckwheat groats) varniskas (with pasta bows); and 'lokshen kugel' (noodle pudding - made with noodles, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and usually cinnamon, and 'whatever fruit is around' - raisins, pineapple, mandarin oranges, apples, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, etc., and some people also add cottage cheese - for protein, etc.

For beverages - I practically live on fat free milk, mostly with either Carnation instant breakfast or other chocolate flavored powder or syrup added - served hot or cold, depending upon the weather, occasionally hot tea with milk, and rarely juice. Once in a while I'll make a 'smoothie' - with fat free milk, yogurt, bananas, Instant Breakfast or other protein powder, etc.

For dessert during the warm weather, I love just about any kind of fruit, cooked with a little bit of sugar, served warm over low-fat vanilla ice cream. When it's cool out, I occasionally bake brownies from a mix, bought on sale and with a coupon, of course (made with applesauce instead of half the oil, and orange juice in place of the water).

Mr. Frugal likes to stir fry veggies and tofu or other 'canned fish', etc., for dinner, and I have to admit that since he's the cook and he feeds himself, I don't pay much attention, but I think he also lives on Cheerios, watermelon and/or cantaloupe and other fruits and vegetables, and various sandwiches with all sorts of vegetables, soy cheese, hummus, and/or canned fish, and he mostly drinks water.

Yours in frugality,

Miserly Maxine    

I make oatmeal with peanut butter for breakfast. Rice and beans (I'm unemployed). Just use your points. measure everything. Frozen vegs on sale. Cheap cuts of meat for stews. hot air popcorn for  snax. I carry nuts and fruit when i'm away from home. Pack lunches from leftovers. never buy from vending machines. if I bite it i write it!  Just take it one day, or rather, one meal at a time! the WW website it wonderful too - read the success stories.

 Re: your husband's ulcerative colitis I would suggest as a nurse that he take a probiotic supplement (Acidophilus/Lactobacillus) or drink Kefir and take a cod liver oil supplement.  I would also suggest that you check out the Weston Price Foundation's website (it's about how modern foods have caused a lot of today's gastrointestinal disorders) Weston A Price was a dentist who in the early 1900s traveled the world and found isolated cultures (in Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Africa, Alaska, Asia) who were in perfect health without cavities (and toothpaste for that matter), with wide palates and straight teeth, perfect bone structure, long lifespans etc. He did not find in these cultures the diseases/disorders that are so prevalent today.  Once these natives were introduced to modern foods their jaws narrowed, they had pinched nostrils and overcrowded teeth with cavities and bone abnormalities and developed diseases/disorders.  After visiting this website I purchased a cookbook by Sally Fallon called "Nourishing Traditions" based on the principles of Weston Price.  It is not just a cookbook it incorporates Weston Price's discoveries and other medical/scientific information.  Maybe your local library has a copy of this book.  Our culture has gotten away from bone-broth based soups, raw milk (milk was pasteurized because during the Industrial Revolution cows were take out of pasture and put on feed lots with unsanitary conditions - I buy raw milk from a local dairy in Massachusetts and have for years and my family hasnt had any gastrointestinal problems from drinking unpasteurized unhomogenized milk - for centuries people have consumed raw milk), organic butter, grass fed beef, free range chicken.  You can stretch a chicken (dont throw away the carcass the gelatin broth from the bones is packed full of vitamins and minerals.  Many cultures have subsisted on bone broths when meat was scarce). Your local library should have a copy of Mother Earth News magazine which has a wealth of gardening information, information about raising chickens in your backyard, and other frugal ideas.  When you get back to basics you'll save money.  I only buy organic dairy and meat and grow the rest in my vegetable garden.  Another great resource for frugal recipes and living that can be found at the library is Jonnie McCoy's "Miserly Moms".