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Hah! I went grocery shopping yesterday and I bought everything on the list except for peanut butter (I forgot to put it on my grocery list).....and the $2.00 protein bars (not something I would buy).
Method of purchase is important. I see people grab a 16oz box of Carolina Rice for $2.99 in my local grocery store. A 5# bag of basmati (ie "fancy" rice) is $8. If you really shop, it can be had for $1/lb. Of course, I love rice, even when plain, so I could economise by only buying one kind of starch/carb (not a fan of potato).
Yesterday, I paid 65 cents a pound for long grain brown rice from the bulk food section of my favorite store (Winco).
Looking pretty good maybe except for protein bars.
I'm going for the most nutritional bang for an item. Not cheapest thing to fill your tummy. Almonds are not necessarily "cheap" but every now and then is ok.
1. Dark leafy greens. Full of vitamin A, some Bs, K and C.
2. Beans. Decent amount of protein and carbs and differnt vitamins
3. Eggs. Vitamin B 12, protein, some fat and other vitamins.
4. Olive oil. Or plain olives. Healthy fat and vitamin e.
5. Avocado. Healthy fat and various vitamins.
6 Sardine in tins. The ones I buy are 75 cents a tin. Frozen ones are pretty cheap too. So healthy, cheap and filling. Protein, DMAE, Omega 3, low mercury and environmentally friendly compared to other fish.
7. Almonds. Vitamin E, protein and other fats.
Almonds around here got so expensive that I have stopped buying them. Same with avocados.
I buy large bottles of olive oil on sale, lots of eggs (very nutritious and can be used in many ways), dry beans--soak overnight and cook the next day, a whole chicken that will last and the carcass can be used for soup in the crockpot, rice. Huge bags of carrots get used a lot and last a long time. A cabbage, winter squash, turnip/rutabaga--all will last and can be used in a variety of ways. Bag of potatoes.
I buy large bags of frozen peas, spinach, broccoli, and corn.
That's more than 7 items -- but 1. eggs, 2. rice, 3. dry beans, 4. carrots, 5. olive oil, 6. frozen greens, 7. milk or almond milk (I cannot drink milk).
One time when I was between jobs I subsisted mostly on rice pudding. Rice+egg+milk+raisins. Easy to make and good to eat. Need some veggies to make a more healthy diet though.
I also get my share of meat. The Safeway which is just a block away is expensive. But each department that has perishables has a little corner at the end of the line of goods with things that are dates. Believe it or not I have picked up some pretty nice steaks that were in that little corner. Not too old for me.
This is the only way I buy meat, also from my local Safeway - "reduced for quick sale" - and I have for years.
Just bring it home, and if I'm not going to use it right away, it goes straight into the freezer.
I doubt you'd find a single package of meat in my freezer that doesn't have that marked down sticker on it.
Now that I only have one kid left at home - and he eats here only a couple of times a week - I'm eating very little meat; in fact, I only cook meals with meat on the nights he's home very dinner (although we are having vegetarian lasagna tomorrow night).
I see a lot of people have eggs listed as a "must have" and I agree.
I eat a lot of eggs from my own free range chickens - when I can find their nests. Right now, I know where they're laying, but come spring and summer, when they all start deciding they want to start families and they go up into the woods and hide their eggs from me, it becomes a little less predictable.
So, right now, I'm eating eggs probably four or five times a week - for dinner tonight, I had an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat bread (with Romaine lettuce on it) and a side of cottage cheese.
Even if you have to buy them, at around $2.50 a dozen (around here), eggs seem to me to still be a pretty economical source of protein.
Something, too, that I'm trying to get into is tofu. I bought two one pound packages of tofu yesterday at $1.78 a pound.
This is the only way I buy meat, also from my local Safeway - "reduced for quick sale" - and I have for years.
Just bring it home, and if I'm not going to use it right away, it goes straight into the freezer.
I doubt you'd find a single package of meat in my freezer that doesn't have that marked down sticker on it.
Now that I only have one kid left at home - and he eats here only a couple of times a week - I'm eating very little meat; in fact, I only cook meals with meat on the nights he's home very dinner (although we are having vegetarian lasagna tomorrow night).
I too shop at Safeway. I rarely buy poultry, meat or seafood at full price.
For me, the benefit to protein bars is having them onhand as "emergency backup food." I can throw one or two in my purse and forget about them until I need them. I can't do that with a cheap chicken breast. I have dietary restrictions, so it's necessary for me to carry something that will hold me over until I can get someplace where I can find something I can eat. Definitely necessary when traveling.
For me, the benefit to protein bars is having them onhand as "emergency backup food." I can throw one or two in my purse and forget about them until I need them. I can't do that with a cheap chicken breast. I have dietary restrictions, so it's necessary for me to carry something that will hold me over until I can get someplace where I can find something I can eat. Definitely necessary when traveling.
I agree with you about the protein bars. I have to eat a lot of protein but I had stomach surgery so the amount I get from food is limited. The protein bars and the new Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt with double the protein and limited sugar is super.
Of course potatoes and peanut butter and chicken and fish and ground pork and ground turkey are good for a cheap budget too. And realistic protein too (potatoes maybe not unless sour cream on them).
I avoid those nutrition bars as I've found so many are high in sugar, carbs, etc. As others noted, you can find good protein sources in many other foods that are much better for
you.
I am not broke but I still buy all the foods on the list (except brown rice). Yum!
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