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Truer words were never spoken. many retirees cannot afford to eat healthy and have to settle for the garbage quality of a BK or McD. Sad what this country has devolved to. I have been doing a lot of research on the web. The financial problems here are much more serious than we realize.
Oh, come on. Don't you think that's going a bit far? Of course it's possible to eat healthy at home.
Oatmeal: Steel-cut or even instant if you're short on time. Add some chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.). You get an iron boost from nuts. Top with chopped fresh or dried fruit (dates, pears, apples, etc.). There's your fiber.
Breakfast sandwich: Take two slices of multigrain seeded bread, spread one slice thinly with peanut butter that contains just peanuts, no additives. Top with a thin layer of your favorite jam. (Low-sugar jams exist and taste just as good as the sugar-loaded variety.) Sprinkle with pistachio, hazelnut or cashew bits. Take 1/2 banana and slice it, then top with the second slice of bread. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.
Every time I go to the store, it seems, prices have increased. And I go fairly regularly. This afternoon I spent $70 on two bags of groceries of 'normal stuff.' I'm getting a bit worried.
I already don't buy higher end meats, like rib eye and NY strip steaks. I avoid name brands of certain items we like and try to buy the store brand. Other 'nice to haves' (sweets, special chips, etc) I don't buy anymore.
I get certain items at Costco like laundry and dish soap, TP, PT, eggs, chicken and ground beef and turkey.
We eat a lot of chicken and I make chili or meat loaf with ground beef or turkey. Haven't been out to eat in awhile.
I think husband and I need to get a plan together, although we do have a 'pantry' with canned goods, pastas, soups, etc. I would like to come up with 10-12 meals that we can simply rotate through. I've tried to do this before but my husband is not cooperative.
We heat mostly with wood and propane and kerosene costs (for stove/dryer and supplemental heat) remained somewhat stable this year. If this continues, though, we are going to have to tighten our belts.
I think husband and I need to get a plan together, although we do have a 'pantry' with canned goods, pastas, soups, etc. I would like to come up with 10-12 meals that we can simply rotate through. I've tried to do this before but my husband is not cooperative.
Time was when a housewife would make multiple casseroles and freeze all but one. I was just thinking the other day that the era of casseroles seems so 20th century. Many of us eat smarter now. I can't remember the last time I had any sort of white-noodle/Campbell soup/potato chip topping casserole. I don't think it was this century.
One thing I've noticed is the plant-based "meats" such as Gardein sausage patties haven't gone up in price at all, at least where I shop. Oddly, the Gardein products are made in Canada.
Well budgets are tight for us older folks. We live way below our means as a good start and carry 0 debt. We own our little place in the country and we garden. We will plant a larger garden this year. We do not eat out hardly at all, not because of the expense, it is because I do not trust the cleanliness of the restaurants and quality of the cooks. We like home cooked meals and luckily for me my wife likes to cook them.
My usual healthy breakfast is a bowl of Fiber One Original cereal with almond milk and an apple. If you get 8 servings from a box of Fiber One that's 50 cents, 3/4 cup almond milk is 25 cents if you buy it for $2.50 and Krogers always has at least one brand that price. The apple is 75 cents. So breakfast is a buck fifty. Cheaper if you eat a banana instead.
Chicken is still around two bucks a pound for boneless skinless breasts, so that's $1 per breast. I usually eat a bag of steamable vegetables - Kroger brand is between $1 and $1.25 depending on variety. Plus a few spices and maybe lemon slices and a drizzle of white wine or some bread crumbs to make a chicken recipe and that's $2.50 for dinner.
Lunch is homemade soup from the freezer. Right now I have chicken and corn soup and some with chorizo and chicken and black beans. Less than a dollar per serving.
Raw almonds are usually around $6/lb in bulk bins or prepackaged ones go on sale regularly for around that. One ounce is 40 cents for a snack. Lucerne cottage cheese is 50 cents per serving, add some chopped green onions (about 10 cents worth) and 50 cents worth of grape tomatoes and get both your morning and afternoon snacks for a total of 1.50.
Much cheaper than you can buy even the cheapest fast food, and much much healthier.
rob a bank
blackmail someone
find an empty house, live there until kicked out, find another empty house.
shoplift
plead guilty, go to jail-free room and board.
Act crazy, have your lawyer submit you for a competency exam and spend a few months in a cozy hospital till you're competent to stand trial. Then plead guilty and and get another stint with free room and board. You gotta know how to stretch your resources!
Being willing to make your own meals from scratch allow you to control what ingredients are used as well as constrain costs. Win/Win.
I have an Instant Pot which I use quite often, especially in the winter. I made all kinds of soups, I steam fish, make poached salmon, anything frozen can go right in and be cooked without defrosting, including chicken or any meat. And the good 'ole crockpot is also a wonderful appliance for dumping in the all the ingredients and letting it do its cooking over several hours, to have dinner waiting -- pot roast, chicken, turkey, veggie dishes.
Nothing has to be complicated when it comes to cooking.
I've completely given up extras like 7-11 coffee and stopping at a Wendys or McDs at all. I make good money but I will not pay $2.50 for a cup of joe or $6 for a cheesburger. I carry a couple of thermoses with coffee with me and take a few sandwiches with me along with other snacks or some Mac and cheese. I have a small microwave wired into my job box.
My daughters have been cutting back on their household spending too. The addition has been put off until next summer. The daughter down south said she will not have a lawn next summer. It will be a huge garden and her hubby rebuilt an old Sears rototiller they found in the old shed when they bought the house.
I take advantage of sales; this week I saved 75% on my grocery bill by buying the weekly specials and using coupons. I buy fast food only when I have coupons or it's a special, like the $1 breakfast biscuit Wendy's is currently running. I stock up on food when it's cheap so I don't have to buy it when it's not. But I always have.
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