cost of healthy meals

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

Depends where you shop. Are you buying in bulk? This also saves money. Buy frozen vegetables instead of fresh, which tend to go bad quick. Frozen vegetables are cheaper and the nutritional value is the same.

I make meals in batches and freeze them. This can save time and money. Make your own pasta sauce using either fresh or canned tomatoes. Cheaper and healthier than many of the ready made pasta sauces. Chick peas and kidney beans are cheap, full of protein and fibre. Add them to soups, sauces, eat with rice.

These are a few healthy ideas that are inexpensive.

Libby1987 · Mar 8, 2015

Costco..starting with whole chickens to roast and inexpensive cuts of meat to braise or crockpot. Add bulk vegetables to both. You can do all kinds of meals from those. My son goes to school with shredded chicken, shredded cheese and a Tupperware of chopped greens to make a salad, apparently some of the athletes are eating like this.

Avoid anything already prepared and packaged.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

Where i work, we have a salad bar, a really nice one. Average salad (sold by weight-oil based dressing weighs less) $8; grilled cheese and french fries

We try to eat healthy but it does cost more to buy fresh fruit and veggies and a little meat is definitely more expensive than crap food. We family packs of meat and frozen veggies, it helps but it does take time, which is what people don't want to do.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 8, 2015

It can be done.....my hubby and I are on food stamps now and we eat decently through the entire month. We just have to be careful to shop the sales and wait to buy until fruits and veggies are in season. We also buy frozen veggies and have salad makings around most of the time. Yes, we do buy some processed foods but not as much as we used to. And our food stamps last throughout the month, seldom do we run out before we get the next benefits.

UnbrokenRN09, BSN · Mar 8, 2015

Do you have an Aldi in your area? I do pretty much all my shopping there. I only buy whole foods most of the time.....when you aren't buying junk food or prepackaged food at all, you use that extra money for healthy food. Aldi's produce is usually half the price of regular grocery stores. I've noticed it goes bad more quickly because it's not quite as fresh, but if you plan accordingly, it's fine. You just have to plan on using it within 1-3 days or so depending on what it is. Whole chicken is cheap, you can shred it all up and use if for lots of differement meals. I buy pork shoulder roasts, which is a cheap cut of meat, and cook it in my crock pot to make pulled pork. Chuck roast and round steak are cheaper cuts of meat as well, that are wonderfully tender when slow cooked in a crockpot. I look for weekly produce specials, and use them to make veggie medley's to eat with whatever protein I have on hand. You can combine ground beef with sauteed veggies for all kinds of combinations of dishes. We did ground beef, saurkraut, diced tomatoes, and seasonings one night and it was really good! Ground beef is cheap and versatile, and it's better than something out of a box. Boxed food has additives that make you crave more food so you actually tend to eat more food and consume more calories than if you eat healtier, more nutritious foods. Healthy food might cost more at face value, but in the long run it doesn't when you consider future health problems and the tendency to buy more food when you eat mostly pre-packaged, processed foods.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

Healthy food can be more expensive, but I still spend less when I eat for sustenance because I eat so little. I can eat frozen pizzas and frosted cookies all day long- whether I'm hungry, or not. It's pricy to eat all day all the time.

UnbrokenRN09, BSN · Mar 8, 2015

Healthy food can be more expensive, but I still spend less when I eat for sustenance because I eat so little. I can eat frozen pizzas and frosted cookies all day long- whether I'm hungry, or not. It's pricy to eat all day all the time.

yes!! Exactly. Who just pops a couple chips, or just 1 cookie....no one! lol

Not to mention sugar/refined carbs are your worst enemy. Sugar leads to increased food cravings/mindless eating. When you eat clean food, you lose the cravings. I probably spend roughly $50/wk for me and my husband to eat. Sometimes less. And I only buy meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and produce. I cook with real butter, coconut oil, and olive oil--no other oils. No chips, no cookies, no frozen or boxed dinners. I do keep some basic pantry staples because every now then....I bake. Let's face it...I like cookies and brownies. I just limit our consumption lol.

kidzcare · Mar 8, 2015

I definitely shop ALDI! I try to make healthful meals for the most part, but once or twice a week it's a huge money saver to make a box of mac and cheese and call it a day. Less than $2 to feed my kids for that meal helps when my grocery budget is sometime

Libby1987 · Mar 8, 2015

I definitely shop ALDI! I try to make healthful meals for the most part, but once or twice a week it's a huge money saver to make a box of mac and cheese and call it a day. Less than $2 to feed my kids for that meal helps when my grocery budget is sometime
My kids loved Kraft Mac and Cheese. For a few dollars more if possible, raw pasta and milk with real cheese makes it less fake. You can shred some cheese off your block or buy 2 cups of pre shredded for ~ $2.50 on sale and use some milk from your frig. Still only a ~$4.00 meal for several people. A roasted head of broccoli for another ~$1.00.
$5.00 family dinner providing protein, real fat, and all of the broccoli nutrients.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

For real mac n cheese I like marble cheese and sometimes I use vegetable pasta. Tastes much better, healthier and still cheap. You can make a whole batch of it at a time.

sjalv · Mar 9, 2015

Pinterest is your friend when it comes to healthy, cost-effective recipes and tips on preparing food in advance.