MrsRandySteeleJr's Journal, 26 March 2018

I hear you. I eat a lot of chicken eggs salad and veggies. 

I'm sorry to hear that! You should find out if there are organizations where you live who give away free food. I know that where I live people can get one box per month. You never know! 

praying that finances will come your way. be encouraged. @Charlotte_15 I agree check in with churches and see if they can help U. its not a hand out its a hand up! 

It's true...a food pantry I volunteered at partnered with a grocery store. We often had plenty of fresh produce, milk, eggs, bread, yogurt, even meat which clients could select. A lot of people knew each other and shared recipes with each other. Do consider finding such a place if possible...you would be pleasantly surprised at how much other people want to help anyone in need. 

Dried beans and lentils, tofu, eggs, and shop at farmers market. Get an instant pot, buy the cheaper cuts of meat and you can make amazing stuff. People don't realize chickpeas can be found dried for way less than in cans, and bulk brown rice and other high fiber grains from Amazon if you can't find locally. Look for a Foodsaver at Goodwill, they always have them eventually. Buy bags at Costco. And yes, I've lived this way for an extended period of time. I used to eat steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, black beans and brown rice at lunch w/salsa, bell peppers and yogurt I made meyself, and dinner was saved for the "expensive" protein, like chicken or even beef. Just less of it.  

This rant is SOOO relevant! Food banks carb you up with so much filler and not enough nutrition, and most grocery stores charge an exorbitant amount for healthy eating...even veggies and fruit are high these days! So stay encouraged! Take your time and find combinations of food that are healthy that can be xpokes in many different eays...buy chix or fish, and grab beans, and plenty o veggies...seasonings, and a starch that can be used in several diff eays...like rice, or potatoes...You've got this! Stay encouraged! #prayingforcontinuedstrength 

Randy, I have been saying for years that the offers in supermarkets are on all the crap processed foods. They need to have more cheaper and offers on the fresh fruit and veg and meats and fish to encourage the shoppers to cook from scratch and eat healthily, but hey ho, who am I, what do I know, absolutely nothing. I am the one that does the shopping every week so know what the supermarkets have to offer. They always go on about the fact that we are fatter than ever and draining the resources of our NHS due to the obesity problems then the government and the supermarkets need to start and work together to tackle the problem. 

I've been spending a tad extra on healthier foods, but there are cheap options out there if you can manage eating similar meals each day. stews, roast veg and cheap meat, wraps and make your own cous cous to stuff with, lentil soup... bacon is cheap and good for calories because you only eat a small amount... a bunch of veggies, pulses and meats will go a long way and can end up cheaper than butter, crisps, chocolate, oven chips etc... half of the battle is buying long lasting stock like herbs, spices, pulses, bags of cheap frozen chicken/fish etc... but they last you a long while. my cheapest meal of late is roast parsnips with honey and mustard, sprouts and roast chicken. £1.95 for two meals and I have some veg left over for Sunday dinner. 

I feel for you! Even the idea of bulk buying beans/lentils and the like isn't easy as I'm guessing money trickles in rather than you having a fair sum to last a period. And bulk buying is where the savings are. Maybe you can get some ideas from cookingonabootstrap.com that will help. The writer isn't to everyone's taste but she had to survive on very little money and feed her son at one point, blogged about it and has some good recipes for not a lot of money. I hope things turn around for you soon. All the best! 

I feel you on this one! I’m vegetarian so it’s maybe a little easier as meat and fish are often the most expensive part of a food shop, but I’ve also been trying to save money lately. I’ve figured out that the time that I get off the bus from work usually coincides with when my local coop go round and reduce all of their fresh produce, so I stock up! I’ll grab any vegetables/salads that are going cheap and base my evening meal around these rather than pre-planning, and usually end up with a massively veggie packed meal. Anything left over I make in to soups or freeze. Works a treat for me! 

I also buy spices and produce at my 99 cent store. even now. the spices don't go bad and they are so expensive at the regular grocery store. produce is a timing thing. buy what's in season and looks like it's got a little life in it.  

As others have already pointed out, dried beans and brown rice are pretty inexpensive. I buy a lot of frozen store-brand veggies instead of fresh - generally cheaper and some say often more nutritious than fresh... of course, fresh from the garden is best, but I don't know if you have the space or time for that. Eggs are an awesome source of protein (as long as you don't have high cholesterol like me!) and are pretty cheap, too. If you live in (or near) a rural area, you might want to see if you can find a small farm that sells stuff - for example, I have pet chickens laying lots of eggs, but since I'm not allowed to eat them anymore (DAMN that doctor... no, not really, he has my best interest in mind), I've been giving them away. My folks used to buy a calf with another family and they would raise it, with my parents contributing towards feed costs, and slaughter it on the other family's property (they had no kids, my parents had six, and didn't want any of us refusing to eat because we were too attached to the critter... I was a bit of a trouble-maker in that respect). Of course a lot of these suggestions would require that you live close to a rural area, so I don't know if they help... good luck... 

I feel your pain, and understand your dilemma, but one thing to consider, if we continue to be fat and unhealthy what will that cost us? I found that portion control helped me with the offset, and being zero wasteful did as well. You'll have to be as creative as you can. Do you have a small plot that can help for the summer months? 

One of the hardest is that I live in a very small town. We have a dollar general where I do most of my shopping; a family dollar where I do a little and a neighborhood grocery. As many know small town stores are never really "affordable". I dont drive. My husband and I both work full time and have conflicted schedules so him driving me rarely works. We have about $25 a week for groceries. I'd go to the local food pantry but it's only open when I'm at work. I can't miss work not only because of the pay but also because of the job I do. I work in the local nursing home...get this...as a cook lol. I usually eat at work at least once a day but other wise I get frustrated going into a grocery store. I hate that people on a small budget get looked at badly for buying "junk" when it's the only way to make the $ stretch most of the time. It's just sad really. 

We do have a garden each year where I can and freeze a lot. I also donate my extras because we know a lot of people are in the same boat. I'm looking forward to getting our farm operational so we can be mainly self sustainable but it's still 3 years off in the time line planning :) 

Regarding spices, we have found packets of spices at our chain grocery store that sell for about 99 cents to $1.29. We compared the ounce price and it was as much as one-fourth less than the fancy jars in another aisle. We also buy less-than-optimum produce, particularly fresh tomatoes, that are sold "on clearance" for as little as 99 cents for about 3 pounds. My hubby loves to make pasta and pizza sauces out of them - he calls them "used" tomatoes. We love not having preservatives in everything and save a fortune making our own pizza crust and sauce. It also freezes nicely, saving time making meals. We also don't get takeout or dine out as much as we used to because there is always something quick to make or heat up.