So, here's my dilemma. I totally agree with what Ann said about how eating healthy is more expensive, and then I read what Jo wrote about all those nasty ingredients that are in about everything. So, how do you feed a family healthy food when most of the things that are on sale are the not-so-healthy stuff (meaning foods with bleached or enriched flour, sugar, corn syrup, etc.)? More importantly, how do you feed them healthy food on a budget? Example: bread--does the good whole wheat (real whole wheat) bread ever go on sale? No! So, what do I do? Yes, I have weekly menus, and go to the store once a week. We eat a lot of produce, but also lots of crackers, etc. . .Any suggestions would be welcome!
Thanks,
Lisa
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6 comments:
Do you have a Trader Joes in your area? I *love* that store. The store is more health conscious on a whole, and the prices are still great. I think they have them in California.
Some brands are better for you, Kashi, etc. Maybe for some food it is just worth spending more to get the good stuff. Or change our the cracker snacks for fruits/veggies/nuts/etc.
Have you ever tried making wheat bread? My mom used to all the time. I haven't yet but I'm asking for a wheat grinder for Christmas.
For bread, I usually buy Grandma Sycamore's 100% Whole Wheat Bread from Costco. It's pretty inexpensive to get it that way.
I had a really hard time finding crackers, but what I get are Kashi TLC 7 original grain crackers. They're really yummy and I swear that little box lasts for so much longer than you think it's going to. These can be a little more money, but I think it's worth it.
The cereal I get I can usually get on sale. It's Multi-grain cherrios. Now, this does have sugar in the ingredients, but it's only 6 g of sugar per serving, which I found is a lot less than most other cereals, even the "healthy" brands.
An inexpensive dinner that we like is turkey burgers. I get a box of 12 frozen turkey burgers from Wal-mart that is about $4, on whole wheat buns. We also have grilled chicken, brown rice, and frozen veggies quite a bit.
I realize it can often be more money to eat healthy, but for me I found I actually spent less money eating this way because I wasn't buying as much and I was actually thinking twice about everything I was buying. Hope these ideas help a little.
I just recently started making my own whole wheat bread in an attempt to save money and eat healthy. I buy 100% whole wheat flour from Wal-Mart because I don't have a wheat grinder. My son loves it. I'll have post the recipe, it's my 88 year old grandma's bread recipe.
Also, my son is addicted to crackers. Ritz are his favorite but we buy the whole wheat ones. Better than the alternative.
You can get turkey burgers for pretty inexpensive and they are really good, especially the ones that are already seasoned.
We have completely moved to whole grains - whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc... and it has been great. It is a little bit more expensive but not much.
I totally understand where you are coming from though. My budget is so tight it squeaks. I would love to buy all they yummy 'organic' and "healthy" stuff, but it just isn't possible sometimes. Just do the best you can. You'll be surprised where you can find 'healthy' food items for not a whole lot of money.
Good luck!
Let us know if you find any great healthy foods that are inexpensive on your search!
I love Barbara's Puffins cerealand Kashi flakes or Kashi GoLean. I tried Kashi Honey puffs and I think they are gross.
I also like hot oats for breakfast with fruit.
Duh! I have a wheat grinder sitting in my garage--never been used! I think I'll put all that good food storage wheat to work. I would love it if Amber posted her recipe! Thanks, y'all!
Lisa, you do pretty good feeding your family healthy meals. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. However, one thing I was thinking of for you is getting an additional freezer to put in your garage or something. Then, when things do go on sale, you can buy more of them and freeze them. We have an extra freezer in our garage and I can't believe how much I use it! You could freeze bread, milk, meats, veggies, etc. If you could find a cheaper freezer like on Craigslist or something, then it would definitely pay for itself.
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