how can you eat a healthy balanced meal for cheap? whats your secret ladies?

I mean how can you beat 2 jr whoppers and a chicken tender for $3

2/12/2009 10:50:21 PM

i'm not a lady, but getting 3 jr bacon cheeseburgers is one way to eat better than that.

2/12/2009 10:51:20 PM

because whoppers are icky

2/12/2009 10:51:52 PM

3conmics dawg, 3conomics....

2/12/2009 10:51:52 PM

the answer is to not eat

2/12/2009 10:52:18 PM

healthy and price are inversely proportional

2/12/2009 10:52:50 PM

i'm not a lady, but getting 2 jr bacon cheeseburgers and a 5 pc nugget is one way to eat better than that.

2/12/2009 10:53:35 PM

Honestly, the healthy choice steamers are like $4 and they're actually good

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 10:55 PM. Reason : -]

2/12/2009 10:54:22 PM

its all about the jr. bacon cheeseburger, 5 pc. nuggets, and a frosty.

2/12/2009 10:54:41 PM

^certainly a win

2/12/2009 10:55:20 PM

buy in bulk during sales/at costco- fresh/frozen meat/produce==utilize your freezer.

Take advantage of seasonal food/sales. take advantage of farmer's markets.

If you are eating only fresh/flash frozen, and planning/packing lunches, etc it is MUCHO cheaper than eating fast food all the time.

I pay about the same to eat LOTS of food, where as before, i used to eat 1 or 2 fast food shit meals a day. You might be paying more up front, but it works out to be cheaper.

2/12/2009 10:55:24 PM

this could lead to a serious discussion

2/12/2009 10:55:41 PM

$4 is expensive though if you could just buy the individual ingredients for cheap and make lots of meals

but i have wanted to try those.

rice is cheap, frozen chicken goes on sale a lot and it seems expensive at first but then when you realize you get like 10 pieces for 9 or 10 dollars, that is pretty cheap. and that is a whole breast, not just a 5pc nugget.

2/12/2009 10:55:42 PM

honest answer to honest question.

hot pockets.

2/12/2009 10:56:13 PM

i'm going to stomp your e/face

2/12/2009 10:56:49 PM

^^ esp. the ones with the metal shavings in them, or the e. coli

2/12/2009 10:57:34 PM

My best advice is to buy meats in bulk and butcher them yourself.

The BEST money saving tip I can give is to buy whole chickens instead of breasts. You can get a nice sized whole chicken for about $5, and make a good 3-4 meals out of it.

Also, if you have a crockpot, that is the best way to eat cheap and healthy. Everything I make in the crockpot runs me between $10 and $20, and I usually get about a week's worth of lunches out if it.

In addition, I eat the frozen mixed veggies as sides. I think the big Food Lion brand bag of mixed veggies is like $2, and I can get a good 8-10 servings out if it.

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:01 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:00:09 PM

on the reals you can cook for pretty cheap if you're crafty....buy meats on sale / canned veggies are cheap...

box of fettucini / rigatoni and a cheap sauce isn't bad if you show some love with the spices

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:02 PM. Reason : ^i need a crockpot]

2/12/2009 11:00:41 PM

and neither of those are healthy, really, unless you are eating them around activity. Pasta=healthy =/= true for the majority of tww

2/12/2009 11:02:32 PM

Figure out how to cook some things.

Get a 5lb bag of rice and a container for it. Use flash-frozen vegetables for sides (Bird's Eye has microwaveable vegetable packages that have individual servings of vegetables, four per pack, for ~$2-$2.50 for four), and figure out how to cook simple main course meals that aren't too expensive.

For example, buy boneless, skinless chicken breast on sale at Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lowe's Foods, etc for about $1.99/lb. Cook 1/2-3/4 lb (or one breast) of chicken and dice it into cubes, cook yourself one serving of rice (or two if you eat pretty sizeable meals), stir-fry frozen vegetables to mix in with the rice on the side with olive oil (a little olive oil can go a long way), mix it all together, salt it very very lightly and drizzle some duck sauce on the top. You'll have a sweet and slightly salty meal with vegetables, rice (which will put your stomach at ease rather well compared to the fast food you're eating), and healthy low-fat protein. Adjust the amount of rice you cook to fill yourself up to satisfaction (or reduce the amount of rice you cook if you're trying to lose weight).

For lunch, do what I do (lazy and simple). Get whole grain bread on sale from a non-shitty brand. Buy individually wrapped packs of meat because you know the larger packages of meat will spoil before you finish them (these individual packs have 2oz of meat, enough for one serving for one sandwich, and cost $0.40-0.79). Put your favorite cheese slice on top of this meat (pick it up on sale, and consider getting reduced fat cheese if you're a lardass trying to lose weight). Put spicy mustard, deli mustard, lite mayonnaise, or some combination of mustard and mayo on this sandwich. Voila, it's a tasty sandwich. Have one serving of graham crackers, and one serving of pretzels on the side.

Throw some fruit into your daily routine (like a snack at 3-4pm), and add yogurt to breakfast at least a few times a week to help keep your stomach in check. Don't eat out but a few times a week and try to get some lighter fare if you do eat out (i.e. get the grilled chicken sandwich instead of the double cheeseburger, or go to subway instead of cookout).

You'll save $whores this way.

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:06 PM. Reason : Don't buy canned veggies. Salt content is horrible, not good for you.]

2/12/2009 11:05:49 PM

I'd shy away from pre-divided servings...you can vary your intake to be more or less w/ out them, and it's generally cheaper



[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:09 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2009 11:07:32 PM

Dude, I LIVE by my crockpot. I use it at least once a week, usually on Sunday. i will cook a big batch of something and have it for lunch every day the following week. Getting a healthy lunch for around $3 a day or less FTW.

Also, there are some healthy fast food options, but i wouldn't exactly call them cheap. In a pinch I will grab a McDonald's salad, but with a drink they are like $5.50. I have (or will have) a job that makes it very hard to eat healthy, considering I am on the road every day during lunchtime. So I have a lot of experience in finding healthy fast food options

^ exactly. Don't do the pre-packaged servings, just get the big bag and portion it out for yourself. And don't bother spending the extra money for the brand name, get the grocery store brand. there is no difference in flash frozen veggies

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:09 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:07:56 PM

the food stamps thread in the soap box has a link to a guy who is trying to eat cheap and healthy

2/12/2009 11:08:33 PM

man i didnt know there were so many food network stars on here

2/12/2009 11:08:58 PM

Quote :

"and neither of those are healthy, really, unless you are eating them around activity. Pasta=healthy =/= true for the majority of tww"

Well at least you're able to assess the activity level of the majority of people on an anonymous website There's nothing wrong with pasta if you're not completely sedintary. Wheat pasta is a bit more expensive but better for you.

But yes TWW, eating pasta all day and sitting on the couch =/= healthy

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:12 PM. Reason : .]

2/12/2009 11:09:33 PM

^^I am an excellent cook, actually. It is a hobby of mine

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:10 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:09:48 PM

Cheezits are filledwith cheez




cereal is filled with vitamins too

2/12/2009 11:11:27 PM

ok


I just hate seeing articles/people blindly label pasta/popcorn and being "healthy", while calling nuts or avocados or red meat "bad" (which you didn't). Like said, pasta CAN be healthy, w/ qualifiers.

2/12/2009 11:12:41 PM

pasta is WAY healthier than 2 jr whoppers and a chicken tender, that's for damn sure.

2/12/2009 11:14:47 PM

i lived on pasta in high school. i also swam on two swim teams and played on 3 soccer teams all at once. i'm pretty sure if i didn't eat bread and pasta, i would have withered away

2/12/2009 11:14:53 PM

I'm not sure about that dj.


I'd take 2/3 orders of tenders, add some berries, some fresh broccoli, and either nuts or fruit (depending on what situation) ........


^look at that energy expenditure, though....



[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:19 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2009 11:17:29 PM

i notice you omitted the whoppers

2/12/2009 11:18:10 PM

bobby flay

2/12/2009 11:18:23 PM

ok

eat the given, and call it a "cheat" meal

2/12/2009 11:19:14 PM

^^i said it was my hobby, not my profession

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:19 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:19:20 PM

damn, now I want a whopper

2/12/2009 11:20:38 PM

ray?

2/12/2009 11:20:58 PM

Didn't she loose the poundage she gained from stuffing her face? Is she HAWT again?

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:22 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2009 11:22:36 PM

dan eaton

2/12/2009 11:23:04 PM

^^she's still pretty plump. since I am unemployed I have been checking out her show. she would still get it though

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:23 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:23:10 PM

Quote :

"^look at that energy expenditure, though.... "

oh i know. i'm not saying that it would be good to do that now. but literally i would have withered if i didn't eat pasta every meal. i was a) a picky eater and b) i didn't weigh over 100lbs until i was 19. and i played all those sports. man. why, college, why did you happen to me!!

2/12/2009 11:23:27 PM

well I would assume that anyone concerned about eating healthy is also on an exercise program

2/12/2009 11:24:15 PM

you forget the people that omit that piece of common sense.

2/12/2009 11:25:19 PM

eat healthy for cheap?
hmm ok
step one is "Have enough money to eat healthy for $$$"
step two involves using that money to buy bulk.


if you NEED to eat healthy for cheap, you're fucked. pretty much that simple.

2/12/2009 11:25:36 PM

^^yeah, most definitely. I mean, when i did Atkins back in the day I lost a ton of weight, but I didn't work out hardly at all. So I was thin, but I looked like I had cancer. And we all know the negative health impacts of Atkins

just saying, eating healthy alone doesn't make you healthy

^ and I disagree. If he is already spending $3 a day per meal on garbage food, he could easily eat healthy if he just learned how to cook a few things

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:28 PM. Reason : a]

2/12/2009 11:26:17 PM

A lot of of people need to look up the word 'healthy' as it relates to foods.

Quote :

"rice is cheap"

Unless you are eating whole grain rice (brown, red, black, etc), rice, i.e., white rice, is not healthy. In fact, it is downright unhealthy. And even with the wholegrain rice, you can't just have rice with chicken breast. You need to thrown in veggies as well. And if a vegetarian, some beans or lentils instead of chicken.

Quote :

"box of fettucini / rigatoni and a cheap sauce isn't bad if you show some love with the spices"

I wouldn't really call that 'healthy'. Sure, it is magnitudes of order better than eating fast food, but still, not a complete meal, nor 'healthy'. Get whole wheat pasta, add some chickpeas/chicken/fish/shrimp/etc (protein!!!???), add lots of fresh/frozen veggies (onion, tomato, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, eggplant, spinach, etc), and then you have a complete and a healthy meal. Throw some cheese in as well (real cheese, not that shit 'processed cheese food product', i.e., slices). Yeah, and add some dried herbs, like oregano, basil, parsley, paprika, etc. Or fresh, if you have them.

Quote :

"Get a 5lb bag of rice and a container for it. "

See above.

Quote :

"Buy individually wrapped packs of meat"

Deli meats, while a good source of protein, are not what could be called 'healthy'.

Quote :

"Have one serving of graham crackers, and one serving of pretzels on the side."

Graham crackers and pretzels? Seriously?

Quote :

"Wheat pasta is a bit more expensive but better for you. "

All pasta is made from wheat (aside from the rice pasta, etc). It is just that some is 'whole wheat pasta', and some most is not, but still is, 'wheat pasta'. But yes, your point stands. Eat whole wheat pasta. It is a very healthy food.


[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:36 PM. Reason : ]

2/12/2009 11:35:52 PM

^ excellent post

2/12/2009 11:45:08 PM

Eat food
Not too much
Mostly plants


What that translates to is what's been posted already: learn to cook, buy things like chicken, canned and frozen vegetables on sale, and hit up the farmer's market. Better yet, grow your own stuff. If you can't garden, look into joining a CSA And read The Omnivore's Dilemma.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is to not get discouraged. There's a reason it's called learning to cook: you won't always get it right, and especially not right away.

[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 11:51 PM. Reason : lfgkj]

2/12/2009 11:50:27 PM

0EPII1 is completely on point in this thread.

listen to him.

2/12/2009 11:55:07 PM

if you can follow directions then you can cook, at least when you are first getting started. with the VAST supply of recipes online, it's not that difficult to cook. get some easy recipes and follow them. as you get better, you will be able to start making variations to the recipes or coming up with your own. Either way, COOK!

and again, get a crockpot if you don't already have one. you don't even need to be able to cook to make some badass meals in a crockpot. it is literally just getting all the required ingredients, throwing them in, and forgetting about it for the rest of the day.

2/12/2009 11:55:32 PM