Re: Losing Weight on a Tight Budget

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/13/03 9:12:03 AM Eastern Standard Time, lnewburn@... writes:

? I noticed that I've been buying some

"diet" food and that has increased my food budget.

,

If I add up all the junk food and fast food that I used to eat I now spend much less than before. Just don't look at the grocery bill...look at the whole picture. For our family it is much cheaper to eat healthy but keep in mind that I make everything from scratch...I do not buy frozen meals etc. What do you mean by diet food?

Rae

260/148/150

"Amazingly enough, we all live inside a body that is capable of improvement everyday...what are you waiting for?" Brock Hierlmeier

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/13/03 9:33:15 AM Eastern Standard Time, lnewburn@... writes:

I was thinking of the diet soda, non-fat and reduced fat items like peanut butter, sour cream, salad dressings and jelly. Items along those lines.

,

If you are trying to replace all regular products with "diet" all at once it can get expensive. But each item should be the same price as the regular. Miracle Whip Free is the same price as regular Miracle Whip, Diet Coke is the same price as regular Coke...etc. As you use up an item replace with a better choice. Large chain grocery stores like Kroger and Meijer have their own brand in low cal/fat items. I prefer name brand in things like cream cheese and mayo but you may find the store brand to be just fine. If your favorite grocery store charges more for basic low cal/fat items I would be looking for another store to do your shopping. I am a very thrifty shopper and use coupons and watch the sale flyers (I love free food)...it is not unusual for me to go to 3 different stores to get the best deals. Fortunately all these stores are very close by. I did some of my shopping today at 2 different stores and paid close attention to the prices...I saw no difference in the regular and low cal/fat items. But, as I said earlier I do not buy premade or prepackaged items so I am unaware of what it costs to eat frozen dinners etc.

Rae

260/148/150

"Amazingly enough, we all live inside a body that is capable of improvement everyday...what are you waiting for?" Brock Hierlmeier

[Guest guest]

I was thinking of the diet soda, non-fat and reduced fat items like peanut butter, sour cream, salad dressings and jelly. Items along those lines.

's Wife ('88)Mom to ('90) & Charlie ('02)265/258.5/175

Re: Losing Weight on a Tight Budget

.. What do you mean by diet food? Rae 260/148/150

[Guest guest]

,

Being a SAHM, my family only has one income. I also find it hard to fit in the 'diet' food into our budget. One of the things I do is wait for Kroger to have one of the brands of diet meals 50% off and then buy a bunch and put them in the freezer. Like last week, they had Lean Cuisine meals 50% off. I bought about 10 of them and now I'll have them to pull out when I don't have time to cook something for myself. I buy soda the same way. Waiting for the sales and then stocking up. I also go to discount grocery stores like Sav-A-Lot and Aldi. They often have brand name food for much cheaper prices and some of those stores even except coupons.

Hope this helps!

in OH

Losing Weight on a Tight Budget

anyone would share their strategies for keeping their food expenses down

[Guest guest]

> Is anyone else on a tight budget?

Our pennies are pinched so hard they scream in agony.

I noticed that I've been buying some

> " diet " food and that has increased my food budget.

That's why most of these " scientific studies " find the poorer the person on

the economic scale, the fatter he/she is. Lean meats cost more, packaged

foods like mac and cheese are cheaper than low fat cheese and whole grain

pasta. The only way to cut costs and eat low cal is to go mostly vegetarian

and use beans instead of meat, and when you *must* use meat, make it an

accompaniement, not the main dish, like in casseroles and stir fries.

Buy the cheapest ground beef and pre-cook it, then rinse, rinse, rinse in

hot water to de-grease it.

Buy in bulk, but only of items you *really* use and need. You don't need 6

boxes of cake mix!

Cook from scratch. It'll take longer so adjust your mealtimes accordingly.

Get the family used to casseroles, soups and stews ASAP and away from " meat

& potatoes " meals. Watch your portions on those casseroles - white flour

pasta is as close to munching on white bread as there is and you only get

one half cup a serving. Make it healthier and a bit more filling by

investing in whole wheat pasta - either store bought or home made. Kids love

to help and can cut the rolled out noodle dough with plastic knives or a

dull pizza cutter if you don't have a pastamaker.

Skip the packaged snacks and stick with fresh fruit or homemade goodies. You

can make some healthy cookies for a fraction of the cost of store-bought,

and if you invest in some artificial sweetener like Splenda you can make

them sugar-free. Or make muffins and use applesauce (always on sale) instead

of sugar, and sneak in some pureed fruits or even some veggies.

Cheap exercise - walking, dancing to the radio, taking those kids to the

park and playing catch.

And don't forget to pick up those Tightwad Gazette books, especially if you

can get one of them (or the big combo book that has all 3 together) from

your library.

[Guest guest]

>I was thinking of the diet soda, non-fat and reduced fat items like peanut

butter, sour cream, salad dressings and jelly.

This is easy -

Instead of diet soda, drink water.

Instead of high fat items like sour cream and peanut butter, find other

recipes that don't use them.

Instead of salad dressing, use oil and vinegar, or just a flavored vinegar.

Instead of jelly? Well, I use the no-sugar added and it's the same as

artificially sweetened. All-fruit is more expensive, and I haven't found a

substitute for it. What's the alternative? Stay away from jelly if you can't

restrain yourself to only one portion (whatever is on the label - all brands

differ).

[Guest guest]

I agree...only buy the amount that will get eaten. I finally cleaned out my freezer that was chock full of on sale meat. It all went bad...there was just no way I could go through all that I had bought before freezer burn had set in, and it was money down the drain. Now I buy ONLY what I will use in a week's time. If I have to make a run to the market for milk...so be it, and that's all I buy till Sunday, nothing else (I have to be strict with myself). I've spent so much money on foods I never ate because they were on sale or I bought in bulk, or I had a crazy notion of eating only veggies for a while and those all spoiled cause I couldn't eat them all at once.

Budgeting is a pain, I'm still new at it (just moved out a few years ago from my folk's place, and I'm still adjusting). I've learned to make smaller portions, which cost less too. I went from cooking for four people each night...all big eaters, to cooking for just me...and now to cooking for just me on a diet and wow have I cut costs. I admit too that I do buy store brands. I see no difference in things like canned tomato (in fact I think Safeway has the best canned tomatoes than any brand name), sour cream, cream cheese, regular cheese...usually, but not the american cheese for some reason. Even down to plastic wrap and garbage bags. I even made a bean dip for a party at work from store brand refried beans, sour cream, salsa, cheese and the cheeper brand of black olives....and every last bit was gone and it tasted just the same as if I had purchased more expensive brands. Call me a cheapskate I guess, but I work part time teaching kindergarten...money's tight.

-

260/251/150

[Guest guest]

Try to buy fruit / veggies that are in season. Avoid convience foods. Like diet TV dinners. Only buy the amount that will get eaten before spoiling.

Just my 2 cents, Jelayne

Losing Weight on a Tight BudgetIs anyone else on a tight budget? I noticed that I've been buying some"diet" food and that has increased my food budget. I was wondering ifanyone would share their strategies for keeping their food expenses down butstill eating healthy.Thanks.'s Wife ('88)Mom to ('90) & Charlie ('02)265/258.5/175

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/13/03 12:13:44 PM Pacific Standard Time, susang@... writes:

white flour

pasta is as close to munching on white bread as there is and you only get

one half cup a serving. Make it healthier and a bit more filling by

investing in whole wheat pasta - either store bought or home made

Ok, I guess it's demographic, but I have never seen whole wheat pasta in my grocery store. Do you have to get it at a health food store? If not, maybe I can put in a request.

Shaw L.

Goal for now is to get to where the scale can read my weight!

Nevada

JLambsr@...

[Guest guest]

,

I notice that my grocery bill goes up when I am on track. That is because instead of going out to eat (which we do once a week or more due to work, etc), I spend the money at the grocery store. However, in addition to that, I spend more money on fresh fruits and veggies and less on prepackaged stuff. So, for us it is a huge trade off-fresh fruits and veggies are certainly more (at least here in the Bay Area...San Francisco/Oakland area). Also, frozen veggies are a great alternative and are cheaper too. We also use Morningstar Farms Grillers and Crumbles instead of ground beef. It is less expensive and we like it better than ground beef.

Take care and good luck to your husband.