Grocery shopping - extreme money saving AND healthy eating????

I am so pleased that you have managed to find a job :j

Aldi's are the best for fruit and veg deals and their meat is reasonably priced too.
Netto have a lot of good deals on at the moment too.
If you are on a diet why not plan your meals a week ahead and freeze them ready to reheat when you get in. It is easier to count calories that way

The freezer can still be your friend!

Frozen veg is almost as good and can't go floppy or mouldy in the fridge - carrots, onions, peppers, soya beans, peas, sweetcorn, broccoli, cauliflower, stewmixes, etc (and you don't have to peel and boil them for ages, most can be done with a quick zap in the microwave). You can also get frozen rice (which isn't necessarily cheap, but sorts out portion control) or you could cook a load up and freeze it in bags. If you like beansprouts, I have successfully frozen them from fresh a couple of times.

Frozen chicken breast is cheaper than fresh or, if you get hold of fresh on special offer, slice it into chunks, strips, slices, bag it in portions and then freeze. Much quicker than defrosting loads at once.

Same with reduced steak (bearing in mind the longer beef is kept for under controlled conditions, the more tender it is) - slice into strips/slices and freeze in bags.

Herbs, too, Dorot do tiny cubes of herbs & garlic, so you don't have to buy pots or bags of them. As you know, herbs add flavour without calories.

Then Fish! Fish! Fish! Cheaper than junk, healthier and tastes great. You could take out a bag of rice, onion, a fillet of fish, 5 prawns, some peppers and a handful of peas. Bung them in a pan with some stock and a couple of strands of saffron or turmeric and a pinch of paprika. Leave to bubble while you get changed, make a cuppa, etc, stir to break up the fish, then enjoy!

I live on my own, with visiting sons and families, and I manage on £10 per week for my supermarket shop. I have a healthy diet, with lots of veg and fruit and make lots of soups and casseroles. I agree with the others that meat does not have to be the main event especially if you are on a slimming diet.

When I want to lose weight (never anymore than 1/2 a stone) I stick to a low fat diet and reduce my carbohydrate intake. I think it is very much about portion control when it comes to carbohydrates.

A small lean chicken breast can be lightly fried and served with veg, or can be stretched to 2 meals if stir fried with veg and soy sauce. Stir fries, in a small amount of oil (I use olive) are a great way of stretching a small amount of meat but can be very substantial and filling. I skip the rice and noodles if I want to lose a little bit of weight. Chatting to friends and work colleagues I am often quite surprised at the quantity of meat that people eat. There are other forms of protein and low fat protein at that.

I use lots of pulses especially in curries, casseroles and soups. I usually soak them overnight and then do them in the slow cooker, though I occasionally do them on the hob or in the pressure cooker. 2 or 3 lean rashers of bacon, an onion and a bag of yellow split peas makes several portions of low fat, nutricious, high in protein soup.

Eggs are wonderful little protein packages. A 2 egged omelette with a very small amount of grated cheese together with veg is protein packed and great if slimming.

I think a sensible OS, low cost diet should keep anyone fairly slim.

This might sound silly, but at this time of year keep a box in the boot of your car, and when you shop for veg leave it there until you need it. I find veg keeps fresher for longer that way.

My top healthy yet cheap foods would be

Beans and lentils! Great source of low-fat protein.
Dried are cheapest but tinned are pretty cheap too. I like to buy dried beans and chickpeas and soak and cook a whole packet at once then freeze them on a baking tray until hard, then gather them into a bag -free flow frozen beans ready to add straight to your veggie stew or chilli You can also sprout them- mung beans are great for this and provide cheap fresh salad in winter.

Don't overlook baked beans for a quick and cheap healthy meal.

fresh fish -herring, mackerel, coley and pollack are cheapest but look out for bargains such as whole salmon which you can ask to be cut into fillets and freeze. Smoked mackerel is cheap and ready to eat. I like to serve it once a week.

tinned fish- tuna, sardines, mackerel

meat - lean mince, liver and kidneys -even organic chicken livers are cheap, whole chickens (joint yourself and freeze the portions), chicken breasts are often on offer in kilo bags, rabbit is a bargain lean meat if you have a good butcher. Other fattier cuts like stewing steak can be stretched with beans to make it healthier.

eggs -a fantastic source of protein and no longer regarded as bad for you. I find an egg for breakfast fills me up all morning.

dairy -make your own yogurt for the best savings or buy plain yogurt. Strong cheese will go further. Low fat soft cheese is about 70p a tub and cottage cheese is cheap too.

Whole grains- porridge oats, excellent value and much cheaper than 'healthy' boxed cereals, wholemeal flour for bread, wholemeal pitta bread, barley is an underused grain that is only partially refined and is about 40p a bag can be used to bulk out meat stews and soups or as an alternative to risotto rice and brown rice is good too. Ryvitas are really good value too and the original ones only contain whole rye.

Fruit and veg -potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, cabbages and other greens, squashes(keep forever), frozen peas and sweetcorn, tinned tomatoes and passata. Apples, bananas, citrus and tinned fruit in juice Generally speaking whatever is in season will be cheapest and freshest.