can you eat healthily and cheaply??

mrs_baggins

I have followed a few of the threads here concerning eating chepaly and some are excellent but is it possible to eat more healthily without relying too much on bread and carbs? My diet is pretty poor I am first to admit and would love to have more fruit and veg in my diet but how to do it cheaply?

aliasojo

Personally I don't thik you can. However I do know other people wont agree.

I think a lot depends on availability and the range of places you can buy from. We're very limited where we live and healthy choices costs dearly up here. You may be able to source fresh fruit and veg cheaper from markets and the like.

Pink.

Hi mrs baggins,

I think you can, but as aliasojo mentioned a lot will depend on your individual circumstances. I grow a lot of my own fruit and veg at this time of year but I know that's not possible for everyone. I also have quite a few different supermarkets nearby that have fabulous reductions towards the end of the day (when I just happen to be passing while out at work ) so I do manage to pick up a lot of cheap fruit and veg.

If you don't have those options available to you it's cheaper to buy what is in season. These websites will help to give you an idea of what is in season at the moment:

www.eattheseasons.co.uk

www.iminseason.com

BBC what's in season

Also frozen fruit and veg are great as a healthy option and usually much cheaper than fresh. Tinned (although not my preferred choice) also count as one of your five a day and don't forget fruit juice.

There's an earlier thread that may help:

Cheapest Way to Five a Day.

I'll add your thread to that one later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

Trinny

Hi there

I agree fruit and veg are pretty expensive. But here are the ways we manage

1. We buy whoops fruit and veg as often as possible - sometimes there are stacks of things reduced to 20p - we buy then and make stuff to freeze or we blanch and freeze in individual portions. Eg on Monday our supermarket had those packs of french beans - normally £1.50 down to 45p per pack - they were also on 3 for 2 so we got three packs for 90p. this will do us for around 6 meals - so not too bad value wise.

2. We grow all we can - not sure of your circumstances but my Mother has little room and grows lettuce, spinach, spring onions etc in old compost bags sitting at her back door. Seeds can be bought for pence at £1land - you get loads in a pack, and with a little love and care - they can keep you in salad stuff for most of the summer - weather permitting.

3. Wild food - we pick blackberrys and have a friend with a laden apple tree. Its all stewed and frozen - all it costs is the sugar to sweeten it and the gas to stew it - we are just finishing up our last bag of stewed apple at the weekend. Its good fun and healthy - as well as cheap - for some reason - lots of people dont seem to bother picking wild fruit. I have recently heard that our local church yard has a pear tree and each year the fruit falls to the ground and rots - not this year:D Elderflowers can be made into cordial - still get the vits as can Elderberrys.

4. Wild greens are also good - nettle wilted has as much vit as spinach and can be added to stir fry, or used in lasagne, in place of other wilted greens, dandelions can also be used - although with all wild stuff - make sure you can identify the plant - borrow a book from the library to help you.

5. I think LIDL or ALDI do a special offer on fruit and veg and some items can be got for 49p. Still a bit pricey but could be a lot worse. Strangely Marks and Spencer have also started reducing their fruit in the afternoons - OH came home with a pineapple for 50p this week.


It makes me cross that its cheaper to buy junk food than to buy veg and fruit.

Hope this helps

Trin

thriftlady_2

It depends whether you agree that bread and carbs are unhealthy. I don't.

Cheap and healthy foods

Wholemeal bread or flour for making your own
Oats
Barley
Brown rice
Potatoes
Rye crispbreads

Fish -mackerel, herrings, coley, pollack, tinned fish

Meat is pricy but the smart thing to do from a nutritional, environmental and economical point of view is to eat less of it.

Offal -liver and kidneys are cheap and bursting with nutrition. I bought 1lb of organic chicken livers for £1.99 this week that has made enough pate for all our lunches this week. Much cheaper than a 250g pack of decent ham.

Pulses -dried peas, beans and lentils -5 star fuel for your body -cheap and easy to store. Good for adding to meat dishes or as dishes in their own right.
Baked beans are good too.

Fruits and veg in season. you do not have to eat avocados, sweet potatoes or blueberries to be healthy. Eat cabbage and carrots, blackberries and apples. Dried fruit is good value too.

Milk and cheese are quite expensive these days but worth it nutritionally. Make your own yogurt for health and economy.

Spices are expensive to start with but last for ages and add pizazz to your meals without sacrificing nutrition.

lickylonglips

dried beans and pulses are cheap as are grains such as couscous and bulgar wheat... replace or supplement your potatoes / chips / white bread with these for little cost.

oh, lentils, too!

frozen veg can work out very good value providing you've got the room for it... go particularly for things that are very expensive fresh: spinach, green beans, peppers.

Isis_Black

dont fully rely on supermarket for yor fruit and veg, check out your local market its good prices, good quality and you get a lot more for your money than the supermarket

Ames

You're supposed to have an equal amount of carbs and fruit/veg a day. If you search for the healthy eating plate it'll explain about what proportion of different foods you should have, I've found it amazingly helpful.

pudding06

I athink it looks harder than it is. I buy fruit and veg from aldi, their super 6 for only 49p, though I saw a post saying that in august their super 6 are only 29p each!!!! I buy sainsburys loose basics apples at 57p per kilo, we drink pure orange juices, and eat beans which also count towards your 5 a day. I also keep frozen veg in the freezer for when everything seems expensive.

i buy sainsburys basics veg too, especially carrots onions and peppers when in season.

This year i have also grown salad in the tubs out the front of our house, picked cherries from the trees, grown redcurrants in the back garden, and am looking forward to picking the blackberries closeby.

If you are on the lookout for cheaper ways then you spot them.

thriftlady_2

You could try growing mustard and cress on cotton wool or sprouting mung beans and other pulses. I think they are both full of vitamins.

tessie_bear

markets can be good for cheap fruit and veg....also the fruit and veg on offer in aldi