Healthy Eating Cuts Costs!

SomethingGood

In the last few months I've had a complete turnaround with the food I put into my body. I've gone from ready meals, jars, tins and packets, to almost solely fresh food - and seen a massive drop in costs!

My main reason wasn't for the savings - in fact, I'd always believed that buying meat and veg was expensive. My reason for the change was health. I suddenly realised how many chemicals were in processed foods, not to mention sugar and salt, and it put me right off.

I now eat half as much bread, rarely eat pasta or rice, have cut out cereals, cheese, fizzy drinks. I don't use jars or tins. All I eat is fresh fish, meat and eggs and lots of veg. I tend to get much of the produce from the 'bargain bin' in Tesco too, and make it last by keeping an eye on its freshness or freezing if possible. I make it exciting with garlic, ginger, chillies, and herbs. I saved a half dead basil plant from the bargain bin (38p) and brought it back to life - 3 months later it's still thriving! I'm much leaner and healthier now. And the meals I cook take no time at all.

I'm amazed by how little I have to spend now to eat brilliantly well. Has anyone else had good results from switching to fresh food?

VfM4meplse

Definitely, I can't believe some of the processed cr*p people stick in their baskets and worse still, feed to their kids.

Fresh fruit and veg is the way forward, and I actively avoid carbs where possible. I'm notoriously lazy in the kitchen, but my theory is now to be prepared for hunger when it strikes and have something healthy and filling in the fridge at all times, but otherwise leave it as empty as possible - the reason being, I'll always go for the naughty option first. So limiting my options has been a success. Bulk cooking and freezing has definitely helped too.

I know I have a weakness for certain things - Kettle salt & vinegar crisps with a G&T for example - so I just don't keep them in the house. I don't trust myself with them!

Eta: the OS board is brilliant for finding ways to save money and eating better, I think this thread could easily be merged with others.

gunsandbanjos

Absolutely! The whole I can't afford to eat healthily brigade are morons.

The thing with good healthy nutritious food is you need much less of it to feel satisfied.

SomethingGood

And once you cut out all the sugars you stop craving them so it breaks the cycle.

Grouchy

Couldn't agree more OP though I do use frozen, bottled, canned ingredients when needed. I rarely buy processed foods and don't eat meat, but I can see by how much more expensive it can be and how much I don't spend on shopping, though quality is important. Cook from scratch and have something HM in the freezer if pushed for time or lazy. I'm lucky enough to have a big veg plot too which is nice. Much healthier I think.

While we all like our treats, I just don't understand seeing trollys loaded with pasties, pies, fizzy drinks, cakes, readymeals and other prepared stuff and that sad excuse for bread that is sold in bags (sorry but hate that cottonwool weirdness) - I always wonder why anyone would want to eat a pie for instance that was made goodness knows when and put in cellophane and with what sort of ingredients.

Each to their own of course but I agree that shopping for good quality food at the best price you can find, simply and well-cooked tasty fresh food is the way for me.

London_Girl

EXACTLY!!!!!!
Couldn't agree more with these comments on here. It's so much more satisfying to cook and eat what you have made yourself. You know exactly whats gone into it too:)

I just have to be there at the supermarket and cannot believe just how much ready made processed food in some people's shopping trolleys. Yet personally, I buy everything fresh and cook and freeze it too for another day.

I can understand we all have hectic and busy lives,but the recipes don't have to be complicated either. Also,I think it's far cheaper buying fresh produce and cooking it at home.

Sorry, if there are people on here who may not agree with me, but I was brought up on purely homemade food, and very RARELY buy ready made food.

redfox

we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

trailingspouse

Yes, yes, yes.

I occasionally buy a ready-made pizza, if I know we're going to be having a busy day and won't have time to cook. I'm always shocked at how much they cost - I could feed us with 'real' food for a whole day for that!!

There are whole aisles at the supermarket that I never go down - crisps, fizzy pop, ready meals. It makes shopping cheaper - and quicker!!

Tonight we're having a half leg of lamb, with jacket potatoes and probably three veggies (broccoli, carrots, leeks), and home-made gravy, followed by fruit and yogurt. The lamb cost £7.00, but will do a second meal, so £3.50 for tonight's meal. I would estimate the total cost at around £6.00 - ie £3.00 each. That's the same as the cost of a cheapish supermarket pizza (and a fraction of the cost of a takeaway one), but we'll feel well fed at the end of it, we'll have had very little fat, and no e-numbers.

I haven't had a ready meal since last November - I was in hospital for a couple of days in October, and bought my OH a couple to put in the freezer, just to make life easier what with working and hospital visits and so on. He didn't use them (he prefers real food too), so rather than let them languish at the back of the freezer any longer, we ate one each. Bleugh.

Tiglath

I used to be really good with home-cooking but lost the plot this year with long working hours and study time on top, so it went to hell in a handcart. I was thinking just the other day that nobody was fat or unhealthy on the things my Mum cooked when I was growing up, and the things I've incorporated into my diet over the past 30 years have in the main been unhealthy - lots of grain-based and sugary stuff. I'm going to kickstart the menu planning, based on childhood memories

newthrift

I totally agree with this. I do buy odd bits of processed foods like them little choc bars for pack up and nutri-grain cereal bars which my OH takes in his pack up - he is far from big and reasonably healthy though so I don't mind. I don't like seeing people with loads of c**p in their shopping baskets and what makes me laugh I can have loads of fresh stuff and odd bits of naughty and mine is plenty cheaper than theirs. I do think the reason people say 'I can't afford to eat healthy/fresh' is because they can't or won't cook so they are looking for ''healthy'' ready made meals. Shame as I think it is all very much the reason for the growing waistlines - mine included as I am trying to get even healthier again as not been REALLY good as I could be!

[Deleted User]

I so agree with you all. I was brought up during and after WW2, so things were rationed until I was about 11.We had very little sugar in our diet and everything was HM because my Mum never owned a fridge or freezer. I doubt whether she would have bought ready made meals. She said a packet of crisps were a waste of a good potato :) and far too much money for just a snack (2d).I don't eat crisps and have never felt the need to. I also dislike ready made food as I think for the price I could make twice the amount and I know what's going in it. I do batch cook, and my ready meals come from my own freezer made by myself.

Last nights dinner was a couple of sausages (I only buy good ones with a good meat content if I can,that way two are more than enough ) mash potato,cabbage some mushrooms and runner beans.This was followed by some fresh fruit chopped up with a dollop of yoghurt on top . I do buy a pot of basic fat-free natural yoghurt every week and use it in cooking and instead of cream with fruit.

I bake my own biscuits and cakes and only occasionally buy shop bought biscuits ( I like ginger nuts now and again:) )

The only sugar in my house is brown or caster for baking as I have never taken sugar with tea ,coffee or on cereals . I do enjoy lots of fresh fruit and veg and make my own soups as I don't like tinned soups very much, and HM soups are great for using up odds and ends of past-its-best veg. In my fridge at the moment I have a large tupperware pot with HM soup in I made it with celery,onion,a couple of carrots and a left over sweet potato. Added some cumin and corriander powder and a few diced up garlic cloves .It tastes gorgeous and cost me pennies to make.

Its possible to eat well for less without resorting to chemical additives. The only additive I put to food are herbs and spices. Old fashioned cooking with a touch of the 21st century.

My late Mum would have enjoyed being able to use these.When war was declared she apparently cornered the local shop for cinnamon and nutmeg and bought every thing they had, and used her stash during the following conflict :) We grew mint, basil, rosemary and thyme in our garden, and it was used to liven up the rationing .
A scraggy bit of meat that looked quite unappetising, my late Mum would change into something very different .I think she was ahead of her times :):)

She would have loved the array of food available nowadays but would have been appalled at folk feeding ready meals to their families
I am not a lover of pizza I'm afraind I still think of it as dough with left overs spread on top but I know my grandchildren enjoy it

To walk around the big stores is quite an eye-opener it seems you can buy almost anything now frozen or tinned .Why would anyone buy a frozen omelette How long does it take to whip a couple of eggs together for goodness sake !!!

I think today its not speed for convenience its just laziness and maybe a good dash of not knowing how to cook. We have many cooks on t.v showing us how to marinate food, and whip up unpronounceable things in the kitchen. How about someone just shows folk how to cook 'normal' stuff, the stuff our Mums or Grannies made We all survived without ready meals (in my Mums case at times without a decent kitchen as she had been bombed out twice)
Why pay over the odds for ready peeled veg when a couple of carrots and an onion take minutes to peel and chop.No I shall stick to my OS ways as I'm far too old to change ,but I do enjoy having the ability to add different flavours to stuff with herbs and spices that my late Mum would have killed for :):)