Trying to eat clean on a budget

Bookowl

Hi,
I'm trying to eat more cleanly and remove food from my diet that isn't healthy. Over the last 3 months I've spent roughly £170 a month. I'd like to reduce this by £20/£30 maybe more if possible. I live in a house share so space is limited in terms of fridge, freezer and storage space. I also find that keeping food fresh is an issue in terms of fruit and veg --its an old house and not good ventilation.
I should mention that I am visually impaired so I tend to go for pre prepared veg.
I went through my bank account statements and noticed (worryingly) that the majority of my shopping is in tesco express. Sometimes it's lidl (I buy my canned goods and chicken there).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

maman

Definitely try to do the vast majority of your shopping from Lidl. Despite your storage problems try to shop just once a week or less. Convenience stores like Tesco Express are not only expensive but popping in regularly can lead to extra spending. Try keeping a spending diary to see if you're doing any unnecessary spending.
Canned veg can be just as healthy as fresh so perhaps buy a small amount of fresh at the beginning of the week and when it's gone fall back on cans. Good luck.

redfox

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Gloomendoom

The problem I have found with fresh veg bought from Aldi and Lidl is that, although cheaper, it doesn't seem to last as long before it spoils as veg bought from places such as Tesco.

Fine if you eat it quickly though.

iammumtoone

I suggest frozen veg, it doesn't need preparing and you can use as little/ much as you like. You can get smaller bags and the mixed veg gives more variety.


It does take a bit of getting used to and I must admit the taste is not as nice, but for me that compromise is worth it. I have found that the way you cook it helps, I always make sure the water is boiling before I add it.



As a single person buying fresh veg for me is a waste.

Ilona

iammumtoone wrote: »

I suggest frozen veg, it doesn't need preparing and you can use as little/ much as you like. You can get smaller bags and the mixed veg gives more variety.

It does take a bit of getting used to and I must admit the taste is not as nice, but for me that compromise is worth it. I have found that the way you cook it helps, I always make sure the water is boiling before I add it.

As a single person buying fresh veg for me is a waste.

Frozen veg, a good idea, but, boiling veg of any kind ruins it, except if it's in a stew. A baskety thing in a pan with an inch or so of water, and steam the veg. Only takes a few minutes.

I am a single person and I buy and eat fresh veg all the time. I never throw any food away, always eat it before it starts to look a bit tired. I base my meals on what I already have, not what I fancy eating.

£170 a month is a massive amount for a single person, even if you are trying to eat cleanly. My monthly food bill is less than half of that, and I eat well and mainly fresh food, but no meat or fish.

Popping in shops for one or two items and coming out with a bag full and you will spend more. Tesco Express more expensive than bigger Tesco's. Lidl or Aldi cheaper, but you have to keep a close watch on how the food deteriorates and eat it before it is too far gone.

Can you get yourself a small freezer so you don't have to share with others? If not, you could get a big cool box for your fresh fruit and veg, and freeze the blocks in the communal freezer.

Have you got a dry cupboard in your room, no condensation, to store packets and tins?

Make a list of food you NEED, and don't buy anything else.

ilona

whiteguineapig

Could you eat tinned fruit to get more variety? We find Aldi tinned fruit (always buy tinned fruit in juice, not in syrup) is good, so I would assume lidl would be comparable, we have it with greek yoghurt (full fat but you can get low fat as well)

buildersdaughter

I am not sure what 'cleanly' means exactly. There is very little food that is intrinsically 'unhealthy', it's really about how much and in what balance you eat it.
Processed food, ready made stuff, tends to be less healthy.
You are in a difficult position,as the healthiest way to eat is to cook from scratch as much as possible, and for that you need good cooking facilities and decent storage.
I love Ilona's ideas about storage, and hope that helps you.
I would get an airtight box in your room, and put in dried fruit and porridge oats to make breakfast.
I would also do jacket potatoes quite a lot.
If you use Ilona's suggestion of a cold box, you can use it to keep stuff that doesn't really need refrigerating, just keeping cooler than room temperature. I would suggest a small cabbage, some carrots and an onion to make a basic cole-slaw that tends to keep well.
I'd also cook a double meal, put into a plastic container, cool overnight and put into the cold box during the day, for eating the next evening. As you get used to it, you can dress it a bit differently so it doesn't always feel like exactly the same thing.

And slightly off-topic, I would certainly get that food budget down, so you can save for your own place!
Good luck!

[Deleted User]

I spend around £60.00 per month on food and about a third of that at least is fruit and veg.I eat seasonally by that I mean what ever is in season at the time .I am like Illona and never throw food away I know you said its a house share but even a small freezer in your own room which you can store stuff in would help along with one of those plastic storage boxes for dried stuff Tins can be stored at the bottom of a wardrobe or if possible under your bed if there is room. I have a stash of tinned emergency rations in my cupboard under my stairs for when the weather is bad and I can't get out ,even though I have storage space in my kitchen. With frozen stuff ,even if its veg in a small box-type freezer you should be able to get a decent stash. Bread if you eat it (I don't ) can be wrapped in packs of four slices at a time and frozen for when you need it . Soup is cheap as chips to make and can be frozen easily in pouches bought from the pound shop I make a big vat about every ten days and portion it up. I tend to buy fruit that doesn't go off quickly bananas go brown if its too warm, whereas oranges and apples keep quite well.

JackieO xx

Nicki

I try to eat cleanly too. I’m cooking for a family so my budget won’t compare to a Singleton’s but what I usually eat is:

Breakfast: poached egg and multi seed bread; porridge; oatcakes and peanut butter; smoothie with left over veg and fruit
Lunch: salad with protein; homemade soup; frittata or omelette
Dinner is protein and veg or salad

Snacks when I have them are oatcakes and peanut butter, natural yoghurt with vanilla essence and fresh fruit; fruit and cashew butter; hummus and sugar snap peas.

The key IMHO is to use up food in salads, soups and frittatas regularly to avoid it spoiling and not to buy too much at once.

Bookowl

Thanks everyone for all your replies, sorry I’m only getting to them now.
My typical day is:
Breakfast: porridge, chai seeds, frozen blueberries,100ml semi skimmed milk or eggs
Lunch: 2 chicken breasts / rice or pasta, frozen green veg
Dinner: 2 salmon fillets / rice or pasta, frozen green veg
Snacks: rice cakes, peanut butter, vanilla low fat youghurt, almonds or cashews, apples or bananas
I’m looking at lower cost cuts of meat going forward while trying to reach my protein goals of 140g per day

My food bill thus far is £60 for December, meal planning has helped and using up things in my freezer rather than just buying things I want to make.