Price of Healthy/diet food vs. everything else

amother

Thu, Mar 24 2011, 9:03 am

Hi- I need to lose weight and so does my husband, but were REALLY tight on money now and I find that healthy food is more expensive! overall.... its cheaper to make mac and cheese than grilled chicken and a salad (or something of the sort) and when going out to eat its cheaper to get a slice of pizza than a salad. the list goes on.... even in terms of groceries the healthy/diet food is much more expensive! any suggestions of what we can eat and buy that is cheap and diet conducive?

bdot

Thu, Mar 24 2011, 10:12 am

it can be very frustrating (because it's true-- you will NEVER see a box/bag of wheat crisps for 99 cents...)
here's what I do-- I shop the vegetable section, making dishes with whatevers cheapest-- I did not go near zucchini when the prices were sky high (they're coming down now)-- instead, I opted for frozen veggies--

I make a big vegetable soup every sunday that becomes part of supper for a few nights -- even my (skinny) husband cant get enough of it. it doesnt have to be expensive-- onions, carrots, diced tomatoes, zuchini, etc- with some stock for flavoring, or just a bunch of herbs and spices

chicken cutlets-- wait for sales and stock up! it's worth a few hours of work, because they freeze beautifully-- grill some, coat some w/ fat free italian dressing and crumbs and bake covered.. etc

experiment with things like bulgur, quinoa, brown rice, and whole wheat noodles, which can all be found in places like bj's or something--

as far as eating out goes, it's tough-- I find that going out for fleishings is easier than milchigs-- more variety!
things like cake mixes can be doctored to make some pretty good diet muffins instead of paying a fortune for the store bought ones..

I hope this is helpful. good luck!