7 Healthy Foods For Under $1
We’re all trying to budget frugally these days, but sometimes it’s tough to budget and eat healthy at the same time. Your grocery bill can get expensive if you’re thoughtless when you grocery shop. In other words, the more thought you put into the dietary needs of each family member, the less you will actually spend in the end.
In fact, when you begin to consider the needs of each person in your family you’re likely to find that many items are either unnecessary or just plain unhealthy. For example, many families spend large amounts of money on meats. Reducing your meat to very small portions is not unhealthy. The recommended daily allowance of meat intake is no more than 3 oz – the size of a woman’s palm. Moreover, you’d be surprised how cheap healthy food can be when you do the math. Here is a list of 7 healthy foods for under $1:
Rice . Rice is the most consumed food item in the world. Rice is the staple food for many countries and brown rice in particular retains a lot of nutritional value! At a mere 3 to 4 cents per oz. you have yourself the foundation of a great healthy meal.
Oatmeal. There are great health benefits in oatmeal. Oatmeal is high in dietary fiber and is proven to lower cholesterol while optimizing your cardiovascular health as well. At a mere 42 cents a pound, you have yourself a great breakfast to kick start your day.
Potatoes. High in fiber and low and other essential nutrients, potatoes are a great staple to any diet. However, avoid the globs of sour cream and bacon bits! Potatoes market around 40 to 60 cents per pound.
Eggs. Great source of protein and makes for a healthy breakfast for a mere 20 cents or less per egg.
Popcorn. Low in calories and fat, popcorn makes for a great snack food. Loose kernels cost about 75 cents per pound making it one of the most affordable food items
Apples. These guys are loaded with antioxidants and are proven to reduce the chances of cancer. Apples can be purchased for around 70 to 80 cents per pound.
Lentils. Another great source of protein, one cup supplements more than a third of your recommended daily intake and can be purchased for around 90 cents per pound.
Be conscience of the actually dietary requirements of your family when it comes to grocery shopping. Cut back on the consumption of meats and focus on these items to meet the needs of your family and your budget!
Would love your feedback…
- What are some other cheap grocery items?
- What are ways that you cut down your grocery bill?
Tags: budget, Tips & Advice
13. August 2009 at 4:14 am :
Unlike many in my neighborhood and many I have met online, I don’t have much trouble feeding a family of four adults plus a large family of animals. We eat very little meat because the human body doesn’t need much. We need enough to supply vitamin B12…and you can actually get that with dairy and eggs which is less expensive, just about everything else can be obtained from grains, fruits, vegetables and Legumes. There are many creative ways to mix all these things into a healthy meal and not spend a fortune doing it.
When I am short on food for more tasty meals, our family eats rice, beans and vegetables often with some egg or cheese to fill in the protein and B12 needs.
I suggest when doing regular groceries picking up a few packages of rice, beans, popcorn, oatmeal, cream of wheat, dried fruits and even a few bags of whatever frozen veggie is on sale. When your good meals run short and you are not sure how you will make it the rest of the month, you will have some healthy food to fall back on and if you start getting creative with all that stuff you thought was boring…you might just reduce your grocery bill once some of those healthier dishes become favorites.
8. September 2009 at 2:52 am :
thank you becky for the idea i done have much money to spend on food anyway
16. September 2009 at 6:34 am :
Great tips, thank you for sharing
31. January 2010 at 10:35 pm :
Thanks Becky ! I FIND ” you ” all over the place in here…lol . I just heard of how to ” get rid of the FAT ” from ground beef too . It was on TV they other day . Say you buy ground beef ( hamburger ) 80 % fat free . They recommend you put it in a colandar BEFORE cooking it and WASH it. This will “wash” the FAT out of it . Then just cook as usual ! I haven’t tried it yet … but I’m going to !
-jas
2. July 2010 at 10:32 pm :
I eat a lot of things like lettuce, cabbage and celery. I am on food stamps right now but I found out that they go a lot farther if you use coupons. Wow, coupons do wonders and I love to wait till things are on sale and with the coupons some things are almost free~ Thank you Becky for this topic. You can do so much to eat good and not have to spend a lot of money~ I fix a lot of noodles and macaroni.