What is the cheapest way to eat healthy?

Answer 1

try taboo
WHAT to eat for losing weight

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially NC (negative calorie) food.

* Print these lists. They will be your ... "Bible", from now on !
* Dill and parsely - include them in all your salads. Also ognion + garlic.
* Try eat mostly fresh vegs & fruits (whenever possible, of course)
* If you really want a book, then check this out: The Negative Calorie Diet Workbook & Cookbook - eBook (Win95/98 only). Read more about this e-book here.


• Eat fish, chicken, beef, pork. (preferences are in this order)

* If you are a vegetarian, then ignore this!
* Avoid fat meat


• Eat 2-3 slices of bread/day. Don't EVER exclude bread from your diet!

• Snacks between meals (if needed): apples, oranges, grepfruits and other NC fruits

* Don't cheat ... NO cookies, chips, candies, brownies etc!
* EVEN if they have "low fat" indication... They might have low fat, yet they can have lots of CALORIES !!!


• About rice, potatoes, beans, [xxx]nuts, pastry, pasta... you know!

* Don't eat too much of those, at least during the first weeks of the diet. I'm not a low carb addict, but I've noticed weight gains if consuming those in large quantities, especially when associated with other foods.
* If you like them a lot, try and eat them like one meal. A nice delicious plate of spaghetti could be your lunch (never dinner!), followed by a nice big apple. These rich starch foods are not good for dinner!
* At dinner time, chose mainly large mixed veggies salads... with fish, lean meat or cheese (if you are not a vegetarian).

if u want to lose weight the best food to it are baked potatoes with nothing on it. no salt no nothing just plain. u can eat a 10000000000 baked potatoes till ur stuff and not gain a pound. i heard that from a weight loss tape. the best drink is water or gatorade. thats a start then when you work out do some taeboo. if u want a macine. run with dumbells on a treadmill. u could do the rocky workout. but thats a new story. u could use a butterfly macine i think it works the abs

1) It is not just the amount you eat, but what you eat. Lean meats and vegtables that snap are a good place to start. And by snap I mean fresh and not boiled or doused with better or whatever.

2) Exercise moderatly but for about an hour every other day. Spend half of that walking or running at a good enough pace for you to feel labored. The other half of the time use weights, or exercises such as push ups or situps to get a muscle "burn". A gym is also an option, but I don't know if you have the money for or want to spend the money on it.

3) Sleep well. To bed earlier and up earlier. Exercise in the morning when you wake up, not in the evening before bed. 7 hours of GOOD sleep is a must.

4) Occupy yourself with a hobby that keeps your attention for a long period of time. A hobby like this keeps your mind focused and gives less of a chance for snacking from boredom.

That is a good place to start... if you see good results, keep it up and modify to fit you... if it does not, see a doctor AND a trainer

Keep working out, drink water a lot, eat 5 to 6 meals a day but in small quantities, vegtables are important specially cucumber and lattice, fruits not be eaten after meals except by 2 to 3 hours, minimize the starch quantities in your meals lots of salad is important, your last meal must be before you sleep by 2 to 3 hours
the most important thing is you don't lose patient wait and have a strong will to be as what you want

you might have some more ideas from www.ivillage.com

good luck

Answer 2

I agree with the person above who said to avoid pre-packaged foods. They're almost always loaded with salt and calories. Cooking things from scratch isn't as difficult as some people think it is, and you always know exactly what you're eating. You control the salt and seasonings, and there are no preservatives.

Great online resources for recipes are the Food Network and Kraft websites. I also recommend several of the cooking magazines published by Taste of Home--Simple and Delicious and the light cooking one. Rachael Ray's cookbooks are also loaded with good recipes and really easy to follow.

Leaner cuts of meat and fish are more expensive, but very often one piece can be more than one serving. Buy in-season produce (farmers' markets are especially cheap), and if you have a big enough freezer, you can freeze berries or veggies while they're in season. Frozen fruits and veggies work in the winter when fresh are expensive, but make sure you're buying fruit that hasn't been artificially sweetened and vegetables that aren't in butter or sauce. Try to eat brown and wild rices rather than white rice, and switch to whole wheat pasta if you can (I hate it, so I just eat regular pasta sparingly). A baked sweet potato is just as good as a baked potato, and it contains lots of vitamins A and C and beta carotine.

The biggest advice I can give is to plan ahead. I try to plan my meals for about a week at a time, then go shopping for those ingredients. If I know I have the ingredients for a healthy meal at home, or if I bring leftovers for lunch, I won't be tempted to get unhealthy (and expensive!) takeout.

I buy bottled water, then refill the bottles from the tap after I drink that water. Keeping lots of water and sparkling water keeps me away from too much soda.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Do not buy items that are pre-packaged! Do not eat out!

Buying things you can mix together instead of pre-packaged or pre-made items definitely cuts down on cost.

Try fresh fruits and veggies at a farmer's market, which generally sell produce at a significant discount compared to what you get in your regular grocery store. An additional plus is the level of freshness and variety to try new things.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Making food from scratch.

When buying out, or already made tv dinners, they cost as much as a meal you can make to last for a weekend for yourself.

plus this way you can modify what fat, salt content you want or don't.

Grab some great recipes that use about the same ingredients for cross utilization (in orther words, get a great marinated girll steak and mushroom recipe in for the next day get a great steak soup recipe)... you can save alot. Plus there are soft wares out there, that you click on all the recipes you want, and it creates your shopping list. Try goin' through the list, to modify wants ingredients you want, or what can be easily substituted with what you already have :)

Answer 5

it may seem expensive at first but always but fresh produce and the freshest best cuts of meat you can find.These are more in price ,but you use way less to create a meal as they are better quality and flavor ,so you will not eat as much.They are far healthier as well ,as the meat is much leaner than the lesser quality.It takes some getting used to ,but we did it for our family and we actually spend less in grceries per month than we used too.but remember only buy what you will use in a short time,as you may find spoilage if you buy too much at once.It may mean an extra trip to the market every week ,but well worth it in the long run.

Answer 6

Since the question here is primarily about CHEAP healthy dining here are some cost cutting ideas. I follow this list pretty closely and have managed to cut food expenses to about $100 per month for 2 people.

1) Learn how to make a menu and a shopping list. Stick with foods you can cook quickly with just a few ingredients. Plan each meal in the order: Whole grain, veggie, protein. Use fruits and dairy to fill in. Example: Red beans with onions, and squash, lightly infused with stew meat.( 3 parts beans and 2 parts veggies to 1 part meat)

2) When you shop...only visit the aisles that you need to....do not shop every aisle! Start with whole grains and beans. Brown rice is cheap if you buy a 5 pound bag. Red beans and legumes are also very cheap and very good for you. Pick 3 or 4 favorites and buy the largest size you can. Check the Hispanic section of the store...sometimes the same products will be on the shelf at a lower price. Some healthy and inexpensive choices:
Beans: Red, Black, Pinto, & many others. Avoid the mixed beans as they tend to be fairly expensive. Mix your own instead.
Rice: White, brown. Find one you like and buy a lot.
Barley (cook like rice)
Oatmeal (cook, cool and fry)
Cornmeal (polentia)
Whole wheat flour (breads, pancakes, homemade egg noodles, etc.)
Ramen noodles: toss the seasoning pack and limit to 1-2 packages a week.

Next aisle: Fruits and veggies. Check for bargains(stuff that has been pulled, bagged and sells cheap) Check for specials and sales. Buy and eat potatos-skin too! Try to buy 1/2 pound of assorted veggies for each day you are planning to cook. Buy seasonal fruits for treats and snacks.

Next aisle: Protein. Buy meats on sale like chicken when it is 69c a pound, stew meat, lean ground beef, turkey, pork shoulder. Figure 4-8 ounces (including bones) per day. Eggs are great cheap protein but limit to 2-3 per week.

Dairy: Keep basics on hand. Inexpensive cheese, cottage cheese, low-fat sour cream, powdered milk(for cooking), and yogurt.

Convenience foods that are healthy and cheap: plain canned beans, boullion cubes, tomatoe sauces, canned speghetti sauce, dressing mixes(use in place of salt to spice up foods), tuna, pastas, sour kraut, canned mushrooms.

Breads: Premade bread is one of the highest marked up products in a store. Learn to make simple breads at home and you will save tons!

Same with ice cream and other desserts. If you can't make it at home then do not eat it.

Never put the following items on your shopping list or into your cart: chips, cookies, crackers, candy, premium ice cream, premade dinners or desserts. All of these items are very $$$ and not healthy at all.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Fruits and vegetables.
Drink lots of water.
Cook in a non stick pan so that way you have to use less oil or butter.

Here are some additional link to help you,
http://www.healthrecipes.com/cooking_vegetables.htm
http://www.healthrecipes.com/egg_recipes.htm
http://www.healthrecipes.com/fruit_recipes.htm
http://www.healthrecipes.com/healthyrecipes.htm ... this link has everything you need.

Hope this helps you. Good luck :)

Answer 8

buy fruit and vegetables cook in bulk and eat left overs do not go out to eat. don't buy to many perishables they might be vested do not put out of sight you might forget what you have. look in the fridge before you go to the store. research papers coupons like albertsons have 5$ off on purchase of 50$ or coupons at the register. they do add up.

Answer 9

Cook for yourself, and buy fresh ingredients in season. Go veg - meat is expensive. And buy food from local farmer's markets. And stay away from 'refined' things, refined sugar, flour, etc.

Answer 10

eat oatmeal and other grains and beans.