Dieting on a budget!

Money is tight everywhere and sometimes it really seems easier to just buy the cheapest food possible and try to count calories.  This week I'm going to try shopping two weeks of food for under 50 bucks.

To start, I know lots of people don't like eating the same things day after day but I'm not really one of them.  I LIKE making a casserole or something that I can eat all week and NOT have to think when I get home from work.   So this is based on that.

Next, I try to go cheap on some things so I can 'splurge' a bit on others.  Breakfast this week I wanted to try Quaker Instant Oatmeal Weight Control Maple and Sugar(Splurge compared to the bulk steel cut oats I usually buy).  There is enough packets in the box for the full week BUT on Monday and Tuesday nights I splurge while I watch my favorite TV shows so breakfast had to be lower in some macronutrients.  I picked up a dozen eggs and of course wanted them cafe free and antibiotic free (Splurge compared to plain old cheapo eggs) so I could eat them hardboiled for breakfast those days.


Lunches at work are pretty simple.  I eat a half of a low sodium turkey sandwich and 7 carrots.  That's plenty for me because I have a 10 AM and a 3 PM snack of 1/2 container of yogurt and half of a nectarine.  I still have half a loaf of bread in the fridge from last week (only use one slice a day, it lasts a while).

Dinner this week I wanted to make a vegetarian black bean casserole.  For cheapness...vegetarian can't be beat.  Meat is PRICEY and especially this time of year, vegetables are SO CHEAP!

First stop was Winco because really....... it's the cheapest place in the world to shop for the majority of stuff.  Corn tortillas, Quaker oatmeal, Diced tomatoes, Salsa ( I was going to make my own Pico but it seemed like too much trouble and the ingredients would be more expensive than buying it at Winco), baby carrots, greek yogurt, onion, bell pepper, peaches, and eggs.   19.98.

On the way home from Winco I drive right by Albertsons and that 's perfect because I NEED low sodium Turkey and they are the only store that sells it.  There is a little extra charge on there 'cause they had salt water taffy in bulk..... I grabbed a single little vanilla one and chomped it in the car.  Anyway, a week's worth of turkey was 5.46.  This is easily brought down in price if you're not worried about sodium, you can get decent quality turkey breast for a couple of bucks a lb instead of the 10.00 a lb that I pay.  5.46


Last stop was PURE indulgence but it really paid off for me today!  I swung by Market of Choice (Should be called Market of Rich People) which was on the way home because they are the only store that sells Coconut Bliss dairy free ice cream and I LOVE splurging on that Monday and Tuesday nights when I watch my shows.   When I walked in the door I saw the instore sale sign that they had Painted Hills organic ground beef on sale for 3.99lb.  THREE NINTEY NINE for organic, range fed,  and LOCAL beef.  Today only and that kind of deal is UNHEARD of.  Welllllllll I've had a hankering for tacos lately and I'll only use half the package of corn tortillas I bought @ Winco and I'll have tons of leftover salsa... Next week TACOS!  MoC total was 10.02.

Let's add that up 19.98 + 5.46 + 10.02 = 35.46.  That's super but I'm not done shopping totally.  I have enough fruit through Wednesday and I'll have to run to Safeway for a few more pieces and on Friday swing by again for a few more.  This way I don't have tons of fruit rotting before I can eat it. It also still leaves the weekends.  Well, two servings of my bean casserole is headed for the freezer as will two servings of the taco meat when I make it next Sunday.  I make 7 servings and always freeze two.  This gives me a buffer in the freezer for next week.   Today I'm eating leftover stuffed cabbage that mom and I froze when she was here.  If worse comes to worse I usually have high fiber/low carb cereal in the house for a meal if I need it on the weekends.

Next week I'll have to buy some toppings for the tacos, but there's a cheap way to do that as well.  Swing by your local grocery store with a salad bar.  I don't want to buy a whole head or a bag of lettuce and toss most of it.  I'll buy what I need and pay .40 a lb for it (or buy it from work cafeteria for .35lb and store it in the work fridge until I go home).   It's all good though because for that extra fruit, 5 more yogurts, and taco toppings you still have 15.00!

Stop making excuses and just freaking do it.  Yes, it takes time and thought.  Yes you have to work for it.  No, you can't just sit on your fat ass and expect it to get smaller with no effort from you!  :D  I also still stand by the statement that if it's important to you to get healthy and lose weight you'll make the effort to find OTHER areas to pull money from to make it happen.