Reply #138: You can eat healthy on limited dollars [View All]

[madville]

I tend to look at obesity being the product of laziness, not income level or food availability in a given area. All it takes is a little effort to work out a reasonable diet plan on almost any budget. It really irks me when people say "poor" people can't eat healthy on a limited budget. I'll share the tips I used when I had limited funds for food:

- The old staple beans/peas/lentils and rice, I figured at one time a 300 calorie serving cost me about $0.15, should still be close to that.

- No fresh fruits ? Buy the little jars of baby food. The fruits are usually all natural, read the ingredients. One serving, 70-100 calorie jars usually can be found on sale for $0.20-$0.35 a piece. I always liked baby food because it was a good snack and typically stored longer than fresh fruit.

- No fresh vegetables ? Buy frozen, many say they actually contain more nutrients because they are preserved soon after picking. In my neck of the woods frozen vegetables are typically the same price or cheaper by the pound and can be prepared more quickly. I ate a one pound frozen bag of mustard greens split between lunch and supper today, one pound frozen $1.19, one pound fresh $1.99 and then you have to wash and cut them up.

- Need some "real" protein. Buy cheap store brand Tuna and eat a can every other day so you don;t overload on sodium. Eggs are still fairly cheap last time I checked.