So, what's still cheap, at the grocery store, that has nutritional value?

[Phillycat]

I thought we could compile a little list of items you can still buy cheaply at the grocery store, in case people were running out of ideas of what to buy.

For my part:

Potatoes
Bananas (although there's a thread in GD about how this won't be the case for much longer)
Dried beans, especially bought out of bulk bins
Rice is getting pricier, but it's still good value for money

What can you think of?

[IndianaJones]

1. oodles of noodles. nt.

[Phillycat]

2. No nutritional value.

[hobbit709]

12. says who?

Pasta, dry, unenriched
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 370 kcal 1550 kJ
Carbohydrates 75 g
- Starch 62 g
- Sugars 2 g
- Dietary fibre 3 g
Fat 1.5 g
Protein 13 g
Water 10 g
Folate (Vit. B9) 18 μg 5%
Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database

[Phillycat]

15. Where's the sodium information?

Those things are filled with chemicals.

[IndianaJones]

18. I think most of the sodium is in the flavor packet. nt.

[Phillycat]

19. But the noodles are fried in partially hydrogenated oil!

[IndianaJones]

23. 0 g trans fat....5 g protein. nt.

[hobbit709]

20. Dry unenriched macaroni

6-8 mg sodium per 100 grams. I won't bother to argue your other point. I'm thinking pasta/noodles-you're thinking ramen-apples and oranges.

[Phillycat]

21. Uh, why not?

Do you regularly put food that has dozens of chemicals listed on the label into your body and call it healthy? I don't.

[hobbit709]

22. Gee. Look at all the chemicals in apples

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl

[Phillycat]

24. I use vinegar to clean my fruit, and what's your point?

There are chemicals in healthy food, so I should buy shitty fake "food" instead?

[hobbit709]

25. Pasta's been around for 2000 years, what's shitty or fake about it?

[Phillycat]

26. Oodles of noodles isn't pasta. It's shit.

Real pasta, particulary whole-grain pasta, is perfectly fine food, and a good example of things that are still cheap.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. Local fruit.

I buy tons and tons of berries. Sometimes I can get a really good deal on them, but I really want the kids to eat fruit, so I buy it regardless of the price.

Melons are often a good buy as well.

[Phillycat]

4. They've been having buy one get one free canteloupe at my Acme lately.

I buy two of those suckers, go home and cut them up, and we have them for breakfast for a week. Yum!

[Midlodemocrat]

5. My son isn't big on vegetables, so I always have a lot of fruit

in the house because he loves fruit. I got the most incredible strawberries at Costco last week. Some of them were as big as the palm of my hand and they were so ripe and sweet, it was hard to resist eating them as I drove home. :rofl:

[Phillycat]

6. Screw the kids, eat 'em with dark chocolate!

Hmm, maybe this is why I don't have children. :think: :D

[Midlodemocrat]

7. ooh, and dark chocolate is good for your heart!!!!

:thumbsup:

[Rosie1223]

8. Bananas have gone from $0.33/lb to $0.79/lb at my store

So it's locally grown fruit and veges in season.

For cheap and nutritious, my vote is for peanut butter.

[Phillycat]

11. But natural peanut butter isn't cheap.

And the non-natural peanut butter has both partially hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup in it, which makes it an untouchable for me.

Smart Balance peanut butter is fairly reasonably priced and pretty good for you, but I wouldn't call it cheap.

[bullwinkle428]

44. If you're into peanut butter, you have to try this -

http://www.peanutsnack.com/

Besides the peanuts, it only adds flax seed, flax oil, wheat germ, cane sugar (NOT HFCS!), egg whites, and honey.

I've been eating this for over a year, and have no desire to go back to "standard" natural peanut butter. Dropped the processed stuff years ago.

Cost is around $3.59 - 3.79 a jar in my area...

[DarkTirade]

9. Just about anything that isn't pre-made is going to be cheaper and in the end probably

more nutritious once you assemble it yourself than its premade counterparts.

[mainegreen]

10. Onions.

Beets.
Turnips.
Squash.

[Phillycat]

14. All good ones!

Also zucchini and sometimes eggplant. All of which (except the beets) you can cut up, slather in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper, and roast on your grill in a shaker basket. YUM.

[merh]

13. peanut butter

and canned tuna - back to what I ate in college.

Re tuna - no mayo needed for the tuna, just drain it and rinse it, a little salt (just a tiny pinch) and mix it with the rice (brown preferably) when it is still hot.

[Phillycat]

16. See post 11. :) But tuna is a good one!

[Celeborn Skywalker]

17. Four things.

Oatmeal (good carbs and fiber)
Canned tuna (lean protein)
Peanut butter (healthy fats)
Broccoli (very nutrient dense)

[bif]

27. Shop at a local farmer's market

You'll get way more bang for your buck!

[Inchworm]

29. Unless your farmer's market is a tourist trap

hehe

That's what I hear about ours, but I still plan to go once they are opened on more than one day a week.

:hi:

[Phillycat]

32. Yeah, sadly, ours is useless.

It's all handmade $5 bars of soap. x(

[bif]

33. The one here in Detroit is excellent

They're trying to commercialize it and it's getting a lot more crowded. But you can get some great deals. Limes are something like 59 cents at the grocery store. But they're 8 for a buck at the market. And the locally grown produce is a real bargain.

[kath]

38. Ours is expensive too, and a lot of the stuff is NOT locally grown. Some of these vendors just go to

the wholesale produce market and buy the same crap that the supermarkets do (fake tomatoes and unripe peaches and all the rest of it) and re-sell it at high prices.
Sucks, bigtime.

[old mark]

40. A lot of the fruit and vegies

at our local farmers market is not as good as the stuff from our local Walmart. The local farmers sell fruit from Chile-kind of re-defines "local", I guess.

mark

[old mark]

28. Just bought some lemon cupcakes...

...they are great.

Also bought some plums, celery, fresh made cole-slaw, rye bread and corned beef.

And a lot of coffee.


mark

[Wetzelbill]

30. carrots are still pretty cheap

Some are mentioned but here is what I have been getting lately.

1. tuna

2. eggs (when bought in the bulk packages, 2.5 to 5 dozen at a time)

3.rice

4. pasta

5. frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins (Tyson, I just bought two bags for 6.99 each, not too bad)

6. carrots.

7. nonfat dry milk (cuts way down on the price of milk if you hit a decent sale)

8. 5 packs of Kraft macaroni and cheese (in bulk like that they can be very cheap, I use it with tuna and make it with nonfat milk, it makes a solid nutritious meal)

9. selected meat sales. If you are on the ball you can find meat at a good price. I recently bought a few packs of boneless pork cutlets for 14 bucks all told, a solid price.

10. Crystal Light. It's not necessarily nutritious, but it's better for you than soda and other sugary drinks. I buy one container each of lemonade and iced tea and mix them up to make Arnold Palmers. It's great. I've been hitting a sale where they cost a little over 3 bucks each. It makes twelve quarts a container, so way cheaper than soda or juice in the long run.

All told, I did my whole last three weeks of shopping for the month for about 55 dollars and I have everything I need. And I'll have stuff left over at the beginning of next month. I could probably do all of my shopping and then some for about 120 bucks. Including more expensive things like coffee etc. Often I get frivolous though, but lately food is so expensive, I've gone for the healthier route, and for cheaper foods.

[WinkyDink]

31. Eggs.

[Gormy Cuss]

34. Canned and frozen vegetables.

Low sodium canned vegetables in particular. Both canned and frozen may have more residual nutritional value than the tired "fresh" produce shipped from thousands of miles away may means that it's weeks old. Canned and frozen are also prepped already so the price per pound is pretty low because there's no waste. Taste and texture of canned and frozen don't compare to fresh of course.


Other nutritional, tasty and inexpensive foods: fresh garlic and onions (Vitamin C and modest amounts of a bunch of minerals) and fresh carrots (Vitamin A.) If you can stand the heat, fresh chile peppers provide Vitamin C and some minerals too.

[LostinVA]

35. Are you close to a Trader Joe's?

Tons of cheap nutritious food there.

Haruka and I get most of our food there or at the Asian produce market. We very rarely have to go to a regular grocery store for anything.

[begin_within]

36. 10 "super foods"

#1: Sweet Potatoes - One of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

#2: Whole-Grain Bread - It's higher in fiber and about a dozen vitamins and minerals than refined white or "wheat flour.

#3: Broccoli - Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids and folic acid.

#4: Watermelon - Excellent source of vitamin C and carotenoids - and it tastes great!

#5: Beans - Inexpensive, low in fat, and rich in protein, iron, folic acid and fiber. Choose garbanzo, pinto, black, Navy, kidney, or lentils.

#6: Cantaloupe - A quarter of a delicious melon supplies almost as much vitamin A and C as most people need in an entire day.

#7: Spinach and Kale - Loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, iron, and fiber.

#8: Oranges - A great-tasting fruit that is rich in vitamin C, folic acid and fiber.

#9: Oatmeal - Plain, old-fashioned whole-grain oatmeal is inexpensive and has no added sugar or fat.

#10: Organic, fat free (skim) or 1% fat milk - Excellent source of calcium, vitamins and protein with little or no artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

[applegrove]

37. Carrots.

[kath]

41. but only if you buy the full-sized ones.

the tiny ones (which are just big carrots cut down to look like baby ones) are a rip-off.

The pre-packaged salads are also a rip-off, as is pre-shredded cheese, or pre-cut-up anything else.

You're paying a premium price if you're not willing to use your own knife, grater, or hands (to tear up salad greens)

Plus, pre-shredded cheese gets moldy faster (more surface area).

[applegrove]

46. Yep. I heard that too about the baby carrots. Never met anyone else who knew.

[flvegan]

39. Tater tots.

:P

[redqueen]

42. Beans, veggies... almost-stale wheat bread & pasta.

:shrug:

[AwakeAtLast]

43. Cabbage

Not the pre-shredded kind either.

Great in soup, salad, stir-fry, etc.

[kwassa]

45. pork rinds

full of all kinds of stuff!

[MrScorpio]

47. The best food is located on the perimeter of grocery stores

It's both the cheapest ans best for you. Yes, it also requires additional prep time, but the nutritional value and savings are unsurpassed by anything heavily preprocessed and packaged

[grasswire]

48. canned tomatoes on sale

They are often less than fifty cents per can on sale, and come in various seasonings. Mexican, Italian, stewed, sliced, diced, etc. Pre-seasoned saves on the cost of spices.

Cooked tomatoes have more anti-cancer lycopene than raw ones do.

If you factor in the cost of energy to cook a pot of beans or peas, it might be cheaper to buy canned beans on sale, too.

I'm trying to think of a use for empty cans now. There must be something.

What else?

Don't forget canned pumpkin. Great for muffins, cookies, etc.

And molasses. High nutritive value for the cost.

A bone-in ham goes an awful long way. Casseroles, sandwiches, breakfasts, soups, pasta -- everything's great with ham.

And I honestly think that several items will enhance many inexpensive dishes: lemon juice, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese.

[rucky]

49. Beans & Lentils

that is all. Have a nice day.

[ForrestGump]

50. Britney

On second thought, not very nutritious. Salmonella risk.





:hide:

[rucky]

51. ...