I’ve been meaning to write about eating on a budget for some time, but one of my favorite blogs, LifeHacker has an article that repurposes an article at Get Rich Slowly. Even that repurposes yet another article. So of course, I’m going to break the rule of blogging and repurpose it yet again. Hey, at least I’m going to add my thoughts in so it’s not all repurposing.
It’s hard to boil down all the suggestions, but here goes…
- Rice – it’s very cheap and though it’s a litle carby for me, cheap wins out for me.
- Ramen noodles – Along the same lines as rice. It’s carby and not all that healthy (too much sodium), but it can be a good filler when it’s mixed with…
- Boneless chicken breast – I can usually find this for $2 a pound. Recently, I’ve been able to get it for as low as $1.77.
- Tuna – Even better for you than chicken, I’ve been known to eat it out of the can as is.
- Diet Soda – This woudn’t fly for a lot of people, but I need flavor and water doesn’t work for me. Generic soda like Sam’s Choice can be had relatively cheaply and since it has no calories, I’m going to give it a pass. Some people will say that juice is the way to go, but most of the time it’s lots of sugar and calories. I say it’s better to have diet soda and a multi-vitamin
- Eggs – Another great mention in the threads. You can get a dozen very cheaply at the Wal-Mart near me. Boil a dozen, eat the whites, throw out the yolks.
- Whey protein – Most of the generic versions at any health food store are pretty good. It’s extremely health and goes great in a milk shake.
- Frozen Dinners – These fall into the Lazy Man’s cheap meals. There are some dinners from Banquet and frozen single serve pizzas that can be had for $1 or even less. They aren’t healthy, but it’s wallet friendly
- McDonald’s Value Menu – Again, this isn’t healthy, but if you are Lazy like me, McDonald’s does bring true value to the table. A double cheeseburger can be a complete meal for $1 in a pinch.
Good point about the whey protein. I use quite a bit of it every day, and find it to be a very cheap high-quality protein substitute (not supplement). Whenever I go out for a bite, I find that the restaurant skimps on the meat and loads up sandwiches and other dishes with cheap carbs (bread, rice and pasta).
Yes, it’s really cheap for restaurants to boil another pound of pasta vs. a pound of steak.
Well actually, egg yolks are quite healthy and contain good nutrients.
Also, it is actually cheaper to eat healthy, because of the medical costs you will save throughout your life if you continue to eat Banquet dinners and the like.
Just look at the USA today, so many unhealthy overweight people with high medical costs and diabetes, heart attacks, etc.