Frugality vs. Healthy Options

Over snacking and large portion sizes are my downfall when it comes to eating. I also enjoy soda...another downfall. I avoided the inner aisles at the market today, but it seems like the "good stuff" is way more expensive than the "tasty stuff". Why can't the good stuff be tasty? The answer to that question is still a work in progress; however, I'm busily working on recipes that are good AND tasty. "But I don't have time to prepare a healthy meal...", I can hear the excuses already. The good things in life take time, but there are ways to help yourself throughout the week if you are on the go or have a husband that leaves for work before 6:20 every day. Let me say that waking up to make a healthy breakfast and lunch is a daily challenge for me.

So, how can we not spend $$, make a quick healthy meal, and not spend forever preparing it? Yep, you guessed it, the answer to that one is also a work in progress; but, I've come across some things that work for me. Knowing where to purchase good produce for a cheaper price also comes in handy. I find that large chain markets are often almost double the price of a community grocery store. This community store I purchase produce from has a huge variety of produce and herbs for relatively cheap. Look through the weekly ads that are probably tossed without looking at most of the time.

In order to save money (and time in the morning when I'm half asleep and likely to lose a finger if I use a knife), I have prepackaged some snack items such as baby carrots and pb celery. Purchasing the larger bag of baby carrots, a bunch of celery, and a bag of apples is WAY cheaper than buying the prepackaged (with a ton of preservatives) versions of these items. It took about 20-30 minutes to get these three things done. I do prefer to slice the apples in the morning, but there are options for prepackaging those too.

Carrots: Purchase a 16oz bag of baby carrots (99 cents for me today). Place 10 carrots in each snack size bag, along with about 1 tbsp of water to keep them from drying out. This made a week's worth of carrot snacks (about 18 cents/day).

Peanut Butter Celery: Purchase a bunch of celery. Wash and slice the stalks into thirds or quarters. Fill with pb or cream cheese. Place 4-5 pieces in each snack bag. I didn't 'fill' all of the slices I cut because I didn't know how long they would last 'filled' in the fridge. The remainder of the pre-cut pieces, place in a quart size ziplock bag with 1-3 tbsp of water (depending on how much celery you have) to keep it from drying out.

Bagged Salad: Although this is super handy when you're in a hurry, does it really take that long to tear up or cut lettuce? Plus buying the romaine bunch is WAY cheaper than buying the bag of pre-sliced romaine AND it doesn't have that weird processed taste. Today I spent less than $1 on a bunch of romaine and 2 heads of iceburg lettuce. I chopped the romaine and put it in a gallon size ziplock. Ta-da! I give you bagged salad for about 33 cents (without the iceburg). 

Stew meat: Check to see if the larger piece of meat is cheaper. Today, I compared the pre-cut stew meat and the whole piece of meat, both the same size. It turned out that the larger piece was $1/lb less than the pre-cut package. For $1/lb I can cut it myself at home...so I did. 

Freezing: How I wish I had a larger freezer. Freeze the extra sauces that you aren't planning to use right away. Sometimes buying the bagged frozen veggies can be cheaper because they don't spoil so quickly. If you are one for chopping and freezing your own veggies, have at it, but I find that it's better for us if I stock up with the green beans, broccoli, carrots, and corn are on sale for 99 cents a bag. 

Granted the prep work takes a little bit longer, but when it's 5:30 in the morning and I'm trying to put together a lunch that doesn't consist of lays potato chips, pb crackers, and chocolate pudding, I am very happy that I did all of it when I was awake. With all of the snacks already made, all I have to do is put together a sandwich, or a salad, or portion out the dinner left overs, and put in some snacks. This takes 10 minutes or less and my husband isn't eating preservatives all day.