any blogs/sites for feeding a family healthfully on tight budget?

groovygrl · May 2013

I'm asking for a friend who is struggling w/ budget, family of 4 and she really wants to be able to provide organic products when she can and cook healthfully for everyone, esp herself. any good resources?

salt78 · May 2013

BudgetBytes.com

groovygrl · May 2013

wife07mom09:
moneysavingmom.com

however if one is struggling with a budget, skipping organic is probably the way to go. doesnt mean you cant eat healthy, you absolutely can, but no need to do organic until their situation is better

i agree but I suspect she feels like she shouldn't pinch pennies at the potential expense of her kids health (in her mind), which I think is pet of the entire budget problem. I just figured I would try to find some good resources for her that maybe she hasn't had time to look into...

NYBrideInWI · May 2013

I really like this cookbook, I bought a used copy for $4 (incl shipping) on Amazon. Its written by someone in England so some stuff is weird to me (always keep sardines in your pantry) but most is good and "American".

"How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet: with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even if You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three ... Gadgets---Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher"

On the organic topic - I'd suggest she try to pick a few things where organic isn't too much more when you consider how much you actually buy, like bananas - regular is $0.59 per pound, organic is $1.09 per pound. I buy about 1 pound each week (5 bananas). It sounds like alot more but it only adds $0.50 to my grocery bill to buy organic. I buy regular oranges because organic are $1.59 each, regular are $0.79 each, if I buy four the organic would add $2.80 to my bill (not worth it to me).

Sometimes I buy organic meat - it adds $2-3/week to my bill for beef and chicken. I don't buy organic milk - we drink 2-3 gallons a week so buying organic would add $6-$9 / week (it costs $6-7 a gallon versus $3.69 / gallon regular)

groovygrl · May 2013

Thanks for the book rec!!! I also pick & choose my organic and stick to certain things that I feel more strongly about based on what I've read...just a side note, I thought that bananas didn't have to be organic b/c of the peel, very little pesticides, etc make it inside to the fruit part... ?

oliversmom03 · May 2013

NYBrideInWI:
I really like this cookbook, I bought a used copy for $4 (incl shipping) on Amazon. Its written by someone in England so some stuff is weird to me (always keep sardines in your pantry) but most is good and "American".
"How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet: with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even if You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three ... Gadgets---Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher"
On the organic topic - I'd suggest she try to pick a few things where organic isn't too much more when you consider how much you actually buy, like bananas - regular is $0.59 per pound, organic is $1.09 per pound. I buy about 1 pound each week (5 bananas). It sounds like alot more but it only adds $0.50 to my grocery bill to buy organic. I buy regular oranges because organic are $1.59 each, regular are $0.79 each, if I buy four the organic would add $2.80 to my bill (not worth it to me).
Sometimes I buy organic meat - it adds $2-3/week to my bill for beef and chicken. I don't buy organic milk - we drink 2-3 gallons a week so buying organic would add $6-$9 / week (it costs $6-7 a gallon versus $3.69 / gallon regular)

So buying this book. Thank you.

dizzycooks · May 2013

Look into the 'dirty dozen' and buy every thing else conventional. Meat can be bought from a farm source for much cheaper if she can store it. Of course sales are good times to stock up.

doodlyjane · May 2013

The best way to eat healthily on a budget is to make *everything* from scratch. Organic freezer meals and quick-fix mixes and that sort of thing are woefully expensive and will destroy anyone's budget no matter how expansive. (Cold cereal falls into this category as well, whereas you can get bulk oatmeal, cream of wheat, and other kinds of porridge for the same price and it lasts eight times as long) However, if time and thought is put into building up a pantry of staples, then feeding a family for cheap is actually pretty simple.

NYBrideInWI · May 2013

You're probably right about bananas not being too big a concern... I can never remember the "dirty dozen" list when I'm at the store and don't care enough to keep a copy in my purse... hmm...maybe there's an app for that?

Iblamethebeer · May 2013

100daysofrealfood.com is great and she did a 100 day budget challenge where she fed her family all whole food (not completely organic, but mostly) on a budget.

Basically, it comes down to eating mostly vegetarian and eating a LOT of the produce that happens to be cheap/in season rather than what sounds tastiest.

I think she said by the end of the 100 days she never wanted to look at another banana again.

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