Not for losing weight, although you might. Not a gourmet diet, although if you’re creative it could be tasty. This diet is for eating well enough to survive and stay healthy when you have very little money and grocery prices are through the roof .
When I was 18 I found myself working full time at a minimum-wage job and living alone in a studio apartment. My expenses included rent, utilities, car payment, college fees, books and food. My healthcare, which was what I could get at my school's clinic, was very basic and was covered by my fees. I couldn’t afford to go to the dentist. At the beginning of each semester, when I had to come up with the money for fees and books, I had very little left over for food. If I told you how much money I had left to feed myself for a month, you wouldn’t believe me, but that was back in the days when an hour’s take-home pay at minimum wage would buy you five gallons of gas. What I had left for food was about 4 hours worth of take-home pay––to last me one month––so that will give you an idea.
My home economics class in high school had included an assignment to create menus for a family of four with a given budget. For the assignment I toured a grocery store and made lists of the least expensive foods I might need for a balanced diet. I remembered that and followed it closely, and it got me through.
This information has come in handy often when later in life, due to inflation without any pay raises, my family’s income became inadequate to feed us all the way we were used to eating. Right now we have enough money to feed ourselves well, but many people don't. We donate money to a food kitchen, and we buy food to donate to a local food pantry. I thought it was time to share what I learned during my time of scarcity.
So how do you get the nutrition you need to survive with little to spend? Here are my recommendations for the least expensive choices in each food group with notes on what you might need to do to save additional money.
Grains
Recommended:
Slow-cooking rolled oats
Rice (Not precooked. Enriched or brown rice if the price is the same.)
Tips: Don’t buy packaged cereal. If you don’t want to cook the oatmeal, mix it with powdered milk and water in a jar with a lid the night before and put it into the fridge (known as "overnight oatmeal"). It will be edible in the morning. Skip rice that’s quick-cooking or seasoned. Leave off the fancy grains and processed stuff, which tend to be more expensive. It’s usually cheaper per pound in a larger bag, so buy the largest bag you can afford
Vegetables and Fruit
Recommended:
Potatoes
Cabbage
Carrots
Tips: What? No fruit? In the past, bananas have been fairly inexpensive all year. However, with tariffs, the price has gone up. Save fruits for after you’ve bought all the other foods you need, and then stick to fruits that are in-season where you live. Utilize food stands in the summer, if you can. Watermelon is economical in the summer and the fruit is grown near you. Eat the peels of fruits where that's appropriate. You can live and stay healthy without fruit, though, as long as you're eating vegetables, so keep that in mind.
A human being can live on potatoes and water. It isn’t recommended, but they contain all the nutrients you need. Scrub them well and eat the skins, too. Instead of a sandwich, which requires bread, substitute a cooked potato or two. They keep well at room temperature after cooking, if you need to pack a lunch.
Eat cabbage cooked or raw. Don’t cut into the head of the cabbage, unless your family is going to eat it all right away. Instead, take the leaves off, one at a time, as you need them. If you cut into it, the edges will deteriorate quickly. A cabbage leaf can be wrapped around a filling of lentils or beans if you need to pack a lunch.
Carrots are also good cooked or raw. Unless the carrots are organic, you need peel them. Pesticide residues tend to collect in the skin.
If you boil your vegetables, save the cooking water and drink it. Boiling water transfers some nutrients from the vegetables to the cooking water. Don't waste them. You can microwave your vegetables if you have a microwave or can use one at work.
How about canned vegetables? They're OK if you can find a sale. Frozen vegetables are as nutritious as fresh, because the produce is frozen as soon as it's harvested, but they can be a little more expensive than fresh. Again, look for sales.
Protein Foods
Recommended:
Lentils
Beans
Peanuts
Eggs
Powdered milk
Canned tuna
What? No meat? No cheese? Meat and cheese are the most expensive form of protein. The cheapest form of animal protein is eggs, although eggs have been more expensive lately due to avian flu. Even at $1/egg, they are a fairly inexpensive source of protein. Powdered milk is fairly cheap. Canned tuna is much cheaper than meat and cheese, if you have enough money to include it.
You can get enough protein from legumes (lentils, beans, peanuts, tofu), however. Lentils don’t need to be soaked overnight before cooking. Peanuts can be cooked or ground into peanut butter, but skip the peanut butter that's already in a jar. You will pay more for it, and it may have additives you don’t need. If you can grind your own at the store, it's usually cheaper. Grinding your own at home takes special equipment. Canned beans can be economical if you can find them on sale. Tofu is usually fairly inexpensive, either refrigerated or in shelf-stable boxes.
Extra Foods
Sorry, you will have to skip these if you’re really struggling to save money. No oils, sugar, spices, candy or packaged goodies like chips. If you already have oils and spices, use them sparingly.
Salt and pepper are fairly inexpensive, but you can survive without them. Eventually, you will taste the salt in your food as you get over being used to added salt. Cooking oils are expensive. You can cook your vegetables by boiling them. Coffee and tea provide very little nutrition and are much more expensive than water. Skip the bottled water, too, unless your water source is unsafe.
General Tips
Try to keep track of the food you have in your fridge. Don’t let anything spoil. Food you have to throw out is wasted money. Obviously, don’t eat out or buy takeout. Watch for sales and coupons, but be aware that some foods will be too expensive, even discounted.
Now, let’s say you have bought all of the inexpensive foods you need for this trip to the grocery store and you still have money left. Do you still have oil, toothpaste, detergent on hand at home? If so, THEN you can buy something extra, like meat, cheese, bread or some spice you really crave. Just think about those choices before you reach the check-out line.
Let’s say you aren’t as destitute as I was at 18. Maybe you don’t need to go to such extremes. In that case, you can still use these suggestions to reduce what you spend on groceries.
Do you have any tricks to save money on groceries? Please share!
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