The area that I grew up in in Southwest Virginia was barely above the poverty line. Most people there are on some type of government assistance or they probably could be. There aren't a lot of good jobs and the ones that were there are largely moving out (it's a coal mining industry). We don't have health food stores (the nearest one is a good hour or more away), there are no 24 hour fitness locations.
We have VERY limited resources; financially and physically.
I'm not going to lie to you, eating healthy is expensive. It's no wonder that 'middle class' Americans are so obese. When you can get a McDouble for a dollar or a salad for $4, I mean, which are you going to choose when you are strapped for cash? When a Coke is $.99 and a water is $2, most people will just get the Coke. Healthier food is costly.
When I made the decision to eat healthier I really thought to myself that I wasn't sure if I would be able to sustain it because of the money thing. Since my hubs wasn't really on board with this I told him that I would buy my food and he could get his. I was literally spending probably over $100/week on food for JUST ME!
So, I'm going to try my best to help you see that it IS possible to eat healthier when you are on a budget as I have had to make some changes too.
Some of the meals that I will fix include staple items that I already had on hand. So your bill may be more the first time or two while you get some things that you can use for a while. A couple of the things that I had on hand that you may want to pick up are Oatmeal (I had Bob's Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats. This came in a large bag that I dumped into a big Tupperware bowl to use out of); chia seeds (these have so many great health benefits, of course you DO NOT have to buy them, but you can drop about $9 on a bag that will literally last you forever); protein shake mix (I have a membership at GNC and got a large canister when they were on sale. You can usually find these at Walmart or most pharmacy type stores and they run from $20 and up depending on the size).
My total bill at our local Ingles was $123.51. This will ideally feed the two of us for a week. Please keep in mind that the man doesn't eat breakfast or lunch here except on days that he is off work, but I eat about 5-6 times a day and you should too! There were a few things I bought that were not necessary things (or they weren't originally on my list). I also spent $9 at GNC on Quest protein bars (B3G1). You can probably find a good protein bar at your local grocer though.
This is my grocery haul that consisted of:
2 medium sized locally grown tomatoes
bagged shredded green leaf lettuce
Wholly Guacamole Black Bean & Corn Salsa
4 Pouches Bumblebee Albacore Tuna
1 bag Frozen Organic Butternut Squash
1 bag Frozen Cauliflower
1 bag Cascadia Farms Frozen Organic Raspberries
1 bag Cascadia Farms Frozen Organic Blueberries
Udi's Gluten Free Cranberry Granola
Bulk walnuts
Lg Pack Natural GF Wieners
1 Package Hormel Naturals GF Deli Turkey
1 Package Hormel Naturals GF Deli Ham
1 package Perdue Perfect Portions GF Chicken Breasts
1 Ingles Family pack breakfast steaks
Let's Do Organic Natural coconut shreds
1 package individual Craisins
Fajita Seasoning
Al Fresco Chicken Breakfast Sausage (GF)
Spinach/Kale Corn Chips (GF)
1 container Noosa Yoghurt (Straw/Rhubarb GF)
3 Hormel REV Wraps
Silk Almond Milk Chocolate
Silk Almond/Coconut Milk blend
Lg. container Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (plain)
Vegenaise (Vegan/GF/Dairy Free/ Organic Mayo)
2 V8 Splash
Bagel Crisps
From GNC:
4 Quest Protein bars (GF)
So let's give a total of about $133.00. Ideally if I eat according to my plan this should do us all week. Now, I will say that one night we will be out of the house and if we have dinner, it may be at a eatery, but we will see when that day comes. I will also use eggs this week, which I already had on hand as well. I do spend more for either the Egg Beaters (GF) or the Cage Free Organic Eggs. Yeah, it's like $5 for a dozen eggs, but I like knowing that they come from 'happy' chickens!
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