What would you do?

I have a very very tight budget and I have to be careful how I shop for groceries. I cannot afford fresh produce beyond cukes and maybe even celery.  I started my pre-op diet now so that I have plenty of time to do it as I need not only to lose 10% but I also need to have a buffer for water weight gain due to the lymphedema.  What  would you folks suggest i get on a shoestring budget for my 1 meal a day. Lean cuisine is costly.  At this point, I am thinking of loading my freezer with frozen veggies as they are fairly inexpensive and chicken, even though I am so sick of it, its inexpensive sometimes too.  Any ideas would be helpful.


thanks

p.s. prcocessed foods not good for me due to salt content, hence, water gain.

Frozen veggies are a great option (I buy the store brand....Hannaford snap pea stir fry veggies, or broccoli stir fry or at Shaw's.......the italian blend veggies are yummy too!)   If your Walmart carries them (and if you like seafood)...I buy their frozen bay scallops (90 cals for 4 ounces and 23g of protein!!!!        IF you like seafood!) and I think they are about $5/bag.  They also sometimes have frozen shrimp on sale for about 5 bucks a bag too....again.........IF you like seafood.

I don't typically buy the frozen meals like Lean cuisine as a lot of them have pasta and are high in carbs (I try to stay away from those carbs!)  I figure if I'm throwing it together, I'm better off buying the frozen veggies and meat and then I know what's in there, so to speak.

Btw...did you know (I think I heard this somewhere) that celery may induce fluid retention?!  I could be wrong, but I think someone here mentioned that before.   Just fyi  (you may want to google that to make sure I'm not mistaken........I've been known to be wrong before!!!!!!!!  haha!)

Good luck!

Basically get the sales flyers each week for Hannaford/Shaw's or whatever's near you.  Plan your meals around what's on sale.  You can buy a family pack of boneless skinless chicken for $1.99/lb and freeze what you don't use for upcoming meals.  Then maybe hamburg or pork is on sale the next week.  You can also get blueberries, strawberries etc. for buy 1 get 1 free sometimes and freeze those.  If you don't already - clip coupons too.  I know a lot of them is for processed foods but there are some good ones in there for some healthy stuff as well.  Basically I plan as much as I can around what's on sale.  Good luck!

Yep, clipping coupons and exploring the flyers is what I do.  I buy a lot of my foods pre frozen, meat included. I buy frozen talapia(fish) that is individually wrapped at Walmart.  I often shop at BJ's, bc I can get some things cheaper in bulk there, like frozen chicken breasts that are individually wrapped.  I split the membership fee with my parents, so if you could do that with someone it works out great.

I do not often buy the lean cuisines or weigh****chers meals bc like Ruth said they often come with pasta or something you can't eat post op (RNY) and because they are LOADED with sodium, which wouldn't be good for water rentention anyway.  I buy canned no salt added veggies too, like green beans and corn (usually a store brand)  I've been replacing a lot of my name brand groceries with store brand ones (ones that are close in quality and taste). 

I've been buying a few ears of corn lately, bc it's been relatively inexpensive.  I usually only get 3 or 4 ears at a time and cut them in 1/2 when I steam them.  My kids love corn and they eat it better on the cob then off.  I buy strawberries when they are on sale and get frozen blueberries most of the time.  My youngest is a big fruit eater.

I've been able to buy Hormel pork tenderlion with coupons a few times. I bring them home and cut it into 1/3's bc my kids won't eat it.  I cook one piece and freeze the rest.  I have been able to grill that and/or make pulled pork..yum.  Buying bone in poultry is cheaper than boneless, I sometimes buy a whole chicken or the whole turkey breasts to roast, then I have meat for a few days to do whatever with.  Eating just one kind of meat all the time is boring, so you should be able to change it up.

Coupons and sales!  Those are the biggest things.  ALso I don't know if you have the option where you live but I have discovered at Shaw's - unless it's on sale it is more expensive.  Walmart is the best at alot of stuff.  Fresh veggies - how about a farm stand in your area - usually those are the cheapest way to go.  I will buy the chicken breasts when they are sale ($1.77 to $1.99 a pound)..same goes for pork loin..........I buy the big ones and cut them up myself and freeze them.  Every little bit adds up.  I also buy mostly store brand...90% of the time the quality is the same as the name brands. 

I know there are some farmers that do a co-op growing thing for a relatively low price....check the state growers association for something like that.  If you have a green thumb....next year anyway - I've grown bush cukes, tomatoes and lettuce in buckets on my deck....it was great and just enough for me to make regular salads all summer long. 

I too use the flyer and with Shaws theirs usually coincides with the Sunday coupons from the week before.  I buy my meat in larger packages and then weigh it out and freeze it in serving sizes. 

Haddock seems expensive, but when you buy a pound for six dollars and make it into four servings (four oz. each) it is only 1.50 per serving.  Add vegetables (frozen, fresh, or canned) and you have a meal for about two dollars. 

For breakfast I eat eggs, a lot.  I buy them whole and take out the yokes myself.  Eggs are a cheap and wonderful source of protein. 

Obviously you want to stay away from lunch meat because of salt and nitrates, also watch the mustard (VERY Salty).  I buy tuna when it is on sale and I eat a 1/2 can with some Lt. Mayo, good meal for lunch.

Good luck, it's hard but if you keep stocking up on sale stuff you will eventually start to have a stockpile to chose from.  Just may be tough for a little while.

I don't do the shopping so I won't even try to give advice there, but I did want to say that celery is naturally high in sodium, but it does have some other benefits, so you should discuss it with your Nut.  This link has some info about it. 

I don't do the pre-made meals much either... costly both nutrient wise and money wise... They usually have lots of carbs or sodium and i don't want/need either... I do a lot of the shopping/cooking in my house and I do a lot of the store to store stuff.... I get the "day old" things or the almost out of date things that are on sale and freeze them. I also buy a LOT of frozen vegies, a lot better then caned stuff and usually cheeper then fresh too. Things may seem a bit more expensive but when you are only eatting 1/4 (or less) of what you used to, it may be worth spending a little more to get things that are SOOO much better for you. I try to mix meals with some of the more expensive things with other lower cost stuff... For my family of 5 (3 boys, my bf and I) I usually spend about $5-$12 per meal usually closer to the $8 range though... and that usually includes at least one meal for my bf to take to work with him as well...