Cheap and Healthy: 15 Nutritious Foods for About $2Source: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cheap-healthy-15-nutritious-foods-about-2-dollars
A grocery list to help you cut food prices while you boost nutrition.
A grocery list to help you cut food prices while you boost nutrition.
By Elaine Magee, MPH, RDWebMD Expert Column
How do you eat a nutritious diet while keeping your grocery budget low? The good news is that cheap food isn’t necessarily unhealthy food. You can cut food costs by eating more meals at home, and by making sure they feature some of the healthiest foods from your supermarket – foods like whole grains, vegetables, and beans. Luckily, many of these foods cost less than $2 per package.
A 2-pound bag of brown rice, for example, sells for less than $2 and cooks up into about 20 side servings — that’s just 10 cents a serving. Talk about nutrition on the cheap! Check out the list below for more examples.Prices may vary based on the store, location, and time of year.
1. Brown Rice Great for: Side dishes, rice salads, fried rice, casseroles, soups, and stews.What’s a serving? 1/4cup dry rice.Price per serving: 10 cents. A 2-pound bag costs about $1.99 (on sale) and contains 20 servings.Nutrition info per serving: 170 calories, 2 grams fiber, and 4 grams protein.
1. Brown Rice Great for: Side dishes, rice salads, fried rice, casseroles, soups, and stews.What’s a serving? 1/4cup dry rice.Price per serving: 10 cents. A 2-pound bag costs about $1.99 (on sale) and contains 20 servings.Nutrition info per serving: 170 calories, 2 grams fiber, and 4 grams protein.
2. Whole-Wheat or Multigrain Pasta Great for: Hot and cold pasta dishes.What’s a serving? 2 ounces of dried pasta. A serving for most people translates into about 2 ounces of dried pasta, which means you get about 7 servings in one of these boxes or bags.Price per serving? About 28 cents. You can get a 13-16 ounce box or bag of dried pasta for about $1.79 to $1.99 (on sale)Nutrition info per serving: About 190 calories, 9 grams protein, and 4 grams fiber.
3. 100% Whole-Wheat Bread Great for: Hot and cold sandwiches, bread stuffing, bread pudding, and breakfast strata.What’s a serving? 2 slices. Labels usually list a serving as 1 slice of bread (about 40 grams per slice) but for our purposes, we’ll use the amount you’d use to make a sandwich: 2 slices.Price per serving: About 31 cents. You can get a 24-ounce loaf of whole-wheat bread for about $1.99 (on sale). Each loaf has about 17 slices, or 8 servings of 2 slices each.Nutrition info per serving (2 slices): About 180 calories, 8 grams protein, and 6 grams fiber.
4. Whole-Wheat Flour (stone-ground) Great for: Breakfast recipes like pancakes and waffles, plusall baking recipes (use half whole wheat flour and half white flour), including breads, muffins, cakes, and cookies.What’s a serving? 1/2 cup.Price per serving: About 6 cents. A 5-pound bag of whole-wheat flour, which sells for about $1.99 to $2.50, contains about 37 servings (1/2 cup each) of flour.Nutrition info per serving: 180 calories, 8 grams protein, and 7 grams fiber (1.2 of which is soluble fiber).A grocery list to help you cut food prices while you boost nutrition.
5. Oats (Old-Fashioned or Quick) Great for: Hot or cold cereal, granola, crumb toppings for desserts, and muffins.What’s a serving? 1/2 cup dry oats.Price per serving: 19 cents. An 18-ounce container or oats costs around $2.29 (on sale) and each container contains about 13 servings (if 1/2-cup of dry oats is a serving).Nutrition info per serving: 140 calories, 4 grams fiber, and 5 grams protein.
6. Frozen Vegetables Great for: Side dishes, casseroles, and stews.What’s a serving? 1 cupPrice per serving: Around 25 cents. Frozen vegetables come in 12-ounce to 24-ounce bags that cost anywhere from $1.75 to $2.25 and contain 6-8 cups, depending on the vegetable and the size of the bag. You can buy a bag of frozen organic green beans at Trader Joe’s for $1.79. A bag of petite peas will cost you $1.19, and a 16-ounce bag of frozen chopped spinach costs $1.29.Nutrition info per serving: A 1-cup serving of frozen mixed vegetables (classic mix) has 82 calories, 6 grams fiber, 4 grams protein, 115% of the Daily Value for Vitamin A, 8% Daily Value for Vitamin C, and 7% Daily Value for potassium.
7. Potato (Russet) Great for: Baked potatoes, breakfast potatoes, salads, casseroles, and stews.What’s a serving? 1 medium or large baked potato.Price per serving: About 23 cents per potato. You can buy a 5-pound bag of Russet potatoes for around $2.39 (on sale), and a bag contains 11-13 potatoes.Nutrition info per serving (one medium size potato): 168 calories, 3 grams fiber, 5 grams protein, 20% of the Daily Value for vitamin C, 10% Daily Value for Iron, and 25% Daily Value for potassium.
8. Fresh Bagged Spinach Great for: Quick salads,egg dishes, casseroles, soups, and stews.What’s a serving? If you use it for a main-dish salad, about 4 cups makes a serving. If you saute it and add to an omelet, or use it for a side salad, about 2 cups is a serving.Price per serving: 66 cents for a 4-cup serving; 33 cents for a 2-cup serving. A bag (9 ounces) of washed and ready spinach leaves sells for about $1.99.Nutrition info per serving: 4-cup serving contains 20 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 160% Daily Value for vitamin A, 40% Daily Value for vitamin C, 8% Daily Value for calcium, and 40% Daily Value for folic acid.
9. Canned Refried Beans Great for: Burritos, nachos, dips, enchiladas, or a quick side dish.What’s a serving? Each can has about 3.5 (1/2-cup) servings.Price per serving: About 36 cents. You can buy a 15-ounce can for about $1.25 on sale. Options range from No-Fat Zesty Salsa to Vegetarian.Nutrition info per serving: About 120 calories (for the vegetarian type), 7 grams protein, 7 grams fiber, 4% Daily Value for calcium and 15% Daily Value for Iron.
10. Canned Tuna (solid white albacore or chunk light in water) Great for: Sandwiches, casseroles, several types of salads, and to serve with crackers.What’s a serving? A 6-ounce can contains around 2 servingsPrice per serving: About 62 cents. You can buy a 6-ounce can for about $1.25, or a 12-ounce can for about $2.57.Nutrition info per serving: About 500 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids (0.5 gram), 70 calories, and 13 grams of protein.
11. Canned or Jarred Marinara Sauce Great for: Pasta dishes, pizza, casseroles,appetizers,Italian sandwiches, and stews.What’s a serving? 1/2 cup.Price per serving: About 30 cents. You can buy a 28-ounce can of Tuscano Marinara sauce at Trader Joe’s for $1.79.Nutrition info per serving: A serving of Tuscano Marinara has 80 calories, 3 grams fiber, 10% Daily Value for vitamin A, and 20% for vitamin C.
12. Whole Wheat Pita Bread Great for: Making pizzas, flatbread appetizers, and hot or cold sandwiches.What’s a serving? 1 pita pocket.Price per serving: 25 cents. You can buy a 12-ounce package of 6 pita breads for $1.49 at Trader Joe’s.Nutrition info per serving: One of these pitas contains 130 calories, 4 grams fiber, and 5 grams of protein.
13. Nulaid Reddi Eggs (egg substitute)Great for: Making quick omelets, or as an ingredient in fried rice. You can also blend halfegg substitute and half eggs to make quiches, frittatas,egg casseroles, andstratas.What’s a serving? 1/4 cup.Price per serving: 25 cents. You can buy a 16-ounce carton for $1.99 at Trader Joe’s and similar markets.Nutrition info per serving: 30 calories, 6 grams protein, 10% Daily Value for vitamin B12, 6% for vitamin A, and 4% vitamins D and E.
14. Frozen Edamame (Soybeans) Great for: Snacks and appetizers or as a side dish with your meal. If the edamame are shelled (without pods), you can easily add them to fried rice, stews, casseroles, and more.What’s a serving? 1/2 cup shelled edamame.Price per serving: 56 cents. You can buy a 16-ounce bag of edamame in pods for $1.69 at Trader Joe’s and similar markets.Nutrition info per serving: 120 calories, 10 grams protein, 5 grams fiber, 15% Daily Value for Iron and 6% for calcium.
15. Canned Crabmeat (with 15% leg meat) Great for: Casseroles, sandwiches, salads and as filling for omelets, quiche, enchiladas,and more.What’s a serving? 3 ouncesPrice per serving: 99 cents. You can buy a 6-ounce can for $1.99.
