Eating healthy doesn't have to cost more. But for many Americans, diet plans and higher grocery bills go together like peanut butter and jelly. The South Beach Diet (SBT) is so flexible that there is no reason not to follow it because of a tight budget.
Here are some ideas:
1. You don't have to follow the recipes or menus in the book. They are only guidelines.
2. You don't have to buy expensive cuts of meats. You can buy ground turkey and beef and discard the fat from the meat before adding spices to the dish you're making. Also, you can marinade less expensive cuts after removing the visible fat to make the meat more tasty and tender.
3. You can use canned and frozen veggies and fruits (P2), as well as seafood and shellfish. Tuna fish, canned salmon, sardines and canned chicken are OK.
4. Make sure canned goods don't have sauces and they have 3 or less grams of sugar, and the tuna fish and sardines are packed in water.
5. You can prepare a lot of beans. All beans are OK in all phases of this diet. Beans have a lot of nutrients and are easy on the budget.
6. You can buy fruits and veggies when they are in season. Check your local newspaper for ads.
7. Make a meal plan including ingredients in season and make sure you won't waste anything. Make sure you can use some leftover for a second meal.
8. You don't need to buy expensive drinks or designer water. Plain water is always best.
9. You can buy foods in bulk at discount grocery stores such as Sam's Club, Wal-Mart Super Center and other stores.
10. You can make the same menu for the entire family and add some extras for the members of the family that are not on the diet.
11. Make sure you make a shopping list and stick to it when you go to the grocery store and make sure you don't go hungry to the store and don't buy anything on impulse.
12. You can use dried or fat-free evaporated milk. It has a longer shelf life and it's cheaper than fresh milk.
13. You don't have to buy expensive cheese. There are a lot of low-fat cheeses at affordable prices.
14. Buy house brands and use sales coupons wisely.
15. Most important use your imagination to make meals appealing to all members of your family, so you don't feel deprived of anything.
South Beach Diet on a Budget: More tips
- No matter what kind of plan you select, fruits and vegetables are always a good choice for the waistline and your wallet. When produce is in season, it tends to be more plentiful and cheaper. When it's not, frozen foods – especially store brands or generic -offer a good value.
- You have to shop smart to buy food at good prices. Build a pantry, use coupons, stock up, hit clearances (yes, grocers have them as well, especially for overstock) and only buy on sale and you'll knock it out of the park with shopping.
Bear in mind, phase 1 is only 2 weeks -- after that, your food list greatly expands. The best way to come up with meal variety (in any phase) is to make a list of foods you can have then look for combinations. For example:
Tuna
Egg
Celery
Mayonnaise
Combine this and you have tuna salad. Do the same but substitute chicken and you'll have chicken salad. Both are great eaten on romaine hearts and sprinkled with mozzarella. I like adding tomatoes as well, just for the added flavor.
- Like hamburger sandwiches? Go to the grocery store and pick up a really thick portabello mushroom. Pull out the stem (twist it to get it out) then slice the mushroom cap in half across its face to get the thinner slices. Smear both with some mayo, add a slice of Swiss, a hamburger, lettuce, onion, and tomato -- VOILA, a hamburger sandwich. You might want to slightly toast the mushroom in a skillet first - even better, you can grill it. If you do not like hamburgers, you can use any meat in this fashion - steak, chicken, take your pick.
- Bean soups are a great, quick food for lunch or dinner. You can get a big ole pot going and largely leave it unattended to cook, just stirring it every so often.
- Don't forget fish either -- it's tasty, healthy, and quick. You can prepare any of a number of marinades to soak the fish in for about an hour then pop it in the oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes. Don't get much easier than that!
Remember:
1. The first trip to the market is the most expensive because you need to buy the condiments and staples you don't have.
2. You don't have to follow the food plan in the book, some of the stuff in the menus are expensive, after all the recipes are from expensive restaurants in South Beach, FL. so you need to learn to subtitute foods for what you can affort, like canned anf frozen veggies, tuna fish, canned salmon, sardines, canned chicken breast, etc.
4. Buy stuff when it's on sale, on season and at discount places, even Dollar stores carry fresh products now and reasonable prices.
Even more tips:
- Dried beans – usually very cheap, and you can cook up a huge pot of plain beans and "doctor" them up different ways for lunches and dinners.
- Hamburger - cheap on sale, buy the higher fat kind, brown it well, drain and rinse the grease off. Tastes good, is probably even lower fat than the expensive stuff. "Waste" is not as great as you think per pound due to fat loss, so this is the more economical way.
- Chicken - chicken breasts are expensive, period. The fat might be greater (although it is not that much greater) in thighs, but they are definitely a better buy. Usually several dollars a pound less! Make sure to trim off all the visible fat – they are just as healthy as breasts.
- Cheese - buy full fat cheese – usually half the price of lf - and "defat" it yourself by baking it on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then draining the fat off. You can bake it longer and have cheese "crackers", too.
- Vegetables - fresh is usually very expensive, so buy canned and frozen. Look for your grocer's "seconds" bin in the produce department -you can get some good buys there on produce that's past it's prime, but still perfectly edible. Iceberg lettuce is still pretty cheap, as are carrots and celery, onions and radishes.
- Bread and pastas, etc. -- there are several varieties of whole wheat bread that aren't too expensive, or you can make your own - tastier and you control what goes into it, too. Doesn't really take much time, and kneading dough is so therapeutic!
- Eggs are always a good buy, and you can eat them for breakfast every day.
- Lunch meats are variable - Land o' Frost makes really good thin sliced ham and turkey for about $3 a pound, which is the cheapest among that isn't high fat or tastes like crap.
- Keep your eyes open for sales, and maybe you can even treat yourself once in a while with a different veggie or protein, if it's priced low enough. I know how hard it is, but where there's a will, there's a way!
- Buy meat that has the bone in it. It's cheaper, and with stir fry, keep the bone on the chicken and still turns out good.
And yet some more tips:
1. Beans, beans, beans. Especially dried ones cooked at home - very easy to do in a crockpot. Buy smoked turkey wings - about $2.50 for two big wings, break it into four pieces and only use one piece to season a pot of beans. Can add chopped onion or whatever seasonings you want (just add them at the end of cooking, as salt makes beans tough).
2. Chicken thighs versus chicken breasts. Less than half the price. Leg quarters about 39 cents a pound. Just cook them thoroughly and drain well (patting if necessary and practical), then remove the skin (or remove it before cooking). Difference in fat content is negligible if cooked properly.
3. Buy "regular" hamburger (usually 70/30) and drain it well when you cook it. Some people even rinse theirs with hot water - don't do this, but do "squeeze" it in the pan and drain off all the fat, then wipe out the pan. The yield per pound vs 85/15 is not very different, and the price is usually about $1 less per pound. 1/2 to 3/4 pound per big pot of chili or spaghetti sauce is enough.
4. Buy the cheaper cuts of lean beef, like bottom round. The tougher cuts are more flavorful, they just require more prep. Longer cooking over slow heat or marinating, though, and you have beef fit for a king (or queen).
5. Cottage cheese vs ricotta. Much cheaper. Drain it well to get a thickere consistency, and put it through the blender if you want it smooth. The texture and taste better anyway, and it's about half the price.
6. Buy fresh vegetables "loose" instaed of in packages. You pay $2.99 to $3,99 for a package of three Romaine "hearts", but can discover once, that a whole head of Romaine loose is only $1.79 - get the same amount of lettuce chopped up you get with the packaged, plus get more of the dark green leaves, which are healthier. Ditto for celery - had been paying $1.99 for a package of celery hearts, but can buy a whole head (bunch) of loose celery for $.99. Bagged salad is, of course, way too expensive.
7. Use lunch meat type ham instead of Canadian Bacon. You can buy a pound of really good, low fat sliced ham for about $2.99 a pound - the canadian bacon is twice that.
8. Buy spices, some canned goods, toiletries, cleaning supplies and laundry stuff at discount stores like Dollar General - you can save a bundle doing this, especially on spices you use often. A tin of black pepper is $1 at DG, but over $3 in the grocery store.
And this one:
The South Beach Diet is not expensive. Think fresh and think sales.
When is a will there is a way. You can find a way to follow this diet and lose weight.
More:
South Beach Diet. Overview, South Beach Diet. Phases
