Community » Get Advice » Diet and Nutrition » Better Food on a Low Budget and a Tight Schedule

Is there anyone out there who can recommend ways to buy better foods and cook better meals on a cheap budget and no time?

For example, I work the evening shifts at my job and am not home until 11:30pm 4-5 nights a week. I have very little time and energy left over to cook or prepare anything. I am also on a very tight budget. My husband and I only grocery shop 2 times a month and do not spend more than $240 a month on groceries.

Any advice? Most of what we can afford/eat is easy to prepare/quick fix processed foods that are terrible for you. I'm also an extremely picky eater who is addicted to sweets and salts and am having a hard time finding substitutes.

Thanks :)

I agree with baystreetgirl. I prepare BUCKETS of very healthy soup made from leftover frozen turkey or chicken carcasses plus anything not nailed down in the fridge. Yes, you can put cottage cheese in soup. It still tastes great and adds great protein to your soup. Store your finished soup in the freezer in recycled yogurt containers, etc and just take out what you need as needed. I do that with steel-cut oats as well. I cook up a huge batch ahead of time, add chopped nuts, apples, flaxseed, etc then freeze them in containers. They are extremely healthy and extremely cheap. I buy my meat in family size packaging and cut it into reasonable size portions. Freeze them in meal size packaging and just take out what you need each day. I have no excuse now for not having healthy meals available to me as long as I own a freezer and a microwave (or remember to take my food out of the freezer BEFORE I leave for the day). Good luck to you.