Diet, Nutrition and SupplementationPost here for supplement reviews or nutritional advice. If you're trying to get "ripped abz" THIS is where you should be.
If you have cooking facilities the cheapest way to eat is to shop sales. And the easy way to do that: find out what day grocery stores advertise in local papers, for us it is Wed, and get that day's paper. Buy veggies and meat on sale, I buy at least twice a week in order to have fresh produce, and I usually plan what meat I will buy at the two stores my wife or I shop at each week. Monitor what you use and don't use. No matter how great a sale if you don't use it its wasted money. Adjust your buy to what you will actually use. Good luck.
eggs, whole chickens (cut them up yourself), frozen ground beef - the club stores (like Costco or Sam's Club) have bargains on meats fresh & frozen and frozen veggies - as Cynic says - look for the grocery store circulars and plan for the sales - if there is a small restaurant supply store / non-membership grocery warehouse near you (we have Smart-n-Final in this area) that can be good for things like cans of tuna, bricks of cheese and other bulk items.
After taking a look in the mirror, I realized, I'm really scrawny.
Anyway, I am attending college while maintaining a full-time job.
So, my time and money are very limited.
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, on how to get a high caloric intake diet, with spending the least amount possible?
Hey! Where ya been? Welcome back, man.
What's your eating style like, now?
A lot of the suggestions have been great. If you have access to places like CostCo or Sam's, whole chickens are a steal. They are great from soup to just roasted birds. The whole thing gets used.
Natural food stores are expensive, but the oats are 49 cents a pound. Those bags of bulk apples, potatoes, etc. at the market are a good deal because they are smaller than people want to buy. So, eat two.
Tell us what you eat and like. We'll come up with plenty.
I 2nd (or is it 5th?) the bulk bins for things like oats, brown rice, even natty pb -- all at my regular grocery. Definately start paying attention on what things cost. For instance, I know eggs are always more at supertarget but their milk is cheaper. And, quick frozen chicken breasts are a good price around $2/lb here so I know if a sale is really a sale or just a little less than full price. If you have freezer space, buy meats in bulk. If you have a lot of space and know a farmer, buy your beef by the 1/4 or 1/2 (we get everything from ground beef to tenderloin for about $2/lb). Frozen veggies are cheaper than fresh most times and they won't rot ifyou don't get to them asap. Coupons, coupons, coupons. They make the Sunday paper worth buying. Make sure you match up the coupons to the store with the best sale that week. If you buy a lot at Target, get their card. For every so much you spend, they give you 10% off for 1 day -- including their food sections at SuperT. Farmer's markets or buying into CSA (community supported ag) group where you buy a share of the "farm" and they bring you a box of produce every so often (it all varies).
A lot of the suggestions have been great. If you have access to places like CostCo or Sam's, whole chickens are a steal. They are great from soup to just roasted birds. The whole thing gets used.
Natural food stores are expensive, but the oats are 49 cents a pound. Those bags of bulk apples, potatoes, etc. at the market are a good deal because they are smaller than people want to buy. So, eat two.
Tell us what you eat and like. We'll come up with plenty.
Hey buddy :-), I have just been trying to give this life of mine a little momentum. It's not as easy as I thought!
Anyway, my eating is horrible, today I have had 2 cups of coffee.. Ya, that's it. Yesterday I had a bowl of cereal, and 3 cups of coffee.
Also, these answers have been great guys, I like the idea of the Club stores.
I sectioned off a portion of my pay ($50) for 2 weeks, I don't think that is realistic though, and I can stretch as far as 150$ every two weeks for food, is that more realistic?
Focus on some things you know you will eat and move up. Can't expect to go from 2 cups of coffee to perfect overnight.
Is it not knowing how to cook or make food? Time? Or, is there something else that keeps you at cereal and coffee?
Oatmeal and protein powder is easy. Some veggies you know you'll eat. Eggs are easy if you like them. Eggs from CostCo or a bulk store are about the cheapest source of protein you can find.
Costco.. 5lbs bag of peanuts is $6-7 here.. 1000cals per cup if I remember right. Trail mix, olive oil, bread, eggs, ground beef, milk.... thats a good 80% of my eating right there.
Dont have to spend lots of money to eat lots of cals, you can, but its not neccesary. I eat lots and dont like spending all my money on food.
Focus on some things you know you will eat and move up. Can't expect to go from 2 cups of coffee to perfect overnight.
Is it not knowing how to cook or make food? Time? Or, is there something else that keeps you at cereal and coffee?
Oatmeal and protein powder is easy. Some veggies you know you'll eat. Eggs are easy if you like them. Eggs from CostCo or a bulk store are about the cheapest source of protein you can find.
Haha, all of the above.
Can you buy those big containers of flavored oatmeal, I love the apple cinnamon but I cant stand the plain
Frank, I'll check out the peanuts, Should I go salted or unsalted?
Milk and eggs help, they may be the cheapest form of complete protein you can get, at least here. You could also consider a bulk milk protein concentrate; big tubs are not expensive and help a lot. Some meat or fish (canned tuna is cheap here if you buy big cans) will complete it and still would be affordable.
For CH you have oats, rice, potatoes... well, that´s easier.
Buy in advance, avoid "brands" and get big quantities.
Going against the grain, I don't like oats. 1. I just don't like them. 2. IMO they're too filling to really be a good "bulk" food.
Rice, you can buy a 10lbs bag for like $2 (give or take a little ). Milk is about $2 a gallon ($1 per 1k calories). Peanut Butter + Bread + Jelly = 25 cents or so for 600 calories. Cheese and crackers is great. Sausage is fantastic. Cook in olive oil and use it to dip bread in.
That's the "mass gain for $25 a week" version . Toss in a few bags of frozen vegi's and you'll be set!
I used to be a vegetarian, and learned how to cook Indian dhals (beans). Over time I collected a set of recipes such that the time from the initial opening of a cabinet to my placement of the dirty dish in the sink after my meal was under a half hour. If you have an ethnic Indian grocery store nearby (and you might if you live in a college town), this is another option worth considering. These dishes freeze nicely, and are even tastier on day 2.
Two of the quick cooking, no-soak beans are yellow split mung dhal and orange masoor dahl. The split mung is the same bean as the green mung bean in health food stores, but the split and skinned mung beans seem only to be sold in indian stores. The main spices you would want are cumin, mustard seed, coriander seeds, and fresh curry leaves (I freeze them). I would buy ghee (cooked, clarified butter) as well, as it improves the taste from pretty good to really good. The "claified butter" in the standard american stores does not have the rich flavor of ghee. It helps if you like garlic too.
My lunch today was garbanzo beans cooked plain, drained almost completely, then with ground cumin, lime juice, salt, and garlic added and cooked another 20 minutes.
I like food that is so simple to make that there is no reason not to make it. And it has to have flavor too. And be cheap. High protein, low junk is good too.
After taking a look in the mirror, I realized, I'm really scrawny.
Anyway, I am attending college while maintaining a full-time job.
So, my time and money are very limited.
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, on how to get a high caloric intake diet, with spending the least amount possible?
I think everyone is missing the obvious here, high caloric diet.... spending least amount possible...... McDonalds, duh . You get a crap load of food for like no money. He'll be huge in no time, I mean half the people I see comming out of those places are pushin like 300lbs.
BTW I'm kidding for those who think I lost my mind.
Believe it or not, eating for bulking up is actually cheaper than eating clean to be lean. For one thing, you can get away with cheaper cuts of meat and carbs, which are invariably cheaper than protein.
I think everyone is missing the obvious here, high caloric diet.... spending least amount possible...... McDonalds, duh . You get a crap load of food for like no money. He'll be huge in no time, I mean half the people I see comming out of those places are pushin like 300lbs.
BTW I'm kidding for those who think I lost my mind.
Are you kidding? McD is expen€ive over here.. it's a cult-food place for many people who see a visit to the McD almost like an event! Food from McD ain't cheap here. Nor is it abundant. You'd be nearly broke financially on a McD bulk diet.
All great suggestions on how to shop cheaply. I don't like stooping down to going to low-budget stores. The store I frequent has very high quality fruit/veggies and I hardly ever have to throw them out, unless I keep them in the fridge too long.
- buy fresh fruit/veggies that are in season, not the exotic stuff
- buy frozen or canned veggies/fruit/legumes/meat etc as this is actually fresher than 'fresh' food, here having a big freezer and pantry really pays off
- buy things that can be stored like forever : legumes, grains in bulk but don't overdo it. I've had to throw out 8 kg of basmati rice since I hardly ever eat that stuff on a low-carb diet. 1kg at the time is plenty.
- buy when things are on sale and stock up
Go to ALDI!! Buy their store brand. It's all very good and extremely inexpensive.
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Cheap eating?
). Milk is about $2 a gallon ($1 per 1k calories). Peanut Butter + Bread + Jelly = 25 cents or so for 600 calories. Cheese and crackers is great. Sausage is fantastic. Cook in olive oil and use it to dip bread in.
. You get a crap load of food for like no money. He'll be huge in no time, I mean half the people I see comming out of those places are pushin like 300lbs.
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