Eat Cheap: Buy and Prepare Low-Cost, Nutritious Foods

Many years ago, at one time my kitchen food inventory consisted of flour, baking soda and/or baking powder, sugar, cooking oil, and some spices. 

My next meal was going to be shortbread cookies or sugar cookies. That's not a good situation.

I hope you are not at that point and never get there. Of course, I wasn't desperate then. I had resources available to help me. I could have sought help from relatives, friends, my church, a food pantry, food stamps, etc.

But I wanted to be self sufficient when reasonably feasible. And I'm confident work would have come along in due time too as I sought harder for it.

It usually takes money to buy food. But there are ways to reduce food costs. 

It’s possible to prepare low-cost, nutritious foods at home. Furthermore, this often requires relatively few ingredients and can be prepared without devoting a whole day to the kitchen.

The USDA Scientific Report of the 2025 DietaryGuidelines Advisory Committee[*] recommends a diet focused on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other grains, beans, lentils, nuts, legumes, and seeds, accompanied by dairy (or fortified soy dairy-alternatives). Such a diet can actually be much cheaper than a traditional U.S. meat-based diet and healthier too.

The government report recommends we limit intake of “red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, refined grains, and saturated fat.”

The food suggestions I list in this article basically abide by these government guidelines.  

Below is a photo of some of the components of my personal diet, followed by a discussion of various food groups.

Fruits

Fruits can be cheap in supermarkets. If bananas sell for 60 cents per pound and it takes two bananas to make a pound, that is a cost of only 30 cents per banana. That’s tasty, nutritious, and much cheaper than a candy bar.

Some variety of apples is typically on sale each week. And at least one other type of in-season fruit is also typically on sale each week.

Canned and dried fruits are also relatively cheap per serving.

One advantage of fruits is that they may be eaten raw, requiring no cooking. However, they can also be baked in recipes.

Vegetables

This week I bought a ten-pound bag of potatoes for $5.99 at a Kroger supermarket. Potatoes can be baked, boiled, mashed, fried, or put into a soup. They’re a versatile, nutritious vegetable.

Carrots are also relatively cheap per serving. Furthermore, each week some other type of fresh vegetable is usually on sale at supermarkets at reasonable prices, often including some type of dark green vegetable.

Frozen and canned vegetables are also relatively cheap per serving.

Whole Grains and Grains

Whole wheat flour, cornmeal, oatmeal, spaghetti, macaroni, and wheat farina are all relatively cheap per serving. Many other grains exist too.

Whole wheat flour can be used for biscuits, pancakes, quick breads (cinnamon-raisin bread, banana bread, etc.), and homemade cookies, among other things. I use cornmeal to make cornbread. Spaghetti is tasty with marinara sauce. Macaroni goes well with cheese.

Popcorn, quick breads, and homemade cookies sweetened with applesauce or raisins are delicious snacks.

As for myself, I love chocolate chip cookies! I rationalize that if I use whole wheat flour and a very small amount of 100% stevia as a sweetener, and dark chocolate chips, that the cookies are not too bad if eaten in moderation. 

Beans, Lentils, and Legumes

I grew up in southeastern Kentucky eating a lot of pinto beans and cornbread. Pinto beans are tasty. But many other types of beans exist too: black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, cranberry beans, navy beans, great northern beans, etc.

Personally, I don’t consider cooked lentils as tasty as beans. But lentils don’t need the presoaking that most beans do, so they can be prepared more quickly. I enjoy them occasionally as a change from beans.

I also enjoy peanuts, either dry roasted or in peanut butter. Officially peanuts are legumes, not nuts.

Nuts and Seeds

In moderation nuts are nutritious. I buy mixed nuts and try eating them in moderation,  since they are relatively high in fat. In addition to mixed nuts, I sometimes buy bags of walnuts, cashews, almonds, and other nuts.

I also enjoy seeds, such as sunflower seeds, which I eat either raw or roasted. I also often sprinkle ground flaxseeds on breakfast cereal.

Nuts and seeds will keep for months, so buy them on sale. Most are relatively cheap on sale.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a dietician or a medical professional. I cannot give dietary or medical advice. However, I feel that the foods mentioned above can be a significant part of a well-balanced, nutritious diet.

Personally, I also take a daily multivitamin as well as a daily capsule that offers a vegan algae source for omega-3 fatty acids. Since I’m seeking to adhere to a vegan diet I use enriched, unsweetened soymilk as a substitute for dairy milk.  Both the soymilk and the multivitamin include vitamin B-12.

Yes, you can eat a nutritious, low-cost diet.

ENDNOTES:

[*] “Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee”; United States Department of Agriculture; webpage accessed October 31, 2025; https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/Scientific_Report_of_the_2025_Dietary_Guidelines_Advisory_Committee_508c.pdf

NOTE:

Much of this article is adapted from a Google Blogger article I published on October 24, 2016, titled “Eat a Vegan Diet for Under $5 a Day” with  https://oneopinionsomeviews.blogspot.com/2016/10/vegan-diet-for-under-5-day.html as its URL.

Procrastination: Some Ways to Reduce It

 I’ve dealt with procrastination for years. Over time, I’ve found some ways to reduce it.

Those of us who are procrastinators can perhaps take comfort in the fact that we are not alone. A Solitaired study^[1] indicated that “99% of Americans admit to procrastinating tasks.”

Numerous resources exist online that discuss what procrastination is, what causes it, and that offer suggestions for dealing with it. A SolvingProcrastination website article^[2] includes numerous statistics on procrastination gathered from studies. The website includes other useful articles related to procrastination on topics such as why persons procrastinate and how to stop doing it.

I've also read or skimmed numerous books seeking to help with this over the years. Below is a photo of some of those.

Two Main Reasons I Procrastinate

Personally, I feel that two of the main reasons I procrastinate are (1): I want to delay doing something I dislike, and (2): I sometimes feel that even if I avoid procrastinating, that I’ll still be taking a long time to finish a project, to get it correct, so delaying the work doesn’t delay the finish. I seek perfection. Many feel that perfectionism is one of the major causes of procrastination. I agree.

One thing that helps me with reason #1 above is “the Five-Minute Plan” that various sources discuss, including the books Overcoming Procrastination[3] and Doing It Now.”^[4] If there’s a task I don’t want to do, I set a timer for five minutes. Then I begin working on some aspect of the job. Often I find that once I start, I desire to keep going and devote much more than five minutes to it—which is what the two books state frequently happens. Interest and momentum seem to help carry me on.

Overcoming the second reason I list above is often more difficult. However, if I budget a certain amount of time for a task and seek to avoid devoting too much time to correcting it by going on to some other task, it helps.

To Do Lists

One step toward overcoming procrastination is the creation of a “To Do List.” However, while “To Do Lists” are good for remembering what to do, by itself they don’t lead to one doing the things on the list. I know that from personal experience.

Prioritizing the items on the “To Do List” and setting aside specific times for each helps. But again I know from personal experience that I can allow other things to change plans, often unnecessarily.

Still, “To Do Lists” help me, especially when combined with the “Five-Minute Plan” and exerting discipline to devote a certain amount of time to a project to help deal with perfectionism.

Prayer

I am a nondenominational Christian. I find specific, genuine prayer is helpful. If I prayed more frequently and more fervently it could be more helpful. Above all, I seek to pray for God's perfect will to be done.

But prayer must be followed by action.

A Good Question to Ask

We need to commit to using our time effectively and to seek to follow through. In the book How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life,^[5] Alan Lakein urges persons procrastinating to ask the question, “What is the best use of my time now?” Asking this question is often helpful for me. I even posted the question in my apartment.

The “Urgent” Versus the “Important” and Closing Thoughts

Numerous writers have discussed the importance of distinguishing between “urgent” things that seem to need done now and “important” things that may not have an immediate deadline. Some things are both urgent (need done now) and important, but usually the two things differ—unless one puts off an important task until it’s almost due, making it both important and urgent.

Personally, I often find myself procrastinating on tasks I consider important, such as work on my fourth book. Instead I do “urgent” tasks such as grocery shopping, cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, showering, replying to emails, sorting papers, reading an entertaining book, surfing the Internet, etc. This is a big problem if such procrastination leads to the book not being finished in a timely manner.

The week before I schedule publication, that book may be both urgent and important. But if I work on the book regularly ahead of time, its quality will be better, and I’ll feel less rushed.

Following the suggestions I mentioned earlier in the article helps me focus on the important and avoid rushing into doing “urgent” tasks that aren’t truly urgent. Often “urgent” tasks can be delayed. Some can even be skipped entirely. I certainly could reduce the time I devote to surfing the Internet.

I don’t claim to have defeated procrastination. But I’m making progress. The tips in this article may help you to do so also.

ENDNOTES:    

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^[1]  Taparia, Neal; “The States with the Worst Procrastinators”; Solitaired.com; April 30, 2024;https://solitaired.com/states-with-the-most-procrastinators

 webpage accessed October 23rd, 2025.

 ^[2]  Shatz, Phd., Itamar; “Procrastination Statistics: Interesting and Useful Statistics About Procrastination”; Solving Procrastination.com;  https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-statistics/

 webpage accessed October 23rd, 2025;

[3] Ellis, Albert and Knaus, William J.; Overcoming Procrastination; pages 100-101; copyright 1977; read in Signet paperback edition first published in 1979.

^[4] Bliss, Edwin C.; Doing It Now; copyright 1983; pages 24-25; read in Bantam paperback edition published October 1984.

 ^[5] Lakein, Alan; How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life; copyright 1973; page 97; quote taken from Signet paperback printing.