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.