Is it actually possible to eat healthily on 50 euros a week?

Wanderer2010 · 27-10-2014 06:42PM #1

There is so much information out there on what is good for our bodies and what foods we should and shouldn't eat but taking a single male adult who has a budget of 50 a week for food can all your nutritional requirements be met? There is so much advice on supplements, fancy and healthy foods which are expensive and sometimes hard to get. I have no problem with Aldi or Lidl, in fact thats where I purchase most of my foods.

Is 50euros a week enough to stay healthy and still slip in the odd treat?

stimpson · 27-10-2014 06:43PM

I've a wife and two kids. No way I spend €200 a week on food.

The Backwards Man · 27-10-2014 06:46PM

I'd imagine so.

I grow a fair whack of my own food, and it's questionable whether I'm the epitome of healthy eating apart from avoiding processed food as much as possible, but I wouldn't spend more than €35-€40 on grub per week, that's steak a couple of times a week and all.

RDM_83 again · 27-10-2014 06:46PM

In before a poster says they feed 2 people a week for 30 and then gives a detailed breakdown, the only problem being is it works out at about 1000 calories per day and no protein.

50 Euro for one person is well possible though, I'd say lowest for healthy would be about 35 ish and thats with effort.

Gordy6040 · 27-10-2014 06:47PM

Have you been to aldi? They are pretty good for fruit and veg.

mengele · 27-10-2014 06:48PM

milk for the protein anyway

Sir Osis of Liver. · 27-10-2014 06:51PM

Aldi are doing a 6 pack of Rancheros for 2 euro at the moment.
Buy 25 packs of them,be grand.
Full of bacony goodness.

DiegoCosta · 27-10-2014 06:52PM

Yes, liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat, it costs about 80 cent to feed one person a generous portion.

Reebrock · 27-10-2014 06:53PM

Nuts, water, milk and veg. yes.

27-10-2014 06:53PM

I got a load of meat on one of those family deals in a butcher for 20 quid which I think would do me for a week. Then throw in a load of veg and maybe some rice, bread, I don't know, whatever you want.
Close enough?

dmc17 · 27-10-2014 06:54PM

DiegoCosta wrote: »

Yes, liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat, it costs about 80 cent to feed one person a generous portion.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to eat it too often though.

27-10-2014 06:56PM

If it's a person on their own 50 quid is easily enough for food for a week.

4 litres of milk can be got for under €3.
4 chicken fillets €5
Stock up on Aldi meat offers, say €10
Few tins of kidney beans/chickpeas €3
Spend a fiver between Aldi and Lidl's weekly specials for fruit/veg. €5
Spend another fiver on fruit and veg. €5
Dozen eggs for €2.
Few spices/herbs work out at a euro a week or less. €1

There's €34 at fairly high prices for some items. :P Add in rice/pasta if you're into them, or some spuds, still under €40. Spend the rest on nice cheese, cured meats and the like.

Bam, healthy eating for €50 quid a week.

Dyr · 27-10-2014 06:56PM

It you go to aldi or lidl for fruit and veg and some of their processed foods you'd get a weeks of grub for about 50 squid.

Bear in mind the cost of energy for cooking though

Laois6556 · 27-10-2014 06:57PM

You could do that easy. All you have to do is buy really healthy stuff for one week. Then for all the weeks after that just eat your own sh1t. It'll be full of healthy nutrients.

DiegoCosta · 27-10-2014 06:59PM

dmc17 wrote: »

I'm not sure it's a good idea to eat it too often though.

Once or twice a week is optimal. Then you have tinned sardines and mackerel, eggs, cheap beef. All relatively cheap and nutrient dense.

Talib Fiasco · 27-10-2014 07:00PM

Frozen veggies and fruit from lidl. Canned tuna and salmon. Whole chicken. Box of rice. Big bucket of yoghurt. Box of oats. That'd all fall under twenty euro easily.

GrumpyMe · 27-10-2014 07:00PM

Chef Paul Flynn has a 7 x Family Meal for €50, piece on Lidl.ie.

So a loner should be well able to exist on €50 for a week. Might be boring or repetative to follow his recipes blindly but possible yes!

One eyed Jack · 27-10-2014 07:06PM

DiegoCosta wrote: »

Yes, liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat, it costs about 80 cent to feed one person a generous portion.

It also tastes delicious warm or cold so there's your tasty snack right there, when you're not eating raw black pudding and cooker apples...

OP if you hadn't said 'eat healthy' on €50 a week, I would have been able to tell you how to survive on a lot less, I'm talking €5 a week, but it would mean employing some rather dubious means such as retrieving your meals from some very unsanitary places, and being up early enough in the morning to grab a few cartons of milk and a newspaper.

Can a single male live healthily on €50 a week? Absolutely.

Sweet Rose · 27-10-2014 07:15PM

Without a shadow of a doubt. Just become a more savvy shopper, look for the best deals, buy things in bulk when they're on special offer, buy lots if Tupperware and freeze meals.

Since I've had my daughter, I've become much more economical. She isn't eating full sized meals yet so when I cook, I usually make a big dinner that will last 2 days. I'd also have enough to freeze maybe 2 portions too. I load my meals with fresh vegetables so make sure I get nutrients and to make meals more filling. I try to cook meals for under €10 so things like chilli con carne, beef casserole, chicken curry, risotto, stews etc.

I think the trick to shopping is going with a meal plan for the week ahead in mind or a list in your hand. Planning ahead is key. Don't go shopping unprepared as you'll just buy a lot of nothing.

Last_Minute · 27-10-2014 07:16PM

Local farms are great places to pick up free vegetables. Just go in the dead of night and take what you want (Don't let the farmer see you though).

biko · 27-10-2014 07:17PM

Yes, I'm not going to make your shopping list for you but it's possible.
Focus on veg, fish and fruit and you should be able to do it.
Go to fish mongers and butchers rather than supermarkets.
Get food as close to raw as possible, no processed stuff, and clean and cook it yourself.

Tokyo · 27-10-2014 07:17PM

Definitely can. Plenty of fruit and veg places around the country that you can walk away from with a box of veg for under €10, as long as you are happy with it still caked in the dirt that it grew in, rather than waxed and polished and in a shiny plastic bag from the supermarket. Shop around for cheap cuts of meat, slowly build up a collection of stock, herbs and spices and yeah, you can eat healthily for under €50/week.

Throw into the mix a bit of self sufficiency, grow some veg, bake your own bread now and again, learn a few decent recipes, and you can eat VERY well for that money.

Micky Dolenz · 27-10-2014 07:20PM

Buy a lamb, fatten them up. Then slaughter them for the freezer. It is a bit of an investment but it will save you in the long run.

You'll have a deep freeze full of meat for the winter and a cuddly pet for a month or so.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 27-10-2014 07:20PM

Quality beef from the butcher, fresh fruit and veg from the greengrocer, everything else from Dunne's and the two of us eat a heathy balanced diet for 80 per week - including non food items in Dunnes . A single person willing to cook meals from scratch can certainly do so for 50 per week.

The Backwards Man · 27-10-2014 07:21PM

Last_Minute wrote: »

Local farms are great places to pick up free vegetables. Just go in the dead of night and take what you want (Don't let the farmer see you though).

They can also be a crucial source of essential trace elements . . .such as zinc, copper and iron, and not forgetting lead . . up your hole if you're caught.

biko · 27-10-2014 07:23PM

Learn one pot cooking. Root veg, meat and rice.

anncoates · 27-10-2014 07:24PM

Of course it is.

Roquentin · 27-10-2014 07:28PM

i could survive on 50 euro for three weeks

ceadaoin. · 27-10-2014 07:33PM

If you have a well stocked cupboard then it is possible. You'd have to spend more than €50 though first to get it stocked but buy stuff like tinned tomatoes, tomato purée,chickpeas,kidney beans, stock cubes, dried herbs and spices,curry paste, coconut milk, pasta and rice in bulk. Then buy the fresh veg and meat weekly and you have the basis for loads of meals without having to buy all the ingredients at once.

Remmy · 27-10-2014 07:37PM

dunno tbh a 50 euro note is an awfully small surface area. You are also dealing with the hygiene levels of the note being handled by so many people etc

Neyite · 27-10-2014 07:54PM

I've a slow cooker on at the moment. Beef was under a fiver, carrots mushrooms and onions, under €3, soy sauce €1, tin of kidney beans from the back of the cupboard, garlic and ginger left over from a curry recipe. There's about 6-8 portions in it, freezable so don't have to eat the same thing every day. Its under 1.50 per portion including rice.

Spaghetti is another one you can do in bulk and save. I got 10 portions spaghetti sauce and 8 portions of lasange and the lot worked out at 1.20 each.

But you need to buy to bulk-cook and you'd really need freezer space. Each week I try to cook a different bulk meal so I keep a stash built up in the freezer of various stews, curries, spaghetti, lasange, jambalaya, and a few others to vary it day to day.

Porridge for breakfast will fill you more than cereal.

Is it actually possible to eat healthily on 50 euros a week?

Comments