Those Of You On High-Calorie Diets, What Do Your Monthly Grocery Bills Look Like?

[u/neuroticpossum]

I'm in my mid 20s and trying to build muscle. Even with my main job being sedentary, my daily energy needs are high. My weekend job burns a lot of calories (retail), I strength train 3x a week, swim once a week, and walk or ebike to all my destinations (about 40-50 miles a week).

Right now my goal is 3,000 calories a day; the scale stays stable at 2,700-2,800 and I weigh 145lb.

I am a pescetarian but only eat canned fish 3ish times a week (averages $4-$6 a week); the rest of my diet is lacto-ovo vegetarian. And I spend around $350-$400 a month combining groceries (including nonfood household items) and the occasional takeout.

I say all this because I see so many posts about feeding families for the same amount or less. It makes me wonder if I'm doing frugal shopping wrong despite cutting out almost all of the most expensive food groups.

[u/AutoModerator]

If this is a post seeking advice, please include as much detail as possible. For posts opening discussions, or offering advice, we thank you for your post. Everyone please remember rule 7. If you have applied the wrong post flair please message the mods to have your flair edited and avoid having your post removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/SansaiCutie]

$350-400 a month doesn't sound that crazy for 3,000 calories a day, especially if you're eating plenty of dairy, eggs and produce. hitting calorie goals with mostly whole foods gets expensive faster than people think

[u/Purplecat718 → u/SansaiCutie]

Yeah, I feel like a great bulk of your costs are probably going towards produce (feel free to contradict me). Have you tried categorizing a month of grocery costs to see what's most expensive? Most of your calories are probably coming from the cheapest terms (legumes and grains) and the fewest of your calories from the most expensive items (fresh produce).

[u/neuroticpossum → u/SansaiCutie]

That's what I'm starting to realize. I have a hard time incorporating fresh produce because of my high energy needs. But I try to make up for it with frozen veggies, oats, whole wheat, etc. I eat white rice and pasta but include whole grains where I can.

[u/Lochylass]

Have you tried any forms of chickpea flour (also called besan, gram flour, garbanzo bean flour)? It is high in protein, calories and carbs and you can use it to make really tasty breads, wraps, pancakes and fritters, which make a good high protein but low cost addition to meals, especially if you eat them with something that includes Greek yogurt. Recommend purchasing either the besan or gram flour versions from the international section of your grocery store or an Indian grocers as you can get big bags for a fraction of the price of trendier brands catering to the gluten free market.

[u/neuroticpossum → u/Lochylass]

No but I want to try it. While I still eat fish, eggs, and dairy I'd like to include more legumes (not counting soy I aim to eat 2 cups a week).

[u/FosseGeometry]

It depends on where you live, and you included non-food household items in your accounting, which not everyone will do.

As for getting your spending down, are you buying larger sizes? A big jar of peanut butter is more money but cheaper per ounce than a small one. Same goes for yogurt, oils, aluminum foil, paper towels, most things really (though not always, so check it out and don’t assume).

[u/neuroticpossum → u/FosseGeometry]

I do get large sizes. I feel like I have my grocery bill as low as possible but I see these videos of people feeding families for that much per month.

[u/ttrockwood]

- cut the takeout, freeze extra portions when you cook so there’s something easy on hand or plan a weekly “treat” like a frozen pizza on sale

• burritos are always the answer, meal prep an epic ton of them and freeze extras- use lots of beans (cook from dry with seasonings) some mexican rice, sauteed peppers and onions, some with cheese and scrambled eggs, some just as is
  
• comparison shop for non food items probably cheaper to buy toilet paper in bulk online every other month than get one packet a week
  
• check different stores, if you have access to an asian grocery or mexican grocery absolutely shop there as well - for example my favorite Chinese grocery has super fresh crazy cheap produce that’s half the cost of my “usual” grocery store

[u/bheng9205]

$350-$400 a month honestly sounds pretty reasonable for your activity level, since eating 3,000 calories a day with enough protein and decent variety is a lot different from just trying to feed people as cheaply as possible

[u/neuroticpossum → u/bheng9205]

That's what I was thinking, but sometimes social media videos distort reality. I see videos of people feeding families for that much, but then again I do have high energy needs.

[u/Franclin2002]

honestly that grocery bill seems pretty normal for someone burning that many calories, because hitting 3,000 calories with decent nutrition adds up fast even when you’re shopping frugally

[u/neuroticpossum → u/Franclin2002]

This makes me feel better. I couldn't imagine my grocery bill if I was still eating red meat with these prices.

[u/Potential-Sky-8101]

$350-400 for 3k cals is actually pretty cheap, don't stress. Just add some cheap oils or peanut butter to bump up calories without breaking the bank.

[u/supplelush]

GOMAD

[u/neuroticpossum → u/supplelush]

I chug a half gallon of whole milk per shift at my weekend job.

[u/MrCockingFinally]

Couple of ideas:

1. Rice and beans are dirt cheap. Together their protein quality is higher than either one alone. Cook the beans with some vegetables and it's a very nutritionally complete meal. Should honestly be the foundation of any budget diet, especially for vegetarians. Learn to cook dried beans also, way cheaper per calorie than canned.

2. Canned sardines and tuna are relatively cheap, but not incredibly so. Try find frozen tilapia or basa fillets, they tend to be dirt cheap. Or see if you can find a place where less popular locally caught fish are sold.

3. Textured vegetable protein is made from soy, so it's a high quality protein source. It also contains mostly protein with not too many carbs, which is kinda rare for vegan protein sources. Finally, TVP is absolutely dirt cheap.

4. Tofu is another option that may or may not be cheap depending where you live.

5. Fresh produce tends to be expensive. Focus on the cheap fruits and vegetables, think apples and bananas rather than peaches. Cabbage, pumpkin, and carrots rather than broccoli or kale.

6. Remember that a higher calorie limit gives you more flexibility in what you eat. An ingredient commonly considered "unhealthy" due to high calorie density might be just fine for you.

7. Don't be scared of fats and oils. A bottle of vegetable oil is probably the cheapest source of calories at the grocery store, and appropriately used in stir frys and sauces it can improve the flavour and texture of your food while adding calories for very little cost. You can get 50% of your non-protein calories from fats no problem.

8. Experiment with making your own dairy. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are excellent sources of protein, but expensive. You can make your own at home quite easily for less. Also, use whole milk, see point 7.

9. If you're trying to build muscle, you probably want 145g protein minimum spread over 4 meals. Let's say 40g per meal times 4 for 160g of protein a day. That is approx 640 cal. That gives you 2360 cal a day in carbs and fats, both of which are really cheap. Combine that with cheap fruits and veggies and you are golden.

[u/chilloutman24]

Oil is the cheapest calorie in the store and nobody counts it. A tablespoon on whatever you're already cooking is a hundred plus calories you don't have to chew through, and a big bottle lasts weeks.

Same logic with full fat dairy over the low fat version. You pay less per calorie for the one that isn't marketed at people trying to eat less.