55 Healthy 99 Cent Only Store Finds
HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE! T.G.I.F
My roommate and I used to shop at the dollar store all the time throughout the last two years of graduate school. I can’t believe how many times shopping at the dollar store saved us, allowing us to eat healthy without dipping to far into our student loan debt. Plus, we always had so much fun going there because you can almost bet your going to find something unexpected there. Last night I went with my new roommate to the dollar store and relived so many of those memories! I didn’t buy a lot because next week is my LAST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA, but I wanted to share with everyone all the healthy foods I saw!
Photo’s were taken at the 99 Cent Store in Palm Desert, CA.
Produce
1. Avocados, Garlic, Tomatoes and Onions
2. Mini Cucumbers
3. Mangos the size of your head:
4. Seedless Grapes:
5. Carrots, Mushrooms,Garlic & Tomatoes
6. Tomatoes and Bananas
7. Strawberries
8. Watermelon
9. Fruits and Bagged Salad
10. Frozen Fruit
11. Frozen Veggies
Dairy/Dairy Alternatives
12. Half & Half
I always recommend you chose half and half, over sugary and chemical-packed creamers! (See post about how to chose or make healthier coffee creamers.)
13. Milk
14. 4 Different Greek Yogurts
15. Soymilk
For those of you who want or need dairy free there are still great options for you!
Cereals/Grains
16. 100% Whole Grain Bread
17. Udis Granola
18. Brown Rice
19. Corn Tortillas
20. Whole Grain Tortillas
21. Oatmeal
22. Oats
23. Perfect Portion Oatmeal
24. Steel Cut Oats
25. High Fiber Twigs
Snacks
26. Special K Chips
27. Fat Free Crackers
28. Dried Green Beans and Garbanzo Beans
29. Dried Fruit
30. Granola Bar
31. Nuts
32. Quaker Pop Chips
33. Pretzels
34. Veggie Sticks
Canned Goods
35. Organic Beans
36. Non Fat Refried Beans
37. Beans, Beans, the magical fruit…
38. Garlic
39. Mrs. Dash Marinade
40. Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle
Protein
41. Lite Sausage
42. Turkey Sausage
43. Tofu
44. Tuna To Go Meal
45. Tuna Packet
Random
46. Chocolate Coconut Water
47. Flaxseed
48. Ground Flax
49. Mio Water Flavor
50. Salad Dressing
51. Spices
52. Green/Black Teas
53. Whole Grain Helper
Non Food
54. Mason Jars
55. Popsicle Makers
Tips on Dollar Store Shopping
There are so many good finds at the dollar store, I never want to hear the “healthy eating is too expensive” excuse ever again! However, that being said, some things that seem to good to be true, may actually be just that… too good to be true. Here are some tips to make sure you aren’t fooled and are using your money wisely.
1. Check the Expiration Date on Every Single Item
I’m not going to lie, I did buy this coconut water even though it is a few days past the expiration date, but I definitely wouldn’t do that with most things.
2. Make Sure the Food is Being Stored Properly
3. Inspect Produce Carefully and Throughly
Open the container if you can to inspect the goods, also turn it over to look at the back. Leave anything that doesn’t look good behind. We definitely brought home some produce that was fantastic, but unfortunately also got blueberries that were not edible. Whoops!
Hope this post inspires you to eat healthy even on a budget! Let me know what great dollar store finds you find (or have found in the past!)
Nice list but you were focusing more on what’s aesthetically healthy rather than what’s in it. A significant amount of the items you listed are filled with highly toxic ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. It’s easy be deceived by the FDA and food industry though, a weird thing about it is if you compare random peanut brand A with random peanut brand B at the 99c Store you’ll often see that brand A has 2 ingredients: (peanuts, salt) and brand B has 50: (High fructose corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, pepto bismal, acetaminophen, oxydoxyhingadingadurgenarglefluurgenyazidazone).
Hi Whetsit, you make a great point it is important to read the ingredients on whatever you buy! Thanks for sharing!
Yoplait is one of the worst (unhealthy) yogurts on the market with scary additives! I just came from a 99cent store where I stocked up on an organic, grass fed yogurt, 2 for 99 cents! They are close to the experiation date but, I’ll eat them in time enough. Produce should be bought with caution! It is usually heavily sprayed, near its experiation, poor quality and sometimes even rotting and moldy. I bought some organic greens near expiration that were fresh enough. Many processed foods (especially bargan ones) contain the evil ingredient palm oil. If you don’t understand why palm oil is one of the most enviromentally damaging crops (& unhealthy on many levels) on the planet do some quick internet research. It’s in everything from peanut butter to crackers, snack cakes, cheap candy, fake chocolates to makeup. It often masqerades itself as a healthy product. The big money processed food industry and its media promoters wont inform you. Be a wise well informed consumer and read your labels!
Thanks for your thoughts! I agree yoplait is not my favorite either, but it’s certainly a better option than many other things one can pick! Thanks for sharing additional tips!
I usually look at all ingredients when it comes to food. But trust me the 99 cents stores near my house has great produce. I always watch for moldy stuff. On the other hand, My father in law is a truck driver and he has seen several times how trader joes uses regular brands like rockview farms. And what do they do? They only place a trader joes sticker on many of their products. Sure enough i bought some cheese there the other day and it tasted like plastic. At the end of the day i guess you pick your battles
Thanks for sharing such an informative article