Tips on good Cheap foods to buy as a College student?

Calinorth
Calinorth Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey there! So college student here, and was wondering if anyone knew of any good healthy cheap foods to buy? Maybe it to general of a question , but just to get an idea.

Replies

  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Tofu, legumes ( beans, lentil) and look at the specials.
  • Calinorth
    Calinorth Posts: 7
    Love me some lentils, Is tofu cheap? always thought it was expensive.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    Shop at an asian or mexican market if they are near you. You can get everything so much cheaper - including vegetables and meat.

    Tofu is $1.19 for a pound at my asian market.
  • CEHayes73
    CEHayes73 Posts: 221 Member
    Eggs, brown rice, oatmeal, and whatever's in season for fruit & veg.
  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Tofu is 2.39 a pound in a chain store.

    Markets are definitely cheaper than big chain stores.
  • jennontheroad
    jennontheroad Posts: 142 Member
    Go to farmers markets at the end of the day, they want to get rid of everything so it's real cheap.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    coupons are wonderful :D don't do what I did and eat nothing but ramon pizza when I could get it and beer lol I got huge! like 130 to 230 huge it was bad
  • pinktiger8
    pinktiger8 Posts: 130
    I find that national brand packaged foods like snacks, cereals, canned foods, jarred foods, etc are cheaper at Walmart. Asian and Mexican markets have cheaper produce and meats, at least in my area.

    The 99 cent store or a dollar store that has an extensive market section is a good alternative too. There is nothing wrong with their food as long as you watch the expiration date, which you should do at all stores anyway.
  • megansarro
    megansarro Posts: 23
    As far as meals, look for stuff that's on sale, or clip coupons. Try something new!. I purchased some freeze dried apple chips with cinnamon at big lots for a dollar today!! I absolutely love them! They are extremely good for you and it was something different besides eating a plain ol' apple!! Good luck to ya!!
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Do you have access to a kitchen? Will you be cooking strictly microwave/toaster oven?
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    Bump for future reference. Single mama of 3 here! lol
  • aloranger7708
    aloranger7708 Posts: 422 Member
    Take advantage of your meal plan! Our plan allowed us to get a to-go container and pack it full of stuff once every single hour. It was awesome. I would go in there and stock up on spinach, veggies, grilled chicken, fruits, rice, etc.

    And I totally agree about going to markets instead of big box stores.
  • justwanderful
    justwanderful Posts: 142 Member
    Go out at night and get some free grapes. Just kidding.
    I'm not sure how it is there, but here in AZ, this is what I find:
    The 99 cent store has great produce prices as well as canned fish.
    Win-Co has very good meat and produce prices, but their bulk bin items can be a bit stale.
    Sprouts has great produce and meat specials and fresh bulk items.
    Since Safeway, Albertsons and Frys are hi-lows, they're fine just for their sale items and beer.
    Food City (caters to the Hispanic market) has good produce and meat prices.
    Walmart has good prices on staple items.
    Hope this helps.
  • kcaffee1
    kcaffee1 Posts: 759 Member
    bump for replies
  • KateL1969
    KateL1969 Posts: 98 Member
    I try to eat low carb to lose weight but meat is expensive. As a single Mum I have to be a flexitarian. I eat a lot of Quorn as easy to cook, a relatively cheap protein with a better texture than tofu (and probably better for me and the environment). I add fajita spices, red bell peppers and onion and stir-fry.

    In the UK you can buy 4 cans of baked beans for a pound from Lidl - that's 25p each. If you wash off all the sugary tomato sauce you can use the beans for anything. Particularly nice to add to veggies and make a curry or a chilli.

    I generally eat beef mince once a week which I buy from a farm shop as cheaper, better quality and better animal welfare standards than supermarket stuff. Lidl also sell passata for 25p per 500ml. Much cheaper than a tin of tomatoes. Great for chillis/bolognaise sauce.

    Freezers are a great help if you have one. The supermarkets sell chicken/salmon at almost half price when it is close to the best before date. I buy it, separate it into individual portions and freeze it, taking out just what I need. I do the same with sliced brown bread which I try not to eat too much of these days.

    I have three chickens and as eggs are so expensive these days, it works out cheaper. I eat an egg every morning. Hope that helps!
  • adorable_aly
    adorable_aly Posts: 398 Member
    Tinned tomatoes
    Frozen veg
    Pasta
    Bulk buy meat and freeze it.

    I find the cheapest meals are the ones I make for 3 or 4 days and freeze to have through the week.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    frozen veggies
    whole wheat pastas
    brown rice
    beans all kinds
    meat on sale and freeze it
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    My answer would depend on what kind of kitchen facilities are available to you. For example, if you have a good fridge and stove you can do all sorts of beans , beans and rice, rice and stir fry, chili, etc - using smaller amounts of chicken and meat and rounding out your meals with fresh veggies and beans.
  • RubyRosee1
    RubyRosee1 Posts: 4
    Hi there, i'm from Australia but i find that fruit is extremly filling and healthy (grapes and watermelon) make some smoothies and add some spinach and banana and whatever else you like and have it for breakfast, really filling and you may not be that hungry for a few hours after ALSO porridge/oatmeal is cheap and filling!! :tongue:
  • feast4dabeast
    feast4dabeast Posts: 96 Member
    Tinned tomatoes
    Frozen veg
    Pasta
    Bulk buy meat and freeze it.

    I find the cheapest meals are the ones I make for 3 or 4 days and freeze to have through the week.

    I like

Categories