Diet on an extremely minimal budget

ithina

Sandwiches are cheap. Tuna sandiches, pb&j, tomato, etc.

If you have the time to look through ad's (I was always surfing the internet at class/work) you can plan out some meals based on the store ad's and also stock up on stuff when it's on sale. If you really don't have a spare min at work or during lectures this may not work too well.

Costco / Sams Club are good for bulk items. I like to buy my meat at Costco. They're better quality and the price doesn't seem to change. Other stores will occasionally beat them in price, but the quality just isn't there.

One of my favourite meals is cottage cheese, yogurt, and protein powder. I mix about a cup of cottage cheese with a scoop of protein powder and then fold in a single serving container of yogurt. This may be an option for you when cottage cheese is on sale Also, cottage cheese and fruit pair well together if you like cottage cheese.

Canned soup. Go for the reduced sodium / heart-healthy kind. Zap it and eat .

ithina

Sweet potatoes--again, you can bake a bunch on your day off and have them there all week. And they are cheap. Same with any kind of winter squash. You can also cut up the sweet potatoes or squash and throw them into your stir-fries. Or put in some canned beans.

Ooo, you just gave me some awesome ideas. I didn't know squash would keep after cooking it Great to know. Thanks! And just in time too; winter squash season is nearly upon us

Also a tip on cooking squash.. it takes almost an hour to boil/bake, but only like 10 min in the microwave. I just hit the potato button on my microwave and my squash cooks just fine.

MuseofSong

overnight oatmeal. Mix equal parts milk (almond or regular), greek yougurt, and oatmeal in a container, leave in fridge overnight, and enjoy the next day. Cheap, easy, healthy and yummy. I do a half cup of each and throw in some fresh fruit on top. Soooo good.

OMG yum, that sounds so good and like it could be really versatile! I'm going to try that.

Flabulousss

I'm poor too. I got so tired of stressing over what I was going to eat every day, that I tried 5:2. Took a lot of the pressure off, though it's not for everyone. Of course, I still strive to eat healthy every day. Frozen veggies are the best, especially on "10 for 10" days at my grocery store. lol Oh and lots of coupons!! Sign up for a bunch of coupon mailings & email lists. You'd be surprised how much healthy stuff you can get.

daimere

I've done a few of these things that people have suggested. On my off days, I will make a big batch of something (couscous salad, chilis, and a few other things) and would eat on those all week. Some of the things I'd freeze for leaner times (that has really helped). Overnight oatmeal is a great thing, too. I would precook rice and freeze it for when I need some random rice for something. I love frozen veggies if I can't get fresh. Also, you can get some fish for a decent price and steam it in the microwave. I also work nights. Surely you can do some cooking while studying?

Recently, I switched to 5:2 once I started regaining my weight that I lost a few months back. So far, it's worked out for me but everyone has their own issues regarding that.

shrimpydoo

I too can SO relate. What saves me is making soups...all kinds of soup recipes out there which are flavored with herbs and spices (which are much cheaper at the bulk stores if you cannot grow your own--also easy & cheap). Someone else said eggs--great choice. Watch for meat on discount...it's still good as long as it is cooked immediately. Make casseroles, calculate calories & nutritional value per serving, then divide the dish up into lunches & dinners for yourself...much cheaper than buying pre-made, packaged food. Don't waste a thing... I agree that frozen veggies don't have the texture of fresh, but some are not too bad, depending upon how you use them...For instance frozen corn, or those string bean/carrot blend packages. Pasta also goes on sale--buy it then. Check out what's available at dollar stores--you'd be surprised. I buy individual unsweetened applesauce for snacktime - 6 for $1...canned diced tomatoes, sometimes long grain rice, popcorn, crackers. For sure sometimes you don't get the best of the best, but hey, on a budget sometimes we have to make some sacrifices. The other thing that helps is to look at flyers and make lists of where the best sales are, then pre-plan a weekly food plan, using up everything you purchase so there's nothing unused by the end of week. To sum it up.. it really can be done. I do it, and we have 7 children on a very low income. A wise man once told me: "the only thing you can't do chickie, are the things you've decided you can't."...Have a terrific day & best of luck.

Mokey41

I'm 180 pounds and 6'2 but all of my weight is in my stomach I have thin arms and thin legs.

Ok, we're on page 2 and no one has picked up on this? The food suggestions are great but I doubt you need to be worrying about losing weight. More likely you need to work on some body re composition which would involve some weight training. You probably aren't fat, just need to get some abs to hold your gut in. I know every body is different but my son is 6'3" and at 180 he starts looking on the gaunt side but he's also well muscled.

cruzcrzyMarie

EGGS are relatively inexpensive, and they are high in protein, low in calories! We try to keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator at all times. When making scrambled eggs I use one whole egg and 3 egg whites. Tuna is another relatively inexpensive great item. They now have the pouches and you can keep them in your backpack.

Hildy_J

I can only sympathise. This is why, in socio-economic terms, those at the lower end of the scale are more likely to suffer from obesity. Processed or dried foods are so much cheaper.

Fresh fruits and vegetables can be prohibitively expensive. Lean meats of the tasty and delicious kind: roast chicken, fresh salmon, lamb do not come cheap.

When times is hard perhaps a relatively inexpensive diet, to include things like: baked beans, minced meat, baked potatoes, sweetcorn and frozen veg will set you on the right track.

Good luck, you sound like a real hard worker!

CipherZero

Seconded on the overnight oatmeal. Even a vanilla yogurt and oats alone is filling, cheap, AND tasty in the mornings.

TheArmadillo

I am in the UK so food prices/availability is bit different over here.
I have spent quite a lot of today preparing food for the week. I make sure all my food for the next day is prepped and bagged the night before so I can just grab it in the morning.

Breakfast - protein shake with fruit or porridge (oatmeal) with fruit . Overnight oatmeal is good as can all be prepped night before.

Snacks (am) banana, apple, hard boiled eggs

Lunch - soup with protein on side (this week crackers and pate), or salad with protein. Pudding is fruit (this week pineapple, kiwi and coconut) with yoghurt

Snack (pm) this week is oatmeal raisin cookie, but otherwise dried fruit and nuts

Dinner - often curry or stew in slow cooker with rice (veg in the curry/stew), or salad with protein and potatoes or bread.

I make soup with leftover veg (broccoli stalks work well) or frozen veg. I buy bags of bacon offcuts and add these, leftover herbs and stock. Sometimes I use chorizo instead of bacon and sometimes chickpeas or split peas (dried ones are cheap and if you have a freezer you can soak and boil and then freeze ready to use). I box it up for the week, any extra gets frozen for busy weeks as can grab/reheat straight from the freezer.

Doing something like pulled pork in the slow cooker (trim fat off first) lasts for a few meals and can be done in several ways.

The biggest thing is meal planning and preparation.

moxiept

Bump!

Slacker16

Finally a topic I'm knowledgeable about

Frankly, when on a budget you pretty much have to make a choice between higher sodium, longer preparation time or higher calories...

The problem (for me) with Ramen noodles, pre-made pizzas, tv dinners, etc... is that they don't really fill me up despite having a fairly large amount of calories. Canned goods can also be pretty expensive when bought in bulk, and high in sodium.

My personal favorites:
- large bags of beans, boiled during the weekend and kept for later
- instant brown rice, it's filling and can be quite cheap (depending on where you live)
- frozen spinach, broccoli and cauliflower (healthy, filling and quick, bland but absorbs flavour)
- soup stock, high in sodium but very cheap and a quick way to add flavour to anything
- eggs and canned fish for protein, beef sausages are both cheap and fairly healthy
- you can also buy ground meat, fry it up during the weekend and keep for later

I'll add more if I can think of more.

AmykinsCatfood

Frozen breakfast burritos- some chicken, salsa, cheese and eggs. I would spend maybe $20 on all the food and got 3 weeks worth of breakfast out of it. Just grab one out of the freezer, microwave and go!

nataschalouise

In my broke 2nd/3rd year of uni, I was fortunate enough to work in a cafe that had great healthy food and a stupid wasteful policy that whatever doesn't get sold, get thrown out. As staff we had a meal allowance a day, and we could take whatever food we wanted from the leftovers. I used to stack up on ALOT of the food when I could, salads, sandwiches, fruit juices etc. I saved so much money and lots a nice amount of weight doing that. I left because it was also weird hours (worked in the airport) and piled on the weight, because I had a new waitressing job in an italian restaurant. I ate a lot of fast foods.

Its really hard to be prepared, when you are stuck for time. However, I used to always use this as an excuse but still find time to watch tv/ go on facebook. Making a good healthy salad or sandwich for lunch takes 20 minutes. Get up 20 minutes earlier than you do already. Easier said then done, but that 20 minutes won't do much to your energy levels.

As for money, its much better to buy in bulk. Eating as you go along is really expensive. I can spend roughly £8 on lunches for a week. But eating out for the week costs £5 a day.

MrsFowler1069

EGGS are relatively inexpensive, and they are high in protein, low in calories! We try to keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator at all times. When making scrambled eggs I use one whole egg and 3 egg whites. Tuna is another relatively inexpensive great item. They now have the pouches and you can keep them in your backpack.

Oh, yeah.....I eat eggs every, single day. Absolutely.

marysidneyherbert

Yes, I agree about cooking winter squash in the microwave. Just remember to poke some holes in it with a fork so it doesn't explode!

KANGOOJUMPS

pop tarts

Some_Watery_Tart

EGGS are relatively inexpensive, and they are high in protein, low in calories! We try to keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator at all times. When making scrambled eggs I use one whole egg and 3 egg whites. Tuna is another relatively inexpensive great item. They now have the pouches and you can keep them in your backpack.

Ditto on the eggs. When I was a broke single mom, we ate eggs. Cheap, nutritious, easy to prepare ahead. Hard boil a dozen--make some egg salad for sandwiches, slice some up on salad, eat them whole...whatever works. "Fried rice" was a staple too. Frozen mixed veggies, rice, scrambled egg and seasoning.

brian7506

For time, I go crazy and cook almost everything for the week in a couple hours on a day off. Put them in containers and nuke em for dinner. Breakfast is usually Cheerios & lunch is a ham or turkey sandwich on whole wheat. For me it works because I almost eat the same thing everyday. It dosn`t bother me as long as I do what I`m supposed to do in less time.