$100 Budget for Food....need help

chicken quarters are the cheapest chicken in the market. They are a bit of work to get ready though. You can cook the entire 10 lb bag and then skin bone and defat the broth and freeze in portions or clean them up before cooking and portion.

Farmers markets and fruit stands are the best place to buy your fruits and veggies when it starts to warm up.

Eggs go into a million different things and are relatively cheap and filling. They go with a ton of veggies also.

Legumes are a great source of protien and very filling as well as cheap.

Lastly the good old standby peanut butter and low fat jam on bread is healthier and more filling than ramen.

Best of luck.

Buy the cheaper unbreaded fish in the frozen section, Mix Fennel,mayonnaise,lemon,pepper,little salt together in a bowl. Put the fish on the bottom of a glass baking pan and then put the fennel mayonnaise mixture over it and cook it in the oven tastes really good really low calories....(pick up stuff to make soup, Hamburger,Cabbage,Tomatoe,Tomatoe Puree,Onion,Pepper,Carrots,Corn,Beef Broth,add a little Crab Broil is really good and low calories),Apples are good not too high in calories or Pears, Eggs are always good....I would pick up stuff to make soup that goes a long way and is fairly inexpensive.

Oatmeal....not the Quaker instant oats packs...but the kind in the big tubs where you have to measure out to make it. Was a staple for me in my college days.

Frozen veggies, cheaper than fresh (and more often has better nutritional values sue to processing practically right after picking instead of being trucked for days)

Frozen fruits too.

Yogurt in the big tubs instead of single serve packs.

Store brand.

Coupons....look for the weekly grocery add and plan meals based on what's available. You can use a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon.

Do you have an Aldi where you are? We feed two people, one vegetarian and one flexitarian, on $50 a week total and we shop at Aldi. We usually only spend about $20 at Aldi, the other $30 goes to Costco or to grocery stores like Sprouts for things we can't get at Aldi (like tofu). Sprouts Market has the best price on tofu and often on produce, so look for one of those as well.

Here's what we eat:

Fresh veggies -- lots, in stir fries, soups, salad, and raw as snacks. Carrots, broccoli, peppers (when cheap), and celery

Tofu

Chicken breasts or thighs sometimes, for me (the flexitarian)

Salad greens. We get the big tub at Costco usually or buy from the bulk bin at Sprouts

Nuts. Bulk bins at Sprouts if we can, if not Aldi's packages are cheap.

Cheese. We don't do the low fat kind -- we just eat the regular stuff in moderation

Brown rice, again in bulk -- don't pay for packaging if you don't have to.

Beans. We go for canned, and rinse to reduce sodium. Dried are cheaper, but canned are more convenient for us. We eat lots of chilis, curries, hummus, and other bean dishes. Filling, lots of fiber, and cheap

Eggs. A complete protein that is relatively cheap. We get a dozen free range grain fed eggs for $1.39

It doesn't have to be expensive to eat healthy. I think most of us need to break the habit of buying so-called healthy packaged food and just eat as many whole foods as we can. Shop around. If you have an Indian or Asian market near you, they will give you a lot of bang for your buck.

Rice, eggs. Food bank, also. Don't feel bad if you need to go there. Maybe take on some extra work if you can manage the time. Cleaners make good money here and you can set your own hours.

I'm in the same boat as you. And I love everyone's ideas so far.

We get dry beans, since they're cheaper than canned, and a ton less sodium. In LA, we have Smart & Final, where you can get bulk stuff without any membership fees. Most of it is junk food, but we got 6 frozen salmon filets for $10.

Quaker weight control oatmeal for breakfast... it's cheap and filling plus yummy. Jasmine rice is inexpensive and easy to fix has tons of flavor. I go to Krogers and Dillons and buy tons of fronzen vegies at a dollar a bag. Then I hit up the marked down meats and vegies. Eggs are a good cheap source of protien. I have a very tight budget as well. I know this is crazy but hey a papa murphys vegi pizza family size is 10 dollars on tuesday on the crispy crust and you can eat 4 or 5 meals off it. Plus it's yummy. They always have whole grain pasta on sale at Krogers/dillons for a dollar something a box, crushed tomatoes make a wonderful sauce, Beans are and excellent source of protein and cost just pennies a serving. You can get the Hunts tomato sauce in a can for a dollar a can and it tastes better than the jarred stuff and has half the calories. Peanut butter... you can find bread on sale and keep in freezer. Watch the sale ads...Use coupons... A lot can be downloaded to your shoppers card and can even give you a discount on gas. Shred your own cheese...I went through a horrifc divorce where I actually had to go to the food bank at one point and still have about a 150 dollar budget. You can do it... A lot of times you can find leg and thigh quarters for about 8 dollars a bag for 10 pounds and you can bake or boil them and it's not bad calorie wise. I buy meat on sale and pre-portion it in my fridge. So good luck you can do this..