i need help grocery shopping!

A bag of oats, eggs, any protein on sale that week (beef/fish/chicken/turkey, etc. whatever is cheapest), two bags of frozen vegetables, fresh fruit on sale or a bag of apples (usually there are 8-10 for $5). Look for items similar to that and then with whatever money left over, get a few treats for yourself!

almond milk, chicken, fruits, Greek yogurt, string cheese, brown rice, eggs, avocados, brussel sprouts, jello pudding cups, trader Joe's cookie butter.

Yogurt
String cheese
Chicken
Cottage cheese
Bag lettuce or spinach
Special K cracker chips
Rice cakes
Various raw veggies

Oh, and the grammar Nazi in me thanks you for using the word "bare" correctly!

my mouth is watering!

Eating healthy is no reason to not enjoy your meals!

Staple, must haves. First, a full belly! Lol Get a ton of quaker oats, eggs, proteins like chicken, fish, and lean steak such as eye round. Get enough to eat 6 egg whites per day and 1-2lbs meats. Tons of power veggies like broccoli, califlower, brussels sprouts, asparugus, etc and carbs top carbs are oats, sweet poatos, and brown rice. Then just mix and match at least 4 meals per day.

I've been struggling with spending WAY too much on groceries. Love this list!!! Thanks for sharing.

Since it's cooled off, I've been craving soups and crock pot chilis. I make/blend my own soups with fresh veggies (i.e. sweet potatoes, carrots, onion and ginger) and sometimes pea soup (frozen peas), both of which are very affordable and so filling. I usually eat a grilled cheese with them. My crockpot chilis are cheap too...one example: ground turkey, onion, garlic, 13 bean soup mix, canned tomato sauce low sodium, frozen green chili; and another one with canned black beans low sodium and sweet potatoes. I freeze leftovers. I never leave the store without Greek yogurt and plenty of fresh apples and pears (ripen them in a brown paper bag for a couple of days). I usually buy my steel cut oats in the bulk bins unless I find pre-packaged oats on sale. Same goes for walnuts/almonds. I pretty much just hang out in the dairy, meat and produce sections. Good luck.

canned white beans, black beans...cheap..protein, fiber , filling and can use them in a variety of ways

Healthy food doesn't have to be more expensive than unhealthy food, and it can easily be less expensive. Don't feel like you have to stock your entire kitchen in one swoop. It might be better to start with planning a few meals and snacks, and just buying what you need for those, and then adding as you go along.

Vegetables (I usually buy fresh, in-season, because I prefer the taste and that's the best value, but if you can find good deals on frozen or canned, go for it, especially if you are likely to let the fresh produce spoil). Right now I have in the kitchen fresh tomatoes, avocados, turnips, cabbage, baby kale, hot peppers, scallions, mature onions, garlic, parsley, mint (I'm planning to make falafel), and sage (I want to use it in a white bean dish), as well as frozen peas and frozen roasting/mashable potatoes -- I haven't tried them yet, but if I buy a five-pound bag of potatoes, they sometimes start to rot before I finish them, so when I realized that the per-pound prize for the frozen ones on sale were comparable, I thought I'd given them a try). I have canned corn and various canned tomato products, and a can of asparagus (I don't recommend it if you're used to fresh or frozen, but it's the only way I had asparagus until I was a teenager, so it's kind of a nostalgia flavor for me).

Fruits - right now I have fresh apples, banana, a pomegranate, lemons, and limes. I'm not super impressed with frozen fruit, but it will work in a smoothy, so you can keep your eye out for sales on frozen fruit. I usually keep a variety of dried fruit on hand (apricots, cranberries, dark and golden raisins [sultanas in some parts of the world], cherries), mostly for baking, but mixed with some nuts and maybe a little chocolate, if you've got a craving, it can be a decent snack. I also buy applesauce in the little four-ounce cups, so I don't feel like I have to eat an entire jar once I open it.

Protein: Less expensive cuts of meat will generally take longer to cook. If you want to stick with things like chicken breasts, which are extremely versatile and cook in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how you're cooking them, buy the "value" or "family size" packages when they're on sale, repackage them into the number of breasts you'll need for one meal, and freeze them. Back when I cooked more meat, I liked eye of round steak (which is a relatively inexpensive steak cut) to cut up for stir fries. You can stretch a relatively small amount of meat with veggies in a stir fry (brocolli, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and onions are all really good like this).
I eat vegetarian the majority of the time when I'm at home, and if you don't go in for "fake meat," it can be less expensive than meat. I keep canned beans (mainly black, cannelini, chickpeas/garbanzos, and small pink beans, because I like them best) and dried beans (black, navy or great northern, chickpeas/garbanzos, lentils, split peas), as well as a variety of nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, hazelnuts) and nut butters. I also rely on dairy (greek yogurt, milk, cheese in its infinite varieties, kefir, cream, and butter) and eggs, as well as nondairy milks (e.g., almond, soy, coconut, hazelnut). But I do keep some meat/poultry/fish in the freezer (salmon cakes, a package of breaded chicken I bought on impulse, and some bacon that I'll dice frozen--it's actually easier that way--and use as flavoring in a vegetable dish. Yummy with brussels sprouts. I also keep canned tuna and sardines, and I usually have some canned soup on hand that has meat or poultry in it, and I often have a can of chili to use as a short cut in making my own chili (add more beans and tomatoes, serve over a baked potato or pasta).

Grains, cereals, bread. Oatmeal is great, convenient, and versatile (you can cook it in the usual way; I eat it raw with yogurt, nuts and fresh or dried fruit; lots of people will tell you about the wonders of "overnight oatmeal. It can also go in soups to thicken them and give them a creamy texture without cream.) I usually keep white and brown rice, white and whole grain pasta, couscous, and a variety of whole grain hot cereals, which I tend to eat more as savory side dishes or the "bed" for a stew, or as an add-in to a salad, rather than as breakfast. I also bake a fair amount so I have white and whole grain flour and corn meal on hand. I keep whole grain cold cereals, because there's nothing easier than a bowl of cereal with milk and fruit when you're starving and you want something NOW that isn't empty calories. I keep commercial bakery bread in the freezer to toast and spread nut butter on (or Nutella, when I want a chocolatey treat).

Edited to fix typo

i buy the right stuff but i still feel hungry ... why is this?

Do you eat it after you buy it?

I forgot to mention my favorite healthy recipe idea site!
http://www.epicureanbb.com/archive

Many of her recipes include protein powder, which may or may not be something you want to get, but they have all been delicious so far!

Here are my go-to items that are often on my list:

Natural peanut butter or almond butter, almond/coconut milk, bananas, apples, spinach, greek yogurt, lower fat string cheese, plain old fashioned oatmeal (not quick cook), chicken breasts, almonds, baby carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, mini peppers, snap peas, strawberries (in season), protein bars, honey or stevia, squash, sweet potatoes, coffee, tea, low carb tortillas,quinoa, tuna to put on salads, eggs or egg whites, frozen berries for smoothies, and protein powder. I try to eat a lot of fresh foods, although they can be more expensive. I routinely eat the same few sets of breakfasts and lunches with moderate tweaking of ingredients and just branch out at dinner.

A couple of things for me: I tend to binge so I limit the food I bring into the house to things that don't trigger me. If I want a sweet treat on occasion or pizza, etc. I eat it OUT as a treat. I also find the more variety I have of carbs in my house, the more I tend to eat. That's just me though. You know what works for you.

I love making soups and stews and freezing them in individual portions. The crockpot is my BFF. It's economical and real food! Totally agree about the versatility of shredded chicken as well.

Bumping to come back to later for ideas.

Meal plan. My husband gets paid every two weeks. I make a menu and buy only what I need plus some things for lunches for the kiddos and myself, usually extra veggies I can nuke, etc. You could make a one week plan and probably freeze half for the next week then you would slowly build up "emergency" meals in the freezer for when other food is getting low. You can make egg muffins and freeze them for quick breakfast foods.