Poor student trying to lose weight!

For kicks, I just googled "healthy recipes college students"--there are tons of links! This one has some good advice on what you can do with five basic veggies:

http://pickyeaterblog.com/healthy-easy-meals-great-for-college-students-or-busy-professionals/

all great suggestions also for fresh veggies if you prepare them when you get home they will take up less room in your refridgerator space. Wash and cut everthing to the size you like and just put them in a resealable bag - lettuce even keeps well already cut up since you wash it at the time it is usually quite wet so I slide a couple sections of paper towel in the bag before i put the lettuce in and it absorbs the moisture and I think it also helps keep it fresh. Doing this I also find I have no excuses about having enough time as it's already done and there waiting for me.

I am trying to loose weight on a budget of $30/week for my son and myself, it's not too difficult so far to keep my calorie count low... the hard part is keeping nutrients high for the both of us. I tend to scour the weekly ads for sales on fresh fruits/veggies/meats. I am learning how to coupon as well for things. I can't afford $1/greek yogurt on a daily basis, so I "splurge" on greek yogurt as a reward for meeting goals... but I stick to my budget pretty well with "meal replacement" shakes going on sale (the powders with skim milk average $0.67/serving)... I will add in peanut butter, chocolate chips, coffee, bananas, oatmeal, whatever I am in the mood for if I am hungry... which does raise the cost per serving, but not too much.

It's a tough road, but manageable... $30/week for two is nothing compared to most peoples food budgets, but we manage

Wow that's awesome...I need to start budgeting a little better also but good job! Not sure if $30 would fill my 23 yr old son though he has a hollow leg and they are really long :ohwell:

. I can't afford $1/greek yogurt on a daily basis, so I "splurge" on greek yogurt as a reward for meeting goals...

Invest in a Donvier yogurt sieve. Greek yogurt is really just sieved yogurt. Vanilla yogurt is waaaay cheaper by the quart. When the yogurt is the consistency you want just return it to the original container. Or buy a yogurt maker. You can use your fav brand as the starter culture and control the milk fat.

All of this is great advice.

I don't know if your deals are as good as where you live but two of my grocery stores are good for buying fresh foods that are going out of date within 5 to 7 days. I can usually get pre-cut fruits and veggies for a good deal with 3 or 4 days to go, meats at half price to cook or freeze that day and dairy with 5 days left on the date. If you can find this kind of deal near you it's actually kind of fun. The store nearest me also has a tendency to over buy on items that go on sale, so that it's almost certain the day after the sale you can actually get the foods cheaper than the sale price!

Wash and cut everthing to the size you like and just put them in a resealable bag - lettuce even keeps well already cut up since you wash it at the time it is usually quite wet so I slide a couple sections of paper towel in the bag before i put the lettuce in and it absorbs the moisture and I think it also helps keep it fresh.

I do this except I don't actually cut the lettuce, I tear it will my hands. I find the lettuce seams to brown faster when it's cut.

Are you near a local market where you can get access to cheaper meat, fruit and veg? If not other cheap places to get food are Chinese supermarkets. When I was at uni I was probably spending £20 or less for a week of food by shopping round a bit.

Get used to buying what is on sale. Sure you might really think you want those strawberries but at $5 a package this week you go with the bananas that are $0.29 a lb or the oranges that are on sale for $1.99 for five pounds instead. Then you stick with it. Sure the fresh asparagus looks incredible buuuut they are $3.00 a for a tiny bundle so you get the cucumbers that are on sale 3 for a buck. Eventually you train yourself to love all these foods. Remember it's JUST food and food is fuel, food is not love. It is so important to dedicate time in searching out and finding recipes with these foods that you LOVE otherwise it will not be sustainable in the long run. Also get used to the fact that healthier meals on the cheap do not take 2 minutes in the microwave and are ready to go, give yourself time to prep foods (either on the spot 1 person meals or ahead of time in bulk and then freeze). It's a constant learning process. Often times the issue isn't cost, the issue is adjusting to a more varied food palette (or being willing to eat a larger variety of foods) and taking the time to follow through.

$50 grocery shopping for a week..

Big oat meal box $3.75
Banana $1.50 for about 5 bananas
apples-$3-5 for a pack of 10
Milk $2-$4
ALMONDS- $5 BIG PACK
Yogurt-$4.50 for a 8 pack
Chicken Breast- $10 for a 4-6 pack maybe even cheaper
5 packs of frozen veggies of your choice -$8-10

And waterr.

Hope this helps

There have been a lot of great responses already but my two cents...

Shop the sales - If there are multiple stores that you could shop at, check all to see which has the best sales If you can, stock up - portion and freeze extra for later use. Avoid prepared foods as much as possible - while convenient, they're not as good for you and much more expensive per meal.

Also, don't be afraid to buy manager's special items. They're totally fine as long as you use them within a day or two (more if it's not produce) and you can save a lot of money. If you don't have immediate plans - freeze it! The best time to get managers specials deals is later at night, after the "after work" rush.

Soups/Stews, Beans and rice, and chili are all very inexpensive (especially if vegetarian), easy to make, and freeze well.

I love roasting whole chickens - I swear it's really easy, very versatile (main paired with mashed potatoes and veg, top salads, make sandwiches, etc... when you think you've stripped the carcass bare, use it to make delicious chicken stock), and, finally, because it is often the cheapest way to buy chicken (here, regular price is $0.99/lb and go on sale for $0.79/lb).

Root vegetables are very inexpensive, store for a really long time and are very versatile - baked, roasted, mashed, pureed, steamed... doesn't matter!

Losing weight doesn't have to cost money. You're obviously eating something; Eat less, save money. Go for a walk; It's free.

I stopped buying meat when I was in grad school because it's so expensive! If you use beans, lentils, nuts, and other sources of protein, it's not a problem. I suggest finding a local farmer's market if you can. You can usually buy great produce for reduced prices. I thought my grocery bill would go up when i started buying fresh produce, but it in fact went down drastically! The more I can buy fresh, the more vitamins and nutrients I'm getting (because I'm eating veggies and fruits rather than pasta and bread). I also suggest buying your beans and grains uncooked. When you buy uncooked beans, you get so much more for your money! Make them and then freeze them so they are easy to use in recipes later. I also used brown rice a lot (now i use quinoa a bit more than rice), which is easy to make and cheap.

I totally agree with cooking ahead, which is something I'm doing now more than I used to. I also agree with buying eggs for sure. Eating less of what you are eating now might make you feel really hungry because your mind will be expecting to eat as much as you used to. Eating a similar amount, but less calorie dense foods might make you feel better (even though you will still be eating less calories).

Another trick is simply don't buy sweets. If you don't have them, you can't eat them. Three years ago, I started out in the work force and had pretty much nothing and very little work. I didn't buy any sweets for a long time and really ate to fuel my body. I tend to be an emotional eater, so this was an interesting way of looking at food for me. I've settled back into my old ways since, but if you only buy what you NEED, you save money and can live healthier.

Try buying from bulk stores, like Bulk Barn or something. You can get pretty good prices on things like Brown Rice Pasta (keep that around & make up some healthy spaghetti sauce you can just toss into the freezer), buying chicken on sale in large quantities to freeze it, no name frozen veggies and fruit are usually on sale I find, then there's oats, eggs, brown rice etc.

Typically my weekly grocery list only has fresh veggies (this week is tomatos, kale, cucumbers and peppers), Greek Yogurt, red meat, whatever fresh fruits I want that week that are on sale, eggs, tortillas if I ran out and whatever is the "big" thing I'm making that week (this week is Spaghetti Sauce ) So I buy all the ingredients for that that I may not already have (already have the ground turkey and canned tomatos!) so I can make a huge pot of it. The last two weeks I had chili, so you can do stuff like that, makes life easy, especially as a student, to have meals like that to just grab out of the freezer.

Probably my biggest expense is Greek Yogurt, but I live off the stuff, I eat it everyday, it's worth it for me.

Granted, I also buy staples at Costco every few months that I do budget for. I highly recommend going to a place like this, even if you don't have a membership, hopefully someone you know does, or their parents, and just go with them. I tend to buy those giant bags of frozen veggies and fruit, or if their bulk fresh veggies looks good, I'll buy it, and freeze it, same with fruit. Then I buy my chicken, preferably breasts but thighs end up being less expensive most of the time, and I buy lean ground chicken/turkey, I also get my oats and my brown rice there and eggs for that trip. Additionally, you get great deals on canned salmon and tuna there which I also stock up on. Also, canned beans, and packages of lentils. I put aside money every month for my trips to Costco, which is mostly why my weekly grocery list isn't too bad cost wise.
Then at the bulk food stores like Bulk Barn, I get my gluten free pastas (buckwheat, brown rice etc.), nuts that I may want, crunchy peanut butter, and maybe some chocolate if I'm in the mood hehe.

I think probably the biggest thing is just planning planning planning. I hope my example helped, though I don't know if it is the best, part of my goals is putting on muscle so I do need to eat a lot, but I try to be as cost efficient as possible, so hopefully it does!