Student Budget :(

I don't know your specific situation but try things like farmers markets, if you have a friend or family member with access to a wholesale (bulk) store try to utilize it to get your hands on a lot of cheap healthy food, and coupon. Do a little research on extreme couponing and see if any of those strategies can help fill your fridge with decent food for little money.

Good luck! Don't waste money on organic foods. Worry about eating healthily for now, and when you can afford that organic food, switch on over.

Still better than eating junk food, right?

Good luck! Don't waste money on organic foods. Worry about eating healthily for now, and when you can afford that organic food, switch on over.

Still better than eating junk food, right?

Absolutely! Focus on calories right now, rather than things like organics. For real, you will get so much more bang for your buck. Sometimes cheaper can mean fast foods and things like that, but it can also mean whole, simple foods. A head of lettuce (rather than an organic package of fancy greens), some chicken thighs and some lentils can go a long way on a budget. Think: standard veggies, beans, pots of chilli, quesadillas.

As said above: big pots of veggie curry, bean chilli, soup.... are a good way to go. Me and my flatmate in uni lived on that stuff, and we were pretty healthy ) We got a lot of the "fancy" stuff like chickpeas, tofu and spices from the indian supermarket... knowing your local shops is always very handy )

another way to ease the budget is to try to eat seasonally, depending on where you live (some places its just not worth it...potatoes every day get old fast!)

I don't ever buy organic or from farmer's markets. Cheapest of the cheap for me.

Budget shopping can be tricky
I try to plan ahead - nice for both diary logging and grocery shopping. Cooking single servings can cost a little bit more than buying bigger bulks, cook big meals, and make lunch boxes out of the leftovers.
Don't get too hung up on brand names or anything organic; focus on prize and calories! Sometimes organic isn't necessarily more expensive (which is awesome!), but sometimes the prize difference is just too big.
Farmers markets are great but can take a bit of organization, also keep in mind what's in season (veggies & fruits) because sometimes it's cheaper depending on the time of year.
Don't be afraid to cut out meat every now and again to keep the prize tag down.

And lastly, don't see it as a diet! You're simply changing bad eating habits and replacing them with better ones. Are you never going to eat pizza ever again? If you're tempted to say "sure, when the diet is over" then that's the wrong spirit. Make modifications where possible, and keep the rest in moderation. One slice of pizza is fine, an entire pie... well, just do a bit more exercising the next day. But allowing yourself to get that piece of pizza, or a say a burger with a side salad instead of fries or whatever will hopefully make this feel a lot less "diet"-y and more like something that just happen. Cutting something out completely could very easily lead to binging and bringing bad habits back fully blown.