Eating healthy in college...

snagzd
snagzd Posts: 9 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone! So I'm a college student taking 17 credit hours, I have two jobs that add up to about 18 hours per week, and I'm living paycheck to paycheck and just barely scraping by.

I can budget maybe $50 a month to spend on food. I can't ask anyone for money. I hate to say it - but I've been living on Ramen Noodles, PBJ's, and have been trying to have at least one healthy meal per day. Plus I've been drinking more water than usual to help with the increased sodium intake from the ramen.

I'm fairly fit, but I would like to get a little leaner. Can I do this on this awful diet if I do healthy meals where I can afford them?

Replies

  • segreen23
    segreen23 Posts: 1
    I'm in college too and on a budget. Try eating beans, rice, frozen vegetables, apples, oranges, bananas, whole wheat pasta, potatoes/sweet potatoes, etc. One of my cheapest dinners is beans and rice- and very filling. PB and J isn't bad for you either if you use whole wheat bread and natural peanut butter with fruit preserves instead of jelly. Also, eat lots of eggs and oatmeal for breakfast or lunch- super cheap and very healthy. Hope this helps!
  • snagzd
    snagzd Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks!
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    What kind of kitchen facilities do you have access to? (Are we talking dorm microwave, apartment galley kitchen...)

    The go-to grad student meal is a bag of frozen veggies, hot sauce, and low-fat cheese or cottage cheese.

    Canned tuna, spicy mustard, and relish or diced fresh veggies (whatever is on sale that week). Wrap it in a tortilla or stick it on an English muffin tend to be the cheapest options around here.

    You can often get fresh veggies and things like tortillas or rice cheaper at ethnic (Latin American, Chinese, Indian) grocery stores.

    I also eat a lot of eggs and oatmeal.
  • snagzd
    snagzd Posts: 9 Member
    I have my own apartment so a fridge/freezer, microwave, and oven/stove
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I dont think pb and J's are unhealthy. Also, I have a post about eating on the cheap in my MFP blog (the one and only post) check it out. I find it easier/better to shop in catagories.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited January 2015
    ~PBJ -- very good for you.
    ~rice, beans, lentils, eggs, frozen and canned fruits and veggies, potatoes, onions, cabbage
    ~food bank
  • snagzd
    snagzd Posts: 9 Member
    I LOVE pbj's so that's definitely good news!
  • snagzd
    snagzd Posts: 9 Member
    I've been thinking next week is going to go something like this..

    Bfast: PB toast and eggs
    Lunch: ground turkey w/ spanish rice and maybe some beans
    Snack: whatever fruit is on sale
    Dinner: chicken and green beans

    I already have the rice, turkey, chicken, and green beans. So hopefully this will only be a $10 trip at Aldi!
  • ValentineNicole
    ValentineNicole Posts: 51 Member
    Coupon if you can!! There are great deals to be had on canned veggies and even frozen if you can stock up.

    I'm a big fan of clearance shopping and couponing
  • dragonmaster69
    dragonmaster69 Posts: 131 Member
    In my English 101 class I actually wrote a six page paper about how buying whole foods is ultimately cheaper than processed foods. Like others are posting, brown rice and beans are totally cheap, easy to make, and very filling. If you take up light couponing or even just skimming your store's circular for weekly sales you can get a good bit of food for a good price, but it may just require you to cook everything in one night and prep it for the week, or freezing bulk items. Good luck with school this semester :) I often find myself going off my campus to buy food or I buy a ton of crap in my school's cafe.
  • diegops1
    diegops1 Posts: 154 Member
    25 lb bags of beans, 25 lb bags of barley instead of rice (more nutrient rich), cheap fish, fresh veggies and fruit in season, big bags of frozen veggies (corn is not a veggie). Add a daily multi-vitamin. Anything that is processed (pasta, premixed salads, cheeses) is more expensive. It is called adding value (meaning cost to the consumer) in business. Clip coupons, lots of coupons. My daughter in law feeds six and saves $200 per month with coupons.
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