Broke *kitten* student starting clean eating ☺️

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anyone have any suggestions on how to clean eat on a budget? Trying to eat healthier and cut out processed foods after 2 years in college

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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    My definition of healthier eating is following the food guide. That would mean a variety from all food groups, more complex carbs over simple, lots of veggies and dairy. Here's a list of portable snacks that I think fit in a student's backpack:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/mid-day-snacks-722504

    Inexpensive healthy eating then comes down to planning, bulk buying, and weekend prepping. Buy small amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables in season and on sale. Supplement with frozen. Dried beans and lentils are fibrous, full of protein, and very, very cheap. Chicken thighs are cheaper than chicken breasts. Simply remove the skin and fat before eating. Pre-portion and freeze your meals and take as needed.

    buzzfeed.com/emofly/foods-everyone-should-learn-to-cook#.ihWn3vPgj
  • rez2012
    rez2012 Posts: 39 Member
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    Do you have a crockpot? If so, you can make a lot meals that can last a few days for cheap.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    This was contributed by another poster @jstout365 ,
    Eat Well on $4 a day.
  • vs161l5
    vs161l5 Posts: 27 Member
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    if you are in a dorm, eat loads of fresh veggies, soups and lean meats. stay away from red meats. chicken, fish are good choices. snack on carrots or celery will keep you full and are cheap. drink loads of water and get you steps in each day. 10000 is about 4.5 miles and is easy if you are in school? I've been doing 16000 each day by doing 10 min trainer and treadmill and normal stuff the rest of the day. good luck! I'm down 27 lbs since the new year.
  • puli254
    puli254 Posts: 1
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    How to get rid of freshman 15?
  • jlcyclechic
    jlcyclechic Posts: 54 Member
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    Thanks for the tips!
  • elementsm146
    elementsm146 Posts: 12 Member
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    rez2012 wrote: »
    Do you have a crockpot? If so, you can make a lot meals that can last a few days for cheap.

    I use the crockpot all the time. It's so easy, you just throw everything in, turn it on, and walk away for a few hours. The fit meals sub on reddit has done good recipes.
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
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    Just a warning, the clean eating police will be crawling all over this thread in T Minus 2 minutes and counting. Clean eating is very hard to achieve 100% but just making the effort to eat better and start eliminating processed foods will be key to your success.

    I heard a great suggestion recently. When you go shopping at the grocery store, shop the outside walls of the stores and avoid the aisles. Meats, produce, fish, eggs and dairy are generally on the outside. Processed foods are in the aisles.
  • BenniBlanc0
    BenniBlanc0 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    When I was broke, I'd just live on protein shakes, 1 big tub to last the month..... Literally, that was it & milk.... I also 'coincidentally' used to pop into friends & relatives homes around dinner, lunch & breakfast times ;D