Broke and trying to eat healthy.. Help!

Also I understand what you mean by having bad food in the house. I had friends in high school who's parents never had a vegetable in the house and that was completely normal for them. Sorry more people on this post don't see your issue. I remember one of my close friends coming to my house to eat all the time because her mother never cooked and they ate out every single night which was making her have stomach issues . Luckily my mom was always willing to feed and hungry mouth lol. So if your in that type of position I can understand completely. If your parents are cooking okay then I say eat less but if they are just bringing in like frozen pizza,cookies, and chips I understand.

Everyone is different, so just poke around the grocery store and look for things that might work for you.

I have had success by cooking large pots of stuff and portioning it out to freeze. Chicken and rice---in my area, a whole chicken is about $6.00 and the rice is super cheap. I can make a week's worth of meals from one pot.
I'll also take frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, maybe a few taters and make a soup/stew and add ground beef or turkey.
Red beans and rice are good, too.
Oh, and collard greens...they smell, but I love them and they are very cheap.

The main thing to remember about losing fat is to cut your calories. It's not necessarily WHAT you eat as much as it is HOW MUCH you eat. If mom and pop are cooking, I say be gracious and accept it, but cut back.

Your finances are your business...you did ask about food. However, I think it's a good idea to avoid the student loans. Now, if you can get out from that car loan you'll really be cookin' with bacon grease.

Oh! And air pop popcorn.
Before I got my air popper I used a stovetop pan. You'll need to use a bit of oil, which is 'expensive' calorie-wise, but overall it's a pretty decent snack.

I'm married with 2 kids. They all have breakfast and lunch at school for free, but I have to buy my own breakfast and lunch items in addition to our regular grocery budget. Plus, I had to find something quick and easy, or else I wouldn't stick to it. I'm okay with repetition. I shop at Walmart, Costco, and Kroger. Here's what I get for the week:

Breakfast:
1 box regular instant oats $1.99
1 jar hazelnut spread (Nutella is 200 calories/serving, but the Kroger brand is only 160) $3.99
1 jar PB2 $5.99 (at Costco)
Microwave 1 packet instant oats with just enough water to cover the oats. Mix in 2 tbsp hazelnut spread (260 calories) or 2 tbsp PB2 + 3.5 grams sugar (or any other sweetener) (205 calories). The spread and PB2 last for ages, so if you get 3 boxes of oats (36 servings), that's a month's worth of breakfasts for $16.

Snack:
4 lbs of grapes $6.97 (Costco)
Any other fruit or veggie that's on sale $4
I do 2 snacks a day between breakfast/lunch and lunch/dinner, so this gets me through about 2 weeks, so $22/month.

Lunch/Dinner (all from Walmart):
Boneless skinless chicken breast $1.99/lb
Steamer veggies $1.99
Salad dressing (I like the Kraft Raspberry Vinaigrette Light, only 30 cals/serving) $1.99
Mrs. Dash no-sodium seasoning $2.99
Minute brown rice $2.99
Season chicken, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cook 1/2 cup of rice. Pop the bag of veggies in the microwave. 6 oz of chicken, 2 cups of veggies, 2/3 cup of cooked rice, 2 tbsp dressing = 430 calories.
This is obviously the most expensive part. For an entire month of this for lunch and dinner, it's about $120.

So you're looking at about $160/month or $5.25/day. I hope this helps!

Another thought if your parents don't already own one is decent rice cooker. You have to be a little careful with the calories and carbs but you can make a lot of really simple, really tasty rice dishes for very cheap. You can cook lots of things in a rice cooker especially if you get one with a slow-cooker function. We make lots of cheap and healthy soups and stews in ours. Ours cost about $45 dollars but it is big enough for a family of four.

Frozen vegetables and bulk meats. Eggs, oatmeal. Save up a little money and get a crock pot and rice cooker. You can make so many meals with very little ingredients.

When I'm broke I eat a lot of rice, beans, lentils and veggies. Throw some spices or hot sauce on it and it's actually pretty good.

It's never too late to learn how to cook. Learning to cook in my late teens, early twenties is saving me a ton of money now! I eat oatmeal every morning. The tub of oats I bough is good for 30 servings was $2.50 (8 cents a serving). I add some sliced almonds, coconut, and whatever fruit is on sale. Keeps me full, and good source of fiber. I also saw a suggestion on here to add a little cheese and hot sauce (almost like grits) which sounds delicious if you arent a "sweet breakfast" kind of person.

I am a big proponent of meal-prepping. I make my lunches and dinners for Monday-Friday on sunday night. Then I pre-log everything and that keeps me on track. You can make it as simple or complex as you like. One week, Winco (the store I shop at) had rotisserie chickens on sale for $4 each. I bought 2, made chicken salad for lunches (on a bed of greens) and made some brown rice and steamed veggies to eat with the chicken for dinner. I keep my food budget as low as I can. Meat is the biggest food expense for me, but if you can learn how to cook leaner/tougher cuts of meats, you can save even more money.

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