Diet help asap

First of all - you DO have money for food when you consider frozen meals. Use that money on real food ingredients. Real food ingredients are generally cheap. You will need adequate tools and equipment for cooking, but no gadgets are necessary. You don't have to pay for a gym or buy exercise equipment. Walk and do body weight exercises (you can find a lot on youtube).

It's generally best to eat the same food when you are cooking and eating together, especially when you are a role model for a child, and especially when that child already is picky.

Cooking doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. You don't have to buy everything or do everything a recipe calls for. Use it to get the general idea of what to do and what ingredients to use.

Meal plan. The process would go somewhere along these lines: Decide what you want to eat. (Let your daughter have a say, but you are the one to make the final decision.) Find recipes for those meals. Write down the ingredients you need to make them. Look in your cupboards, freezer and fridge (and make an inventory; optional but recommended) and create a shopping list out of the ingredients you are missing, plus all the other foods you will need for non-cooking meals. Take that to the store and follow it. Then cook and eat. It's important that you eat it up when you are short of money, so plan to use up ingredients and stick to foods you know you like - but you also want (your daughter) to be less picky, so try some new foods from time to time. Base your everyday meals on cheap ingredients, and splurge a little on special occasions.

Do not fall for hypes. Do not pay extra for low fat, low carb, organic, health food, enriched, gluten free, sugar free, or products aimed at children. Buy precut, precooked etc only if it's a real time saver. Don't buy juice, buy fruit. Buy appropriate package sizes - you want to save on buying in bulk, but you don't want the food to get spoiled. Don't buy large amounts of something you'll overeat if it's readily available, or if you'll get bored of it before it's eaten.

You will build experience and confidence as you develop your skills, and you need to learn to look at price tags and compare to get the best value for your money - and what you buy will depend on what you like to eat - but lists of versatile, inexpensive foods tend to include these items: Rice, beans, pasta, oatmeal, eggs, chicken, tuna, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables and berries, onions, carrots, cabbage, apples, bananas, oranges, peanut butter.