Dieting on a Budget?

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taraknits
taraknits Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a broke law student! Dieting is hard enough with money to rock out and by the "good" foods!! What in the world can I eat that is healthy and cheap? Any ideas? Recipes?

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  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Beans.... either canned or dried. Both are cheap, have plenty of protein, fiber, and other nutrients.

    Also, sometimes frozen fruits and veggies are cheaper than the fresh.
  • Dellie22
    Dellie22 Posts: 167
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    salad, veggies, fruit... none of this are expensive
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
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    Bags of salad are cheap as well, I love how I can take a frozen bag of chicken, a big bag of salad and a couple other random veggies and feed myself with 6 to 8 meals no problem. Eggs aren't bad either if you go to the right store.
  • jakejacobsen
    jakejacobsen Posts: 595 Member
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    I live in Wi and these things are less expensive here may be more or less where you are.
    chicken, eggs, squash, yams, apples,
    turkey and ham are cheep during the holidays (we buy and freeze)
    dried beans are real cheap, brown rice, Go a long way

    Also if you buy foods that are less preped and do the preperation your self you can save
  • unmitigatedbadassery
    unmitigatedbadassery Posts: 653 Member
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    Any produce market is going to yield great cost/quality for fruits and veggies.
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
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    mutli grain pasta, chicken, veggies,......it's actually cheaper than eating crappy. I use to buy all the frozen meals for lunch but then started making chicken and pasta and things......it's cheaper than the frozen meals. Good Luck
  • Naomi_84
    Naomi_84 Posts: 197 Member
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    Remember frozen fruit and veg is just as good. Turkey is a cheaper alternative to chicken. Pasta recipes with tomato based sauces. Pasta bakes.
  • alz6690
    alz6690 Posts: 44
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    I'm a student too so know the challenges of healthy and "good" food. I generally buy chicken in bulk and freeze it in small zip-locs so i can use portion at a time. Salad and veg wise, i get as much fresh as I can but frozen veggies are also pretty good and work out a little cheaper. I dont buy pre-packed salad, if I buy the lettuce cucumber, cabbage separatley is does workout a little more expensive but I have substantially more salad. I live in the UK, not sure where you live but do you have an Aldi/Lidl near where you are. I find that They seem to be cheaper tha your average supermarket.

    Meals wise: soups are a good filling option. I love chicken you most nights have grilled chicken (with some kinda seasoning) with salad or veg.

    Hope that helps a bit!
  • brandimacleod
    brandimacleod Posts: 368 Member
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    The frozen veggies are a GREAT idea. Frozen are just as nutritions, sometiimes more nutritious since they are picked when ripe and not transported half a continent away....and they are cheap. Also, buy meats based on sale ads only if you eat meat. I buy the big pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts when they are on sale, and repackage individually into ziplocks to freeze. Even though I buy the expensive freezer ziplocks, I still save a ton of money than buying one or two breasts at a time. Also, make a big pot of soup and freeze individual serving sizes. I make and freeze a ton of soup! If you want more tips on that, just message me on here because I have learned what works best. And of course, shop budget/discount stores and brave the crowds.
  • ETC80
    ETC80 Posts: 28 Member
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    For me, the key to eating healthy on a budget is shopping often.

    Most of my diet consists of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.

    I buy these frozen (so they won't go bad quickly), or buy a small fresh-so it won't spoil before we've eaten it.

    Somethings you can buy fresh and freeze, if it's on-sale....other things you cannot.

    Find lean protein on-sale and freeze for later...

    Most coupons printed in the newspaper are for non-perishable items, but you can sometimes find coupons for certain brands of yogurt, milk, and lean proteins, sometimes name-brand fresh and frozen veggies...

    Pay attention to grocery store's sales papers...
  • taraknits
    taraknits Posts: 29 Member
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    Awesome, you guys!! Excellent ideas so far...starting the grocery list now!
  • kate2004rock
    kate2004rock Posts: 223 Member
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    Buy whole heads of romaine lettuce--or the 2-3 packs. Wash and dry it throughoutly. You can get 5-6 individual salads from one head...

    Also, butternut squash are definitely 3-4 servings worth in one gourd. Buy the big bag of baby carrots at Costco. If you figure out what gets the most for your money, don't sacrifice that awesome taste of veggies!

    Rice and beans are cheap and feed you many times for your money!
  • julie204
    julie204 Posts: 130
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    make a vegatable and lentil curry low in fat and cheap porridge is cheap and filling too eggs pasta tomato based sauses try go shopping before shop closing they usally reduce goods by 5 pm REMEMBER ITS NOT WHAT YOU EAT ITS THE AMMOUNT YOU EAT ADDS UP THE CAL INTAKE JUST CUT YOUR PORTIONS DOWN
  • gumigal82
    gumigal82 Posts: 350
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    -Canned beans!
    -Frozen big bags of veggies (and even berries)
    -Large containers of greek yogurt
    -Go to discount stores for dried fruit and unsalted nuts:) Also, if you live near a Big Lots (or something similar--)they sell a lot of good low sugar oatmeal, or Bob's red mill Steel Cut Oats, wild rice, etc... all for much lower prices
    -make your own dressing for salads
    -buy larger portions of frozen fish to keep in the freezer (like wild salmon, cod, fresh tuna...)
  • mfp_1
    mfp_1 Posts: 516 Member
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    Porridge (the cheapest you can find), sweetcorn, fresh vegetables, oily fish (e.g. mackerel)
  • SmartFunGorgeous
    SmartFunGorgeous Posts: 699 Member
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    I know you do pinterest, so you could search on there, but... I found a method on there to store lettuce for up to two, maybe even three weeks! Search "lettuce in a jar" on Pinterest, and then you can buy your lettuce every other week, and save money. That's my biggest complaint about some fresh foods--they spoil. I can't eat lettuce every single day, but her method is a saver!

    Also, I second all the notes about buying frozen fruits and veggies!
  • jesscaponigro
    jesscaponigro Posts: 114 Member
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    For breakfasts I usually make a low fat muffin recipe and I end up with 12 muffins which can be frozen. I find this helpful. I also tend to only buy fruits and veggies that are in season, they tend to be the ones on sale. Also, if you buy meats that have reached their "sell by" date, you usually get them marked down, I then come home and freeze them until ready to use.

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