eating healthy-- more like eating expensive!

You can eat cheap and healthy if you plan.
Shop store deals and coupons. Seasonal produce is usually cheaper (and tastes better too). Stay away from the packaged junk - 100 calorie packs, cookies... instead make your own and package them in individual baggies so they are easy to grab. Portable lunch containers are your friend. Batch cook if you can - cook up some chicken breasts, boiled eggs, pot of black beans & rice - this will make for easy meals for the week.

I'm not in school full time, so I have an advantage of time.... But... I feed our family for about $150 per week. That's two adults, 3 kids every night, and often more!

I would maybe ask your parents if they would gift you with a membership to BJs or Sam's wholesale clubs. (I prefer BJs - much better selection, more veggies and organic foods, and they take coupons!) Sure, you have to buy larger quantities, but freeze what you can and save it for the next week.

I would also suggest maybe taking one day to do a bunch of cooking, and make your own "TV Dinners." Target, and probably Walmart too, has divided freezer containers. There is a large spot for the entree, and two smaller spots to place veggies/sides in. Every night when I make dinner, I make an extra portion, and pack a meal in one of those containers, and pop it in the freezer. Then, my husband can bring it to work if he doesn't feel like packing a lunch the next morning, or the kids can eat them when it's date night for my husband & I.

You can also make a batch of healthy muffins, then wrap and freeze them individually. They stay fresh that way, and that's 12 mornings you can grab a muffin and a piece of fruit on the go.

And... eating healthy being more expensive... Really is just a myth. Tonight I paid $0.59 per pound for bananas. What are chips per pound? $3 and change?

I've done a lot of thinking on the eating healthy=eating expensive idea, and I don't think I agree with it. In a lot of ways, eating healthy is much cheaper than eating expensive, like eating less meat and more vegetables is way cheaper than eating more meat, eating leaner types and cuts of meat (because they can be tough), is cheaper than the "richer, more tender" fattier varieties. Likewise low fat milk is cheaper than whole fat (though I wouldn't go no fat because vitamins in milk are fat soluble). Eating at home is cheaper than eating out (anywhere, even the cheapie places like McDonald's and Taco Bell are much, much more expensive than making the same food at home). Whole grain products are not much more expensive than their white counterparts, and buying individual ingredients and making yourself a meal is much, much cheaper and healthier than buying preprocessed or pre-made ones.

There are really just a couple of unhealthy things which are so, so, so much cheaper than anything else that it sort of distorts our view, I think. Pasta is one example.

Eating healthy isn't too hard on a budget. One of my favorite things to do in college was to just get some refried beans and whole grain tortillas, and then some hot sauce and possibly cheese and make a burrito, nice, healthy, lean, whole protein, all good. Really any combination of a grain and legumes will give you a whole protein that is fairly healthy and cheap, and versatile. Rice and beans is a classic (especially if you go for brown rice!), eggs are healthy (two a day anyway) and cheap, frozen vegetables, too.

Lastly probably the best thing you can do to get things cheaper is to take advantage of sales. Coupons are good too but if you see something on sale cheap and you know you use it, stock up then don't buy it while it's full price, and spend that to buy stuff which is on sale, etcetera. You won't be able to get everything on sale always, but if you can make it a pattern, it's one of the biggest money saving things you can do.

Lots of the following:
PB&J on sprouted grain bread
Homemade bean soups and chili
Homemade pasta (whole-grain) dishes
Bananas
Cabbage sauteed with onion
Sweet potatoes
Brown rice dishes
Costco frozen fruit and veggies
Oatmeal
Homemade smoothies
Costco raw nuts

I can and do eat healthy (mostly organic) food for under $100 per month.

steering clear of prepared foods (which typically aren't healthy choices) helps to keep the groc bill down. eat fresh and when you buy sauces, spices and condiments make sure each one has multiple uses. example: grainy mustard can be used on sandwiches, in dressings, as a crust on pork or chicken, in a marinade, etc... tartar sauce, on the other hand, is primarily only used for fish.

make a list of proteins that you enjoy and are lean:

eggs (are your friend.. cheap, filling, nutrient full)
chicken (dont be afraid to buy it on the bone, this will save you money and add flavor. ideally remove the skin before baking. buy family packs and break it up into portions you will consume and freeze what you arent using right away)
tofu (affordable)
beans (canned or dried.. super affordable)
burger (buy in bulk, break up and freeze portions for later use)
pork
canned tuna and salmon
dairy

veggies, fresh fruit and fresh herbs.. shop the perimeter (the more expensive items are toward the center of the produce aisle).. buy in bulk. i like to take mine home.. wash it right way and portion it out (except for onions, potatoes and garlic)

grains, breads and tortillas.. while i was in college i ate most of my sandwiches using either marble rye bread or corn tortillas for bread. grains and pastas are your friends.. buy them on sale and stock up.

pickled and canned goods are great affordable options too.. read labels for salt content.. some are awefully high. don't be afraid to buy off brand goods. SALSA..

carlo rossi chianti and livingston chardonnay.. without these two cheap table wines.. my drunken college memories would not be so fuzzy and warm.. they are both cheap.. and when you're young.. wont give you a hang over.. over indulge.. also... remember pitchers of beer are a good thing when working on a budget...

your first trip or two to the store will be expensive, but after you get your rhythm of what you are eating, plan your meals out.. you wont be restocking your cupboards everytime you go to the store. you will just be filling in the gaps and buying a treat every now and then..

Look up Alton Brown's method for making brown rice. Comes out perfect every time!

bump! Is there anything he makes that doesn't?

Look up Alton Brown's method for making brown rice. Comes out perfect every time!

bump! Is there anything he makes that doesn't?

Yeah, that time he made, uh, no. Everything he makes is pretty much perfect. I miss Good Eats.

I don't know where you live, but a food coop might be an option. I joined bountiful baskets, every week you contribute $15 that is used to buy fresh produce. It works out cheaper than buying from the grocery store, and forces me to try new things. Here is the website www.bountifulbaskets.org

This is a great suggestion, even if you don't join the weekly option a food co-op is a great place to find low price items.

Thats streange because last night I managed to get all the supplies I need to meals for the next week, and didnt even spend $50. But this is Australia, and I dont know how expensive things are where you are. I would reccomend hitting up local suppliers or some of the smaller fresh food markets around. And never waste anything. I have a vaccume sealer that my parents got me for christmas one year. It has saved me about four meals a fortnight that would normally be thrown away. (It vacummes the air from the bag and then seals it air tight and fresh for 50X longer than just in a bag or glad wrap.