Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rice.
Preferrably brown.
Poor man's healthfood. biggrin

I know the low-budget game very well. ) :
My family is very poor; so poor we don't even have a grocery budget because we only get little bits of money at a time (My mum's a waitress, so our food money is usually her tips. My Stepdad works at 7-Eleven and both of their paychecks combined barely pay regular bills, let alone food bills. My Daddy doesn't send child support, so we don't have that to help us, either) so most often we eat out. McDonalds and Pizza mostly. When that happens I usually get the side salad and sip on iced tea to keep me full. When we can actually get groceries though, I love making sure I have a nice supply of sandwich material (whole-grain breads, lettuce, meat, lowfat mayo because I can't have a sandwich without a little bit of mayo...)

Lentils. Under $1 a bag if you buy store brand, and chock full of protein and fiber. And, you can get 5-6 meals, at least, out of a bag. Try seasoning them with salt, pepper, and maybe a bit of garlic and onion if you like those flavors.

And really, if you look for sales, I don't think healthy food is necessarily more expensive than fast food. For example, say you get something like a cheeseburger off of the $1 menu. You could buy bread, cheese, lunchmeat, and a spread for maybe $6 or $7, but you'll get 5 or 6 sandwiches out of that, at least. So, it probably averages out to be the same monetarily, and I'm pretty sure the sandwich would be better for you even if you didn't use whole wheat bread and lowfat meats.

First thing: Check out whether you're eligible for food stamps. Those really helped me out for a while in college and for a little while afterward. It may not be a huge amount, but every little bit helps. Food stamps will ONLY pay for food, not other necessities -- not toothpaste, soap, feminine hygiene products, or the like -- but that'll help you prioritize the rest of your budget.

Second: Buy in bulk. The prices will often be way better than buying just a small amout of things.

Third: Avoid fast food and ready-made mixes. Those are tasty, but you can spend $5 to $10 on a single item. If you eat one ready-made thing or fast food meal per day, that's $70 a week! Instead, you could be spending that money on fruits and vegetables -- which are pretty cheap if you get them frozen, and which will give you a lot more and better nutrition.

Fourth: Brown rice, dried beans or peas instead of canned or frozen, and whole-grain pasta. Those are very inexpensive, very filling, and very nutritious.

Fifth: Ground meats and canned tuna. When something's in a big piece, like a chicken breast, you have to eat the whole thing to feel like you've really been fed. If it's ground, you can just mix in one or two ounces of it into an otherwise vegetarian dish. It'll add lots of flavor, and you'll feel full afterward without needing to eat as much of it. If you're vegetarian, use a light sprinkling of chopped nuts instead, or Vegetarian Recipe Crumbles (Morning Star Farms's answer to ground beef or sausage), or tofu or tempeh (which can be cut into one or two ounce bits, then crumbled finely and sauteed just like ground meat). For the fish, just use a can of tuna over a cup of cooked rice, and season it any way you like.

Finally: Spices and herbs. Yes, they're expensive. Promise yourself to buy one new spice or herb every week or every other week. Theyr'e $3 to $5 a bottle, which is a LOT if you buy them all at once, but not too much if you can just get one at a time. They'll add a lot of flavor and interest to the foods you're making. Start in this order, roughly:

Salt
Pepper
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Cinnamon
Basil
Oregano
Ginger
Sage
Rosemary
Powdered Onion
Other spices as you see fit -- get adventurous.
Replace one spice that's running low (start the rotation over).

you know what's a really good and cheap breakfast?


Grab some oatmeal and then put in some protein powder. The powder is not only very very very healthy for you but it'll keep you feeling full longer so you wont get those nasty nasty cravings.


Plus it's SUPER cheap. heart

yeah i forgot to mention that.