Eating on a budget while still staying healthy

[Ligand]

Hi everyone! I'm going off to college soon :] so I'll have to buy my own food. Since I'm one person I'm trying to keep it down to 45-50 dollars a week spent on food. My mother says she barely spends that much on our household per week (and we are 2 people) so I figure 45-50 should be more than enough for me. I'm wondering if you guys know of any healthy, yet relatively cheap foods that I can add to my staple during college? biggrin I'm really trying to avoid the typical ramen-everyday meal plan xP.

Thanks!  

[Stars in my Pocket]

Ah, it really depends on what cooking options you have, stove/slow cooker/oven vs. the dormitory microwave and mini-fridge.

Do you know what your living arrangements will be?  

[Ligand]

I'll be in an apartment with a full kitchen. The apartment comes with a microwave, an over and all that jazz. I'll be bringing a blender, teapot, and a rice cooker. I could buy a slow cooker if it proves beneficial biggrin .  

[Stars in my Pocket]

OK so here's a ton of information 'cause I'm at college and so I know exactly what you're going through.

Realize that in stores, convenience costs. A lot. So cook your own food, freeze/store it and you'll eat like a king for a lot less.

Red Beans and Rice: costs about $4 for a LOT of food (makes me 8-10 meals easy)

-1 onion
-1 clove garlic
-1 small bag kidney beans
-3c uncooked rice (white or brown)
-salt/pepper/spices to taste (bouillon cubes chicken or beef)

Soak the beans overnight, pick them over to check for stones that may have mixed in. Set them up in a slow cooker on HIGH for 4-5 hours with the spices that you'd like, I add bouillon cubes too. Follow directions on rice. Chop up your onion and garlic, and mix everything together. It's relatively low in calories (300-350 cals per cup of food) and high in fiber and protein. It also gives you a warm homey feeling.
I recommend you freeze half of it 'cause you'll be sick of rice and beans xD

Spaghetti and Sauce: Costs about $10 to make but dear god you'll have a ton of it.

Whole-wheat spaghetti is about $1.50-$2.00 a pound. A pound is a lot of spaghetti. White spaghetti is even cheaper but it's empty carbs. ):

Tomato Sauce Recipe

This recipe makes 6 servings, double it, save more money since you'll have most of the ingredients, and use sandwich-sized zip bags to freeze individual portions.

Also for the cost fresh fruit is good. I know it's kind of expensive but look online for what's in season. I picked up 5 big bananas yesterday for $2.50 and that's a big filling snack for me. Strawberries are 2 for $5 right now and pineapples are cheap, too! (:

Canned veggies are good too if you watch the sodium.  

[Stars in my Pocket]

And I would definitely invest in a slow-cooker, because you can get cheaper cuts of meat (that are much less tender if you cook them normally) and slow-cook them until they're fantastic without losing flavor or nutrition. Slow-cooked chicken is great, too. Mmm~  

[Ligand]

hmm is the slow cooker only good for cooking meat? D; I don't eat meat :[.  

[Soi Tsuba]

no, it's good for making soups. or potatoes and other veggies.

I use tofu in mine.  

[freelance lover]

Holy crap, get that slow cooker. Crockpots are a Godsend, seriously. You can make vegetarian soups and stuff in them, if you don't eat meat. Plus they make HUGE portions. I have a delicious minestrone soup that I make all the time. It has meat in it, but you could easily remove it since it's got a ton of beans and veggies in it too.

My advice is cook from scratch as many meals as possible. Get a good cook book you can work out of. I have the Cook This, Not That cook book. It has a ton of cheaper, low cal recipes and I love it. Some of them are so tasty.

Avoid prepackaged food as much as possible though, it's got tons of sodium, and fat, and it generally not filling. Cooking will take a little more time, but if you do it right you can do it super cheap, and it's so much better than frozen meals.

My advice is also only buy healthy snacks. When grocery shopping, forgo the cookies and chips. Grab some yogurt, carrots, or apples instead.  

[Tandahda]

If you really like soup, a slow cooker is probably a great idea. I've never gotten the hang of it and still kind of regard it as a 'devil machine' but then again I want nothing more than a wood fired stove. So one can call me a bit of a Luddite. (I look askance at microwaves still)

In university I loved nothing more than cooking up broccoli, carrots, and potatoes and pouring spaghetti sauce on them. If you get canned tomatoes and cook them up with some spices and maybe an onion you can get a really nice neutral sauce that you can put on things or add more things to. (Or if you're like me you can cook up the whole spaghetti sauce (lentils go great for a protein source) and throw it over things.)

Gypsy soup is really great and you can sub any veggies in, or throw them all in.
(I added cabbage to the last one I made and it was fantastic)
http://www.cheapcooking.com/blog/2005/02/gypsy-soup-from-new-moosewood-cookbook.html

If you don't eat meat, some of the earlier moosewood cookbooks don't have fish in them, or if you're looking for something else, Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan is really good, has lots of great recipes and doesn't require a lot of fancy ingredients for all her recipes.

My advice is not to buy snack foods that aren't fruits or veggies. This is because my experience of it is that if I have them, I will eat them, and I will eat them before I cook anything. Its just my experience but I think it happens to a good number of people.  

[Soi Tsuba]

Though I have to say you have a rather large budget for just one person per week. Me and my boyfriend manage to get by on less then $20 per week.

You just have to be willing to hunt for the good deals.  

[Tandahda]

For a while I thought you guys were just really really really thrifty (and I'm not doubting that you are) but it took me a minute to realize that food prices are cheaper down there in the states.

I feel much better now.  

[Munkers]

Forty to fifty a week for just one is a fairly decent budget. Honestly, you can probably afford to eat out on that budget from time to time.

I'm a big fan of couscous personally. It's super versatile, shelf stable, and isn't all that expensive. It's not as cheap as rice, but it cooks up SOOO much faster. You literally just add an equal part boiling liquid, cover and let sit for five minutes, fluff it up and it's done.

Lately I've been making what my husband and I have dubbed "Asian spaghetti." The base of the recipe is spaghetti, soy sauce, and green onion and then you can whatever else sounds good or whatever you have on hand.

The biggest tip I have is check the weekly grocery circulars. Look at what's on sale and try to base your weekly meal plan around those things. There will ALWAYS be some kind of produce on sale and some kind of fresh meat. Some weeks will have better deal than others, but you'll learn about prices over time. Try buying family size packs of meat and then separate into smaller portions and freeze. That way you can still take advantage of a deal, but you don't have to worry about spoilage.

And I would totally second the crockpot. You can prep ingredients the night before, add everything to the crock pot in the morning, turn it on, and when you get home from class, you'll have a hot meal waiting for you.  

[Ligand]

Aww , you guys are great xP. Thanks. And I was just guessing with the 45$, I probably won't use that much. I've never gone grocery shopping for myself so ...I kinda have no idea how much food costs sad