Cheap, easy healthy meals on a low budget?

[Kay-VW]

Does anyone know of any good,easy, and cheap healthy meals? I'm just about to start my first year of college, and am, at the moment,jobless, so I have only a small amount of money at the moment. So, meal suggestions, healthy foods that could help you lose weight, and what all to stay away from. help would be very much appreciated. smile  

[Munkers]

Fresh produce, brown rice, whole grain pasta (depending on just how tight the budget is), dry beans, oatmeal (buy a big container of it, not individual packets) and meat whenever there's a good sale. Ground turkey tends to be about $2 a pound all the time in my neck of the woods. Pork loin also tends to be a cheaper meat and sometimes I can find chicken breast on sale for that price.

Honestly, the most important thing is that you're keeping on eye on your calorie intake. It doesn't matter if you're eating the healthiest foods in the world, if you're eating too much of them, you're still not going to lose weight.  

[A Touch of Evil]

Obviously, stay away from overly greasy foods like fast food. Stay away from potato chips and sugary ice-cream bars. They are good for nothing. Frozen TV dinners are disgusting and un-filling (in my opinion) and I know they are cheaper but as long as they are unfilling, they will have you coming back to eat more, making you spend more money. I suggest buying organic fruits and veggies, and using them to cook your own meals. NEVER buy fruits from a can......they are usually drenched in high fructose corn syrup which is unhealthy. Raw and organic is probably cheaper (at least where I'm from) and much healthier. Also, try to look for the large bags of dry beans and rice, they are usually MUCH cheaper to buy this way, you can saturate the beans on your own usually over a 6-8 hour period of time, and white rice is very easy to cook. I like to shop either at food4less or costco because I buy large bulk sizes for a good price. There's a new Whole Foods opening up close to where I live and they have a ton of organic foods, it'll be easier for me to carry out my vegetarian diet when I start shopping there.

Basically, it's healthier and probably cheaper to home cook your own meals. And if you have a spare $20-$35, you can buy a small charcoal BBQ pit and BBQ lean turkey, or lean chicken. (by lean, I mean boneless, skinless, and usually about 97% fat free) BBQ is better because you aren't drenching or cooking your food in oil or fat. On a BBQ pit, all the grease drips down into the pit. And the food will still taste GREAT!

I hope this helps!  

[Munkers]

[Beautiful Oblivion]

NEVER buy fruits from a can......they are usually drenched in high fructose corn syrup which is unhealthy.

Not true. If you label-read, you can find fruits that are packed in juice or water. And even if they are packed in syrup, opt for the light syrup option and then drain before eating.

It's WAY better than bypassing fruit altogether.  

[A Touch of Evil]

Oh..I didn't know they could be sold like that. I still think raw fruits are the best though.