I too have several issues with losing weight on a budget.
My biggest issue is that things get REALLY repetitive because I can't afford to buy frozen meals. I also have no place to cook. I'm in the process of building my home, and at the moment we've got a refrigerator and a microwave! I also used a lot of these tips while in college, since being a student is all about convenience and saving $$.
Anyway... some of the things I do to save money and have variety are buy bags of salad. Most grocery stores have a buy one get one free sale or a 2 for $5 sale. I always just pick up the cheapest lettuce. This should help you get through lunch for a week. Then, go ahead and find some light dressings that you like. The dressings will last for well over a week or two, so you don't have to worry about purchasing frequently. Some of my flavorful favorites are Ken's Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette, and the Ken's Light Honey Dijon. Salads are fun too because you can add tons of toppings you can usually find for a relatively inexpensive price, and try something different every day. Additionally, if you just want to cut it up yourself, buy a head of lettuce. It's usually cheaper.
Another item that you can often find on sale are Lean Pockets. I know they aren't the best, but most college cafeterias are much worse.
Cereal is another great way to get a lot of bang for your buck. As long as you can get a gallon of milk and a box or two of Special K, or Total, which are both often lighter and more nutrient rich cereals.
Another good one that I saw someone else mention is frozen veggies. They have those great steamer bags now which makes the vegetables much more palatable.
My last piece of advice is to buy protein or meal replacement bars when they are on sale. There are some tasty ones out there! I personally like the Apple Cinnamon Colossal Bar, although those tend to get pricey. Who knows though, you could find some on sale.
Hope this helps, and sorry if I repeated anything that anyone else said!
Aldi and PriceRite/Shoprite are inexpensive, as well as Asian markets for fresh veggies, tofu, noodles, and herbs.
I shy away from name brands unless it's something that I cannot find comparable elsewhere.
I also used to buy family sized packages of meat and separate it into 1lb servings. For my ex husband, I used to mix 1lb of ground beef with 1lb minced mushrooms. It saves money and calories, and you can't tell in most recipes.
I almost always eat at home, prepping my lunch and all snacks the previous day.
Beans, rice, and potatoes are great cost savers, and soup is a go-to meal anytime other than during hot weather!
The less you rely on pre-made foods, the more cost efficient it will be.
I eat what is cheaper that week at my grocery store...for example is squash is on sale I will have tons of squash...even add some of it to a low cal soup or eat it raw in my salads chopped up. When chicken is on sale I stock up on it...plus I buy my chicken in 3 pounds bags that are skinless/boneless flash frozen...they grill perfectly straight from the freezer or bake great as well...when I grill it I grill extra so that I have some to add to a salad later in the week.
If there is something that you eat or drink all the time, it might be worth looking at ebay to see if there are coupons available. My husband drinks a lot of soy milk, and I ordered $1 off coupons. I used to buy yogurt coupons too, but now I usually just buy the Walmart brand yogurt.
Another option I was thinking about, is find ways to make some of your favorite foods. A good example is Hummus. You can make that at home super easy and quick and it'll end up being much cheaper than a prepared kind. Plus, you can play with the ingredients. The most expensive item would be tahini. But a jar lasts for a good 5-6months worth of hummus or more. Outside that a can of chickpeas is anywhere from 50-99cents, a lemon (or vinegar) for 50cents, then whatever you use to spice it up!
Anyhow, just an idea. There are other options out there. You could even research how to make high protein cereal bars. There is an endless world of ideas out there!
I am a completely broke college graduate/student again also! I always keep the cheapo brown rice, tons of beans, and just the store brand frozen veggies and frozen fruit. You would be surprised what you can come up with, haha. I also bought a bunch of spices at Dollar General, $0.50 or less, and always try to hit up the farmers market. I'm not sure about your area but the farmers market around here is really really cheap. And don't forget about the Asian and Hispanic markets, they always have good deals.
I started clipping coupons too, which has really helped, because like someone else said with the coupons you get the health/beauty stuff almost free so that gives you more money for groceries.
biggest thing for you is making sure you give yourself time to prepare and cook it. That my friend is the hard part about being in college...heck I'm a stay at home Momma and standing in the kitchen cooking is a big deal!
I am so jealous of the Americans that can buy with coupons. That means if you put a bit of effort into it, you can really get cheaper groceries. Here they don't have coupons. Well, they sometimes have "buy this and then send a postcard and wait 6 weeks and you get your money back" stuff. But nothing else.
I am on a really tight budget, and I am vegetarian. It is definately do-able. I need about 15-20 dollars per week to eat. But where I used to buy organic stuff, I no longer can because that is too expensive. I have to say it's pretty hard though. What works is almost everything I cook I try to cook 1 meal portions, but then it is always still enough to split it in half and save the rest for the other day. And it cuts the calories back in half too. Dinner is more expensive so I am really trying to make it last. Breakfast is easy, I do about a week with a whole carton of greek yogurt and I use half a piece of fruit for in it. And I am lucky that lunch is at work and I control the groceries for that. Otherwise it would be way harder to get in my nutrients. Now I sometimes just buy fish or an avacodo for lunch at work. And I dip into the peanutbutter quite a lot.
I tend to hit the reduced counter and buy things that are just about to go out of date and then freeze them. I often get mince reduced and make up batches of bolognese to freeze. Turkey mince is lower in cals I believe.
When it comes to chicken, rather than buying fillets I find that there is almost no difference in price to breast fillets and a whole chicken. I roast the chicken then carve up the whole thing, separate it into individual portions, wrap each portion in foil and then freeze it. I can then defrost an individual portion as I need it and add it to whatever dish I am making (I'm saying all this as if it's for me but I don't actually eat meat but my DH and sons do ).
Have you thought of growing your own cut and come again lettuce? You'd only need a window box but could grow a variety of leaves to eat as baby leaves. It would be very cheap to set up and as long as you water regularly would only cost you the price of a packet of seeds.
I make the exact same thing that doopdoop mentioned with Goya Black Beans (80 cents a can!) and add 1/2 a shredded chicken breast. Watch the flyers for when chicken is buy 1 get 1 free , that is what I do :-)
One of my favorites is peanut butter rolled in a tortilla. I weight the peanut butter so I don't over do it. I also enjoy a fast cheese/lettuce/tomato sandwich. I toast the bread, add mustard, then the other stuff.
I was a vegetarian back in college, and it really helped me save on food costs. Meat is expensive! Beans are a great idea, as several posters mentioned. Eggs are a great source of cheap protein if you choose to have them in your diet, and they're easy enough to cook in a microwave. Just put one or two in a coffee cup, whip them with a fork for a minute, cover the cup with a small dish, and microwave about 1.5 - 2 minutes. If you have them, you can throw in veggies. You can wrap it in a tortilla and run to class
Losing on a Budget
