[Lafayette]

Back to your original food ideas question... check out the "Food Finds" area under Foods on 3FC.

For portion control, here are a few tips I try to follow:

Try to eat things that are filling. Anything high fiber, whole grain, etc. The veggies burgers I mentioned in a previous post work well and Kashi TLC granola bars are also a great item I've found in this category.

Or (because being full rarely slows me down) try to find things that you can eat a TON of for few calories like celery sticks and salsa. These two together make a great, cheap, statisfying snack- just watch the sodium content of store-bought salsa (I try to make my own with fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro and whatever else I feel like throwing in).

I've read that you should eat the recommended portion size, then wait 10-15 minutes to determine if you are truly still hungry before eating another 1/3-1/2 portion.

I've also been told that you should pay attention to the point during the meal where you sigh. Everyone does this- it's a physiological response to being "full." This is where we should all push our plate back and get up from the table.

Good luck!

[suitejudyblueeyes]

I feel compelled to reply here, because eating healthy food cheaply is something I've had to work very hard at and I know how daunting it might seem, since all those purported "health" foods can get very, very expensive! A lot of what I'm about to say assumes you have time to try out a bit of cooking. Anything I suggest you make at home for the sake of the price savings can be made ahead of time, like on the weekend, and portioned out for you to grab quickly in the morning.

Yes, you can exist on Lean Cuisines. I don't think it's a very pleasant existence, though. Besides, those things are expensive! At over $3 a pop you're spending 10% of your weekly eating budget on one meal... Can you stand to only eat 10 meals a week? Last I checked you need 21, and that doesn't include snack food...

Here are some things addressing price:
-Buy in bulk where you can. I don't know what kinds of stores you have access to but Whole Foods has a great bulk grain section. You can get lots of wonderful things like barley, quinoa, and dried beans there.
-Opt for making your own instead of purchasing pre-packaged. Honestly, 3/4 of the stuff in a grocery store is not worth buying due to the immense price mark-ups. Why buy 8 packets of instant flavored oatmeal for $4 when you can buy whole rolled oats for $1/lb?
-Stick to the outer aisles of the grocery store. This will generally provide you with fruits, veggies, meats, dairy, and bread. Don't go down aisles you don't specifically need something from lest you start impulse-buying.
-Becoming a smart shopper at your age would be a huge help for you later in life. Learn to shop sales and use coupons. It may seem like an old lady thing to do but if you're really serious about sticking to a small food budget it's worth it.

Some things addressing preparation:
-Breakfasts can be pretty simple. Oatmeal and either chopped up fresh fruit or a reasonable amount of dried fruit is great and quick. If you prefer the consistency of "instant" oatmeal over rolled oats, easy! throw some rolled oats in a food processor for a quick second (don't blend too long, you'll get oat flour!) to chop it up. Shortens the cooking time. If you like the flavors of the instant variety, they're easy to duplicate: cinnamon and brown sugar is obvious, something like peaches n cream just add a bit of powdered fat free coffee creamer and dried fruit, and voila!
Other cheap breakfasts: toast with natural peanut butter (a little more expensive but worth it), an egg on toast, a couple of homemade pancakes (if you have the time and aren't tempted to top it with a bunch of stuff). Oatmeal is by far my favorite, though.

-Lunch: If you have an hour or two on a weekend, make a giant pot of soup to eat the whole week! Homemade soup can be made very, very cheaply and then portioned out and frozen to take with you where you need to be, so long as you have a microwave (my high school had one, not sure if yours does).
Other easy, cheap lunches: salads with leftover protein from the night before; rice and beans with appropriate spices; sandwiches; add plain lf yogurt (buy the large cartons and portion it out, cheaper that way), pretzel sticks, fresh fruit, etc.

-Dinner: Try to eat vegetarian at least 3x a week. Meat is by far the most expensive part of a dinner. You can make your own veggie patties (or buy Boca burgers, which I LOVE, but only buy them on sale). Beans are incredibly versatile and with a grain provide a complete protein. This might take some trial and error, but you can really take the price punch out of dinner if you skip the meat for a few nights (but be sure you are getting enough protein, that's what's going to help repair your muscles after exercise).

-Snacks: If you really are looking to exist on a small amount of money, you might want to forgo the granola bars. First, they tend to have way more sugar than any one person needs, and second, they are far more expensive than they ought to be. If the idea of a granola bar interests you, I'm sure there are healthier recipes you can try out over a weekend.
Good, cheap snack ideas include sliced veggies (carrots, celery, bell pepper) with homemade hummus or salsa; yogurt; a piece of fruit paired with a serving of nuts; cottage cheese paired with fruit/veg/crackers (whichever you prefer); an egg made into egg salad and served on a serving of crackers; even a small sandwich would be decent, such as turkey breast on a 100-cal english muffin.

You want to try to eat on about $5/day, and that is totally possible, regardless of whether you are able to eat anything kept in your house by your parents. If you can drink their milk and eat their bread, all the better for you! You can afford a couple of Lean Cuisines! But I think to make it work any other way is going to take a lot of work on your part, and you're going to have to be committed to it like you commit yourself to getting fit and healthy.

Here's a nice financial example.
I'm going to make chicken noodle soup. Takes about 45 minutes.
Buy:
-Whole rotisserie chicken, pre-cooked from the grocery's deli, $6
-Pack of no yolks egg noodles, $0.99
-Three whole carrots, $0.50 (over estimating)
-Three stalks of celery, $0.50 (over estimating)
-Broth, either free (if you boil the chicken after you take the meat off) or initial investment of $2 to buy a jar of powdered stock mix that will last you til you're 20...
Total investment = $10 (counting the stock)
That easily makes 8 servings of filling, healthy soup, for $1.25 each. You can make it into more servings by using more broth; I like my soup with lots of stuff so I make it into 8.

The actual price per soup is much lower than that, though, because you only use 1/2 the chicken for the soup, the other 1/2 you use for 2 night's dinners! And I counted $2 for broth when in reality you use about $0.05 worth, so really... Total investment in soup is $5, putting each serving at $0.40-something each! Talk about cheap! (And you can make it cheaper by buying a raw whole chicken and roasting it yourself, but that's probably not very realistic for you.)

Okay, this has to be the longest post ever. But I'm very passionate about eating on a budget. It is VERY doable if you put some effort into it. Have fun with it!

[gailr42]

Wow, SuiteJudy, thanks for all that useful information.

[Lafayette]

Awesome! I never knew you could make instant oatmeal in a food processor! I'll be giving that a try...

[BillBlueEyes]

Sweetloving,

A good snack food is toasted soy nuts. They have good protein so they stick with you and I like them better than peanuts or almonds for snacks. And they are cheaper than peanuts or tree nuts. They would be easy to eat at a kiosk at the mall.

I get them in bulk at Whole Foods, but I've seen them in 20 ounce containers at one food store. I pay about $0.15 per serving of a quarter of a cup which has about 120 calories. One serving makes me feel full between meals. One granola bar make me feel like I'd like to have another granola bar. YMMV.

Good luck on your journey.

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[perclady]

Have you talked to your parents about the kinds of foods you want to eat? Obviously I don't know your family situation, but maybe your folks are just stuck in a rut food-wise? It's very common, especially with children in the house. Perhaps introduce them to a healthier way of eating by cooking a meal for them? Maybe finances are a concern? Many families eat a lot of carbs becasue they are simply cheaper than proteins and vegetables, but if you buy on sale or bulk foods, it doesn't have to be expensive. Could you use some of your earnings to help your family buy better foods? Just some suggestions. It's hard for me to beleive that you parents wouldn't help their children eat healthy, particulary if they expressed the interest and desire.