Latley I have been in a struggle to work out daily, and still eat right. The past few days I have been slipping on the food part, eating take out and junk, but I have worked out at least 30 minutes a day, and I am still losing weight!

I am really focused on trying to get my eating back on task, and I was just wondering if you lovely ladies had any suggestions on how a single mom, in college, on a serious budget can make healthy, good tasting food, faster.

I already try to fix food ahead of time, but anything that goes into the fridge tends to stay there.


So tips, people, tips.

I am not sure if I have the right answers, but I have been tweeking my normal menu. If I have a hamburger dish I now use ground turkey, where I shop it cost the same. I also add alot of finely chopped veggies. It does not change the taste of the meal, but I can use a little less meat and that saves money but adds good nutrition. I aslo have been adding beans to recipies if I can, to get more protein with out a lot of cost. I also add a salad to every dinner. The family is also not even aware of what I have been doing wich helps a lot! I am sure you will get other ideas, this is all I have done so far because I just started! Jelly

I tried the turkey thing tonight! Turkey meatballs, it was good, I had to add a little olive oil though, because the turkey seemed dryer than beef.

Thank you for the tip.

I really load down on the fruits and vegetables. When I was living with my roomate/best friend Julie, we used to have about $14 each week to spend on groceries each. We would combine our money, buy a heck of a lot of fruit and veggies (nothing fancy, general stuff like apples/oranges, and carrots/celery/etc). Then we would just eat meat products where we worked because we were allowed 1 free meal a day, and we worked evenings, so that worked out for dinner. Chicken and Turkey are the ultimate best, but if you can't always afford to be eating, for example, chicken breast, you can always go for a lean beef, but try not to consume too much red meat. Another thing you can do is substitute meat with tofu. That requires a taste most of the time, but my DF doesn't seem to notice when I do (like in stir fries, or salads). And I agree 100% with the salad. For example, tomorrow night for dinner I'm having skinless/boneless chicken breast, and a medium sized salad. I just go all nutzo on my salads. This is one of my favs:
1 cup Spinach
1 cup diced Tomatoes
1 cup whole white mushrooms
1/2 cup mixed Bell Pepper (Red/Green/Yellow... they come in a variety pack for pretty cheap here)
2 tbsp of calorie-wise Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

That makes a hefty salad for one grown adult, if you have multiple children, you could probably cut that in to 2 salads, and then serve a side vegetable, like peas or corn.

I also buy a lot of "no-name" stuff. I sometimes make something dif for myself, so while I'm having chicken breast, my DF is having Turkey Pot Pie type dealy hehe. He tries, but doesn't always buy in to what I'm eating :LOL:

Not sure if I was of much help, but I manage to buy groceries for 2 grown men (crew guys working in the oil field) and myself, and only spend about 300-350 a month. I own a deep freeze, and buy in bulk. If you're interested in seeing a typical grocery list for myself, just PM me, and I'd be happy to provide! Maybe you can get some ideas from there

~Mande

I've switched from chicken breasts to chicken drumsticks. I eat 2 chicken drumsticks with dinner almost every night, and that adds up to only 154 calories/5 grams of fat. They are less than half the price of chicken breasts, so I save a whole lot of cash.

You really gotta wonder what the hype about chicken breast is. It's damn expensive, and I know it's good for you, but sometimes it feels like when people recommend it, it's like the end all/be all of poultry, and it's really not. There are many parts of a chicken we can eat, and just not eat the skin, or remove bones before cooking etc. I figure as long as we're eating the chicken for the protein factor, and staying away from fatty parts, we should be alright! That particular response gave me reminder to that, so I can cinch the money belt as well!

I'm a college student on a budget too...and I tell you, frozen veggie mixes are your FRIEND. Mostly for the convenience factor. Toss 'em in a skillet with some garlic and shoyu (soy sauce, for you haoles), sautee, maybe cook up some whole-wheat pasta to go with, and voila. Quick, easy, healthyish dinner. Or lunch.

I like the suggestions martini, since my son loves veggies (switched at birth, I'm sure of it), I am going to try serving some salads, and increase the veggies/fruit in our house. I do buy the cheapo frozen veggies, because like Nikaia said, they're cheap and good. I checked the cost of chicken at my grocery, and sure enought, legs are much cheaper, plus my kid loves them. I got some good recipies form this site, so I am hoping if I can cook 80% of our meals, it will help me get back on track. I heard in one of my classes the other day that it takes 21 days to incorperate a new routine into your life, so I guess I should stick to it.

Thank you for the advice, you ladies are lifesavers.